Samantha Giles says her spell kits are like "self-help" for people amid the UK's cost of living crisis.
Samantha Giles says her spell kits are like 'self-help' for people amid the UK's cost of living crisis
The 'Emmerdale' actress practices Wicca, a form of witchcraft, and sells spell kits on her website, which she has have proved popular lately as people are struggling "financially and mentally".
She said: "Because life is so hard at the moment, financially and mentally, for everybody, people are turning to alternative therapies, and my spell kits are one of those things. They are more like self-help.
"It’s all about belief, if you believe something will happen you can manifest it by bringing your belief and putting it out there, and letting it go into the universe. I believe in being positive in everything I do and passing those thoughts to others."
Away from witchcraft, Samantha plays Bernice Blackstock in the ITV soap, which is currently shooting its 50th anniversary episodes ahead of the show's milestone birthday next month.
The 51-year-old star admits she is still taken aback by the "beautiful" scenery in the fictional Yorkshire village on a daily basis.
She said: "We are very busy at the moment with filming it all.
"It’s really exciting. 'Emmerdale' has lasted so long because we have fantastic scenery. People just love looking at the village and it’s breath-taking. I’ve been going to the set for so many years and I still stop and think, ‘This is beautiful’."
But it could've all been different for Samantha as she previously auditioned for the part of Tricia Dingle, which eventually went to Sheree Murphy.
She added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I remember sitting next to Sheree in the audition reception, chatting away. She got the part and was absolutely brilliant and right for it.
"But I was very lucky that the producers came up with another part and offered me Bernice."