12:43pm Monday 8th February 2010
© Press Association 2011
The Bill's Sarah Manners has confessed she was disappointed to be cast as a uniformed police officer when she joined the show.
The former Casualty star plays PC Kirsty Knight, but had hoped to be part of the CID as she believed they were more important.
Sarah said: "When I first auditioned they screen-tested me for CID, which I was thrilled about because it's kind of the more grown up thing, and then after that they put me in uniform and my instant reaction was, 'Oh, I wanted to be CID,' because there's a misconception that CID are more senior to uniform."
But she added: "Of course they're not. They're parallels - they have their sergeants and their constables.
"But as soon as I put the uniform on, I was taken, I love it, putting on your stab vest and your tool belt - it's so empowering, it's really cool."
The 34-year-old already feels close to her character.
She said: "Kirsty is an adrenaline junkie and so am I. In fact shortly before I got The Bill I did a skydive. I'd done a parachute jump previous to that and I'd always wanted to do a skydive.
"I said to them that if I didn't get the role I was waiting to hear back on, I was going to go back and do the instructor course because I wanted to be able to throw myself out of the plane without being attached to some big burly bloke thank you very much!"
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