Actress Jill Halfpenny has spoken candidly about the profound personal losses that reshaped her life, while also celebrating a career resurgence with more complex, 'meatier' roles on television. The interview comes as she prepares to return to screens in the second series of the ITV mystery drama After The Flood.
Returning to the Beat in After The Flood
Halfpenny, 50, reprises her role as DS Sam Bradley in the six-part thriller, which returns on Sunday 18th January. The new series sees her character, newly transferred to the area, join detective Jo Marshall (Sophie Rundell) in investigating a bizarre murder on the moors. "I liked the cast, so when they asked me to join it was a really easy yes," Halfpenny revealed. She describes DS Bradley as warm and approachable on the surface, but suggests there is more beneath. "She's been doing it for so long she knows how to be affable... but they might not find much out about hers – she's one of those people."
This role aligns with what the actress calls her 'everywoman' casting. "I tend to play characters that are quite grounded and no-nonsense. I can identify with that," she said, noting her own direct nature. Her current slate is busy; she is also starring in the Paramount TV+ thriller Girl Taken and will soon appear alongside Sally Lindsay in the Channel 5 thriller Number One Fan.
From Soap Seductress to Substantial Parts
Fans will remember Halfpenny from early roles like nurse Rebecca Hopkins in Coronation Street in 1999 and undercover police officer Kate Mitchell in EastEnders in 2002. However, she reflects that many parts in her twenties felt limited. "It gets quite dull when you're a young 20 year-old, playing the secretary, or the girl in the village," she admitted.
The landscape, she says, has thankfully changed. "In the last ten years, people have started to write more interestingly for women, which has been great. I'm getting meatier roles, because writers are allowed to tell stories from the point of view of the woman... that are a bit messier and more complex." This shift is evident in her recent work in dramas like The Feud, The Drowning, and The Cuckoo.
A Life Reimagined: Confronting Grief and Loss
While her professional life thrives, Halfpenny has endured immense personal tragedy. In 2017, her partner Matt Janes, 43, died from a heart attack at the gym. His death echoed the loss of her father, Colin, who also died of a heart attack aged 36 during a football game when she was a child.
She chronicled her experiences in her memoir, A Life Reimagined, published last year. Her motivation was to offer a personal perspective she felt was missing. "I would have loved to have heard from a normal person who had lost someone," she explained, highlighting the practical and emotional shrouds around death. "It's all shrouded in secrecy. No-one knows until it's happening to them."
Halfpenny's philosophy is one of confronting pain. "My whole philosophy is not to run away from grief – to be brave enough to cry and stay in the discomfort." Now living by the sea in the North East with her 17-year-old son Harvey, and in a relationship with marketing manager Ian McAllister, she has found a sense of peace. "You think about all of the years and all the pain and the tears and then suddenly I'm here today and I feel good," she shared. "The only comfort for me is acceptance. Then I can open my eyes and think there might be other things now."
After the Flood returns on Sunday 18th January, airing weekly on Sundays and Mondays on ITV. All episodes will be available on ITVX.
