Jackie Woodburne was wrapping up on Neighbours when the show’s creator Jason Herbison approached her to star in his latest project, The Imposter.
After learning more about the character, Helen and her twisted backstory, agreeing to the role was easy for Jackie. While speaking to The Weekly, Jackie shared some insight into her latest role.
“What attracted me to [Helen], apart from the fact that she was a polar opposite of Susan, was because of the opportunity to play someone so different,” she said.
“I think what’s interesting is the notion that this woman has lived her life in a sense of regret and resentment. She feels she had this sliding doors moment in her youth, and she went through the wrong door.”
Despite being set in a beautiful coastal Victorian town, The Imposter is a dark and complicated story about family. Helen, the matriarch of the family, owns a successful seaside hotel – one she refuses to sell despite the pressure from her three children.
But what Helen’s children don’t know is that she gave up a daughter for adoption decades before. So her sudden arrival into town sparks a family feud.
Playing Helen’s daughter, Amanda is Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh, a role she “absolutely nailed” according to Jackie.
“My gosh, we had some fun. We were texting each other just the other day – very naughty text! Within five minutes, we had just a lovely rapport. We spoke the same language,” Jackie gushed.
Another well-known name signed on to star in The Imposter was Dannii Minogue. Despite their reputations in the Australian entertainment industry, Jackie and Dannii were yet to cross paths.
Dannii’s older sister, Kylie Minogue even starred in Neighbours before Jackie’s time as Charlene Robinson from 1986 to 1988. Jackie, however, didn’t join until 1994.
“I hadn’t met Dannii. But she was quite anxious initially because she hadn’t done acting for quite a long time,” Jackie reflected, referring to Dannii’s last acting appearance on Home and Away in 2003.
“She was delightful to work with, she had great ideas and wonderful energy. We had a great time, kicking ideas around and trying to come up with the best way to play the scene. She’s just a pleasure to be with.”
One nerve-wracking idea for Jackie was the realisation that people would soon be watching a project that she poured her heart into, but also a character that challenged her.
“It’s that thing where you’re so invested in something and you’re so immersed in it – then it’s done. Suddenly, it’s like ‘oh, now we’re actually going to see what we were doing all those weeks.’ It’s a little bit nerve wracking,” she confessed to The Weekly.
When The Weekly spoke to Jackie, Neighbours was preparing to air its final episode ever. With the longest-running Australian soap done and dusted, Jackie said it was a “very sad” moment for all the “fans who kept us on air all those years.”
“I think Jason wrapped it up really well. He left it a bit hopeful. The first time the show was axed, it was a very emotional, heartbreaking end to the show. It was very different. This time, we just wanted to be sure that we were taking every care to tell the best story and please as many viewers as we could,” she said.
“I was just very happy that we didn’t go down the whole suburb gets swallowed by a sinkhole, or taken by aliens [plot]! It was lovely.”
When does The Imposter premiere?
The Imposter is a four-part series, airing over two nights. Part one and part two releases on Sunday, December 21 at 8pm on 10. Part three and part four premieres on Monday, December 22 at 8:30pm at 10.
