Gillian Kearney swaps Casualty for courtroom drama in new daytime series Justice, screening this week on BBC1... Do you miss Casualty? "Definitely. I really enjoyed my time on Casualty, everyone is lovely to work with. It was the same with Shameless. I'd a great laugh on both." Would you ever return to Casualty? "I've no plans to return at the moment, as I had a baby in August. But Casualty is a really great show so if they asked me, I'd never say never!" Justice was made in Liverpool, did that make it easier to balance motherhood and work? "It was great to be at home in Liverpool. Justice was filmed in the run-up to Christmas so not only did I have a great part, I also got to see old friends. It was really fun! With acting you're either in or out of work so, in some ways, it's the ideal profession to have a baby. If I'm learning lines I can take the baby out in his pram and be with him while I'm going over the script." You play local journalist Louise Scanlon. What research did you do for the role? "I spent time at the Echo. It used to be called the Liverpool Mercury and I was shown the presses and old newspapers. It was really interesting. For the role I spent a lot of time observing journalists as they worked, to see how they went about it. It was really helpful." How are we introduced to your character? "When we first meet Louise her editor has just taken her off her duties as a court correspondent and insists she cover the new public justice centre - so her nose is out of joint!" But then she discovers a story she can get her teeth into? "Yes! Her editor shows her a memo revealing the community court is facing closure and she realises this story is much more sensational than it first seems." Louise spends most of her time digging up dirt on maverick judge, Patrick Colburn. What does she discover? "As soon as she meets Judge Coburn (Robert Pugh) she instinctively knows he's hiding something. She wonders if the judge is a hypocrite and smells a sensational story. It turns out he has a very dark secret, which led him to leave Liverpool many years before - but I can't reveal what it is!" Can you tell us how they eventually end up on the same side? "They realise local criminal boss Jake Little (Jake Abrahams) is a far greater evil. Jake is powerful and has the community in a terrifying grip of fear, so they become united in trying to bring him down together."
