Thursday 27 Nov 2014
Liverpudlian Rachel Rae graduated from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts two years ago and plays the baby of the Lunch Monkey's bunch, Shelley.
Rachel says: "Shelley is kind of like a classic Scouser but she is quite vulnerable. She has just come out of school and she is very sweet with an innocence and naivety to her.
"She has a boyfriend called Swanny who is horrible, I wouldn't go out with him. I imagine she has always lived in Liverpool and so, when they move to Manchester, she has to start again, as she has no close friends, or support.
"She fell into a crowd with him so she is impressed because he is a loud mouth but he is definitely not very nice to her.
"I think as the series goes on though, as she meets all these other people in the post room, she sees in life how you should treat each other. She gets treated nicely by other boys so she wonders why, when Darrell is so nice to her, why her boyfriend is horrible.
"So by the end of the series she clicks, and grows up."
Surprisingly throughout the series, Shelley, the most junior of office juniors, forges an unlikely bond with Mike, the boss of firm:
"There is quite a nice relationship from the start between her and Mike, the boss. You wouldn't expect it because they are so different, he is the head of the company and she is a little girl from school, who says what she thinks and doesn't care, but weirdly enough they get on and he's got her back."
And Rachel has really enjoyed the experience of working so closely with experienced actor Nigel Havers, who plays Mike:
"It's been amazing, obviously coming out of drama school you're still learning and you pretend, 'I've got this covered, and I'm alright', but you are still definitely learning. You make mistakes, but working with Nigel I felt like I acted better, he is so natural, he is brilliant!"
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