Actress Jill Halfpenny has opened up about the profound personal losses that have shaped her life, while simultaneously celebrating a career renaissance with "meatier" dramatic roles. The star, currently on screen in the thriller Girl Taken, is set to reprise her role as DS Sam Bradley in the second series of ITV's mystery drama After The Flood from Sunday, 18th January.
A Triumphant Return to Detective Drama
Halfpenny, 50, returns to the six-part ITV series which sees her character, the newly transferred DS Bradley, join forces with detective Jo Marshall, played by Sophie Rundell. The plot kicks off with a baffling murder on the moors. The actress revealed her decision to join the cast was instant. "I liked the cast, so when they asked me to join it was a really easy yes. I didn't even have to think about it," she said.
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 Halfpenny calls the "everywoman" characters she often portrays—grounded and no-nonsense, traits she identifies with personally.
From Soap Seductress to Complex Characters
Fans will remember Halfpenny from her early soap opera days, playing nurse Rebecca Hopkins in Coronation Street in 1999 and undercover police officer Kate Mitchell in EastEnders in 2002. However, she reflects that many roles in her twenties felt limiting. "It gets quite dull when you're a young 20 year-old, playing the secretary, or the girl in the village," she admitted.
She credits a shift in the industry over the last decade for the more substantial parts she now enjoys. "I'm getting meatier roles, because writers are allowed to tell stories from the point of view of the woman... stories that are a bit messier and more complex." This resurgence is evident in her recent work in dramas like The Drowning, The Holiday, and the upcoming thriller Number One Fan with Sally Lindsay.
Navigating Heartbreak and Finding Acceptance
While her career thrives, Halfpenny's personal life has been marked by tragedy. In 2017, her partner Matt Janes, 43, died from a heart attack, echoing the loss of her father Colin to a heart attack when she was a child. She channelled her experience of grief into her memoir, A Life Reimagined, published last year.
Her aim was to offer a personal perspective often missing from professional guides. "I would have loved to have heard from a normal person who had lost someone... Even things like what you do when someone dies. All the paperwork, how you book a funeral. It's all shrouded in secrecy," she explained.
Now living by the sea in the North East with her 17-year-old son Harvey, and dating 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 are available on ITVX.
