Macey stars in a CBBC adaption of Stacey Gregg's best-selling Pony Club Secrets book series... and she still speaks to her Holby screen dad!
Viewers will be familiar with Macey Chipping from her time in popular medical drama Holby City, where she played Fletch's daughter, Evie Fletcher, but she'll be taking on a very different role in CBBC's new eight-part series, Mystic.
The young 16-year-old Brit stars as Issie Brown, a girl who struggles to fit in after moving from Britain to a the fictional peninsula of Kauri Point, New Zealand, with her mother (Laura Patch, After Life) following the death of her father.
Desperately missing her pals back home, a chance encounter with a beautiful wild pony Blaze, and an enigmatic stallion, Mystic, awakens an unexpected and surprising interest in horses and introduces her to a group of horse-mad teenagers.
Yet when an industrial development threatens to destroy their community, their way of life and the landscape they love, the teenagers must find a way to save Kauri Point from environmental disaster. Exploring themes of friendship, growing up and self-discovery, the series also tackles head-on the key issue for young people today: what are we doing to our planet and is it too late to save it?
Ex Hoby City star Macey was over-the-moon to get the role, but not as excited as her friends back in Britain...
"I never read the Pony Club Secrets books when I was a kid, but my friends did," she says. "They were so excited when they found out! When I got the job I read the books and thought they were fantastic. I'm 16 so i was enjoying these children's books way too much!"
Yet Macey's friends got even more excited when they heard they would actually get a chance to feature in the show!
"In the first episode Issie is missing home and video calls her mates," explains Macey. "The director asked if I had any friends I'd like to use for the call and to get them involved, so they’re really excited to see themselves in the show. We’ll definitely be arranging some sort of party to watch the first episode!"
https://youtu.be/2lpyE_0oQ3s
After taking months of horse-riding lessons, Macey was ready for a role that included plenty of action, yet was only able to film eight of 13 episodes before the Coronavirus Pandemic halted production.
"Luckily the eighth episode ends on a bit of a cliffhanger," she explains. "When filming starts again we'll get a chance to shoot the final episodes, which I'm very excited about because there's even more action!"
She still speaks to her Holby City dad!
But the 16 year-old says that even when she's on the other side of the world, she still tries to tune in to Holby City...
"I still watch when I can because I have so many friends on the show," says Macey. "I still speak to my dad in the show, Alex Walkinshaw, Rosie Marcel who plays Jac and lots of the make up-artists. We all need to do a meet up because I haven’t seen them for so long!"
Mystic begins at 5pm on 14th July on CBBC
