Neighbours' Olympia Valance: Christmas in Australia is always like going on holiday

Olympia Valance, Neighbours

Olympia Valance is taking a break from all the Neighbours drama by heading to Indonesia this Christmas...

Neighbours star Olympia Valance, who plays troubled Paige Smith, tells Soaplife she’s leaving the Aussie sunshine for an Indonesian beach this Christmas…

Tell us about your Christmas plans, Olympia… "I’m going to Indonesia for the festivities. I haven’t had a proper holiday for a really long time, so it’ll be nice to get away from it all, although Christmas in Australia is always a bit like being on holiday. It’s hot and sunny, you get to swim in the pool and the big Christmas meal is a barbie! I’ve never actually had a Christmas that hasn’t been like that."

You certainly look beach-body ready! "That’s very nice of you to say so, although I’m not in as good a shape as I was a while back. In 2014, I’d just started modelling for Gossard lingerie and I look back at those photos and that was probably the fittest I’ve ever been!"

You’re not one of those infuriating people who can eat what they like and do nothing, are you? "I wish! No, to be in that kind of shape, I have to train very hard and eat very healthily. I’ll get back into it, but I’m taking it easy at the moment."

What do you call training very hard? "I do a programme called F45. It originated in Australia and it’s a 45-minute work out which has been finely tuned to achieve maximum results in the shortest time possible, and with the most fun and variety. When I get into it, I become a bit obsessed and I do it every day… sometimes twice a day!"

We hear you’ve designed your own range of lingerie for Gossard? "Yes, it’s called the Olympia VIP collection and I’m absolutely thrilled with it. It was so exciting to be involved in the designing process, then getting to model my own range of sexy lingerie! How amazing is that?"

Are there plans for another range? "I’m coming back to the UK early next year and I’ll meet with Gossard and we’ll discuss it then. I’d certainly like to do more designing. It's amazing to see the sketches and colour palettes we started drawing last year become a reality and to now be modelling my own design is a dream come true. I've been transformed from someone who once disliked their curves into someone who embraces them."

Will you see your sister, Holly, when you’re here? "Of course. We see as much of each other as we can, but it’s not that easy as we live on different sides of the world!"