Gaynor Faye had reservations about joining 'The Syndicate' cast in case she was targeted with nepotism claims.
Gaynor Faye
The 49-year-old actress' mum Kay Mellor created the BBC One series and Gaynor was initially reluctant about trying out for the drama for fear that people might say she had only landed the part of Cheryl Armitage because her mother had written the show.
Gaynor - who has starred in several of her mum's productions before, including 'Playing the Field' and 'Fat Friends' - said: "It was written when I was in 'Emmerdale'.
"So it was one of the things, I suppose she asked me if I would play the character and I didn't want to slip back into that old, boring, 'You're only doing it because your mum has written it,' the nepotism thing.
"But I thought, 'I haven't been in her world for 13 years and I'm available and I'm an out of work actress, and the character is there.
"She's a great character and I thought, 'Am I going to sit there and watch someone else do it? No, I'm going to do it.'
"I did the usual, I auditioned and did my self-tape and the BBC said yes."
The new series of 'The Syndicate' tells the story of a group of kennel workers who scoop the jackpot on the lottery, but it was initially going to be about a group of hairdressers until Kay acquired a shih-tzu dog, Happy.
Gaynor said: "It was five hairdressers from Hull and it turned out to be five kennel workers from Leeds.
"She got a dog and my mum and dad have just fallen in love with dogs now.
"Happy is number one."
Production on the programme was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Gaynor admitted the cast were "quite anxious" about having COVID-19 tests amid filming, but the process brought the cast "closer".
She said: "It was really hard. We had to do COVID tests and it was postponed for a while before we did the production.
"But we didn't have to stop, thankfully.
"It was difficult, and a lot of the time we were quite anxious having the COVID tests and we had a COVID doctor always on tap, who was wonderful.
"Kay was very conscious that she wanted it ['The Syndicate'] not to be a COVID world and complete escapism from what we're in, because it's horrendous what we've been through.
"It was tough, but we got through and I think it brought us closer."
What's more, Gaynor always calls her mother Kay while they are working together and mum when they are off set to remain professional.
Speaking on 'Lorraine', the former 'Emmerdale' actress added: "I love going, 'Am I dealing with Kay or Mum today?
"On set, we've always had a professional working relationship. It's important for the rest of the cast.
"Everybody knows we're related, but it has to be professional."
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