I’m facing my biggest challenge yet on ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ – impersonating Justin Bieber!

Hi everyone,

Wowsers! So sorry I’ve not spoken to you guys recently, I’ve been running around like a headless chicken. Thank you so much for reading my blog.

I’m feeling a little bit like I have multiple personalities at the moment because I’m in Your Face Sounds Familiar. I’ve impersonated Britney, Kate Bush, Alicia and this week I’ve been Justin Bieber!

Matt and I – he did a great Elvis impersonation

Taking part in the show has been absolutely amazing! As I’ve said before it’s such a lovely show to work on because the people are great fun and incredibly supportive. I feel like each week the shows are getting better and better and the performances have been incredible!

Matt’s Elvis, Cheryl’s Meatloaf, Bobby’s Ozzy, Denise’s Tina and Xander’s Jonny Rotten were all brilliant! When you consider we only really get five days from the randomiser selection to become our person, it really shows how talented everyone is and how much of a challenge we have week to week.

Me as Britney

Although I absolutely loved being Britney, it was a hard performance because my microphone kept going into my mouth while I was singing which was so off putting!

Nevertheless the drama school student in me kept shouting to keep going, which in the end paid off as I went on to win £10,000 for my chosen charity, Bliss. I was extremely overwhelmed and shocked because I was genuinely happy to just to have got through the performance without stopping!

My Kate Bush hair!

I was even more shocked to have won a second week with my performance as Kate Bush. Because I have a background in musical theatre, I felt quite comfortable performing the song Wuthering Heights due to its theatrical nature. I did think everyone else’s performances were brilliant and extremely entertaining. It was such a mixed bag and I for one definitely couldn’t have called the final three. Again I was incredibly grateful as another £10,000 for my charity which really will make a huge difference.

I fear I may not be as lucky this week, as the randomiser dealt me Justin Bieber and although I was thrilled to get him because I really wanted the challenge of performing as a guy, it’s going to be the toughest week yet.

Nevertheless I will give it my all and try to enjoy the experience as much as possible as we only have two weeks of the show left

The weeks are flying by!

Speak soon.

Love Natalie xx

Having a laugh on ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ — Katy Perry was a challenge!

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for reading my blog.

What a week! I hope you all enjoyed the first live show of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’. My nerves were playing havoc with me all day leading up to it, but I ended up having the best night. It was so much fun, especially the end when we got to press the ‘randomiser’.

Although being Katy Perry was a good laugh and I loved the costume, I was also quite happy to say goodbye to her as she proved to be quite a challenge for me.

I was so desperate to find out who I was going to be this week — I was almost jumping up and down with excitement. It was such a surprise to see Britney, Justin Beiber and Madonna on the screen. Secretly I was hoping that I’d have to be Justin as I think it would have been great fun, but also a huge challenge to impersonate a teenage all singing, all dancing male.

Nevertheless it’s been brilliant being Britney Spears! I’m a huge Britney fan and in a roundabout way I’ve been given the opportunity to indulge my guilty pleasure of singing and dancing about to Britney classics (which normally would take place when pyjama clad inside my house or in a very dark nightclub after a cheeky wine or two).

The costume and the choreography were amazing. We really do have such a fantastic creative team working on the show, I feel incredibly spoilt. I also loved the blonde hair.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy the performance on Saturday. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts and comments.

Keeping everything crossed that it all goes well. Speak soon!

Lots of love,

Natalie xx

Freddie’s first few days at nursery, he’s growing up so fast!

Hello lovely readers,

Thanks for checking out my blog.

Last week Freddie started nursery! I have to say that although I was extremely excited for him to start making new friends and learning, I was also quite sad as it was another step towards facing the fact that my little boy isn’t a baby anymore.

I can’t believe he’s nearly one, the year just seems to have flown by. My lovely best friend Donna has just given birth to a little girl (Emily), it seems like literally two minutes ago that we were finding our feet with Freddie in those first few weeks.

It’s such a special time and I keep saying to Donna “Don’t rush anything”, just enjoy each day as it won’t be long before she’s climbing all over you and trying to talk, which of course is great fun but is very different to sitting and staring at your baby, eagerly waiting for a new expression, move or noise.

However, I am so excited to see what Freddie gets up to with his new friends at nursery.

The assistants tell me he’s very animated and musical… I have absolutely no idea where he gets that from, ha ha

Hope you managed to catch the first live show of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ on Saturday night? Did you enjoy it? I’d love to know what you thought!

Love Natalie xx

The Queen looked absolutely amazing at Royal Ascot, I have so much admiration for her

Hi everyone,

Hope you’ve had a great week.

I wanted to share a couple of pictures of my very glamorous day out at Royal Ascot.

James and I were invited by our lovely friends Barbara Wilkinson and Karin and Peter Swann last weekend. Despite the weather being typically British – in other words freezing for June – we had the most wonderful time.

I was incredibly unlucky when it came to the betting as I decided to go do my homework and back the favourites, however I wished I’d gone with my Grandma’s technique of picking a horse either by its name, or the colour of the jockeys silks because none of my horses won!

Nevertheless we had great fun and it was fantastic to see all the gorgeous outfits and hats. As we were in the Royal Enclosure, we also got to see the Queen who looked absolutely amazing in a powder blue ensemble.

I have so much admiration for the Queen and was so thrilled that she’d won earlier in the week as it gave the whole event an added sense of excitement.

Speak to you all soon!

Love Natalie xxx

I’m loving every minute of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ – I can’t believe it airs on Saturday night!

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for reading my blog and for all of your sweet comments, I really appreciate them.

The weeks seem to be flying by at the moment. It’s been all go again, what with juggling Emmerdale, Your Face Sounds Familiar and finding Freddie a nursery…eek!

I can’t believe Your Face Sounds Familiar goes live on ITV1 at 7.30pm THIS Saturday night. I have to say that the nerves are really kicking in now as we’ve had choreography sessions, vocal sessions and costume fittings and it’s suddenly all got very real.

I’m performing as Katy Perry this week, which although has been great fun so far, it’s also been extremely challenging, as Katy’s voice is not one that I’ve naturally been able to pick up.

I’ve had to work quite hard at getting her sound and although I’m getting there with it, the minute I add the choreography to the performance it all seems to go out of the window….oh dear! Fingers crossed once I get the costume on and I’m on the set with all of the dancers and lights etc, it will come.

Everyone at Your Face Sounds Familiar is absolutely lovely! The production staff have been so brilliant, juggling rehearsals with my schedule at Emmerdale. It definitely feels like a home from home as Emmerdale is such a lovely place to work too, I feel incredibly spoilt!

The other contestants (Denise Lewis, Bobby Davro, Alexander Armstrong, Matt Johnson and Cheryl Fergison) are so much fun. We’ve had such a laugh together, learning routines and filming videos, it’s been really lovely to get to know each other. I’m really looking forward to spending the next 6 weeks with everyone.

James and I enjoyed a really fab visit to Royal Ascot last week and I’ve got some lovely photos to share with you all on the blog next time.

Speak soon!

Love from Natalie xxx

Exclusive details about the new ITV show that i’ll be singing on

Hello lovely readers,

Since I’ve been back from my lovely relaxing break, it’s been all go with numerous trips to London because alongside Emmerdale I’m also working on a new ITV show called Your Face Sounds Familiar. Basically it’s a Saturday night singing show with a twist and i’m very excited to be taking part! There are six contestants who have to perform live as a different music icon every week, with the artist being completely random – I have no idea who I’m going to end up being, I just know I have a week to ‘become’ that person – vocally and visually!

I had to have my face cast for the programme in case they need to make any prosthetics

Although I do sing this is a huge challenge because impersonating someone is a completely different skill, but one that I’m really looking forward to learning and most importantly it’s an opportunity for me to raise awareness and much needed funds for a charity that is very close to my heart, Bliss, for babies born too soon, too small, too sick. T

The show starts at the end of the month but we are very busy getting ready for it, my high/low light has been having a face cast done in case we need any prosthetics making. For someone who has a fear of being suffocated, let me tell you it was hell! Having at least an inch thick of liquid rubber set onto your face before then having it paper mached is not my most favourite experience and I have to say I did struggle as I also had a terrible cold, but the production staff were amazing and really helped to keep me calm. Well we’ve got roughly 3 weeks before we go live, so I’ll keep you posted with how it’s going and whether the nerves are kicking in.

I tried my hand at cricket last weekend

The weather was perfect for the Emmerdale cricket team’s charity match against the West Yorkshire police at Headingley stadium in Leeds this weekend. Despite only having played cricket once before, I somehow managed to get myself roped into being in the team. Now I’m not sure if either a) this cricket lark isn’t actually as hard as the boys were making out, b) I just got lucky with where I decided to stand or c) the boys had actually strategically positioned me away from where the ball was likely to go – I didn’t seem to do very much except stand and top up my tan in the sun and do the odd little jog backwards to widen the fielding range. Either way I had a very enjoyable time even though we lost. We finished the day in a very nice beer garden, eating and drinking in the sun….lovely!

Speak very soon!

Love Natalie xx

My holiday photos from our family trip to Dubai and the Maldives

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog and for all your comments.

It’s been a few weeks since my last post because I’ve been on holiday with my lovely family. I was so excited and really ready for it as I’d been so busy with Emmerdale and various other things that I was starting to feel really run down, and I have to say that fortunately I wasn’t disappointed! We went to the Maldives and Dubai, a trip that James and I have done before but as you can imagine was a little more daunting with our 10-month-old son Freddie. Thankfully my amazing mum was with us, so I felt a little less nervous.

It was great all round as my mum got to spend some time with Freddie inventing all kinds of new games, with his favourite being ‘monsters sleeping’. She pretended to be a sleeping giant and then frightened him when she woke up!  He seems to enjoy being frightened and frightening other people at the moment – his first proper word and action is ‘boo!’

He suddenly started doing it to everyone whilst we were away, I’m not quite sure what that says about James and I as parents, ha ha. Having my mum around was also lovely because James and I were able to have a bit of time together too. We celebrated his birthday with dinner in a restaurant that was on stilts over the sea, which was gorgeous.

I have to say thank you so much to everyone who sent messages to me about what to pack etc, your advice was fantastic! We really did have a smooth time of it as Freddie had everything he needed and really enjoyed himself. The hotels that we stayed at were also brilliant with him. They both had baby packs for us with extra toiletries and a pushchair for us to loan which made things so much easier when packing and travelling. I’m definitely much more confident now about travelling with Freddie, I think as long as your organised and you get the essentials packed, you’re fine.

I’ve got another very busy week this week, another This Morning trip and of course back to the day job at Emmerdale!

Lots of love,

Natalie

Baby showers, This Morning and my own little water baby!

Thank you soooo much for reading my blog!! This week has definitely been very busy!

My best friend Donna’s baby shower finally arrived and despite the weather we had a brilliant time!! We decorated and planned everything ourselves which was such good fun as we got to have a bit of bonding time and we managed to just about stick to the ‘Arabian Princess Tea Party’ theme which i was thrilled about…I love it when a plan comes together! Donna received some beautiful gifts and it was so lovely to see her with her family and friends, who are all getting very excited for the arrival of her baby girl. I have to say one of my favourite things was getting to spend some time with my amazing friends. I often liken our friendship to a marriage as we’ve been together for 20 years and still love each other just as much as we did when we were young, perhaps even more so now. We’ve gone through school, university, weddings, babies and heartbreak together and come out the other side still smiling and as strong as ever. I think what’s special about our group is that we are so individual, we all bring something completely different to the table which makes for a very interesting dynamic…and some very interesting arguments/situations/moments of mischief over the years ha ha.

I had a visit to This Morning with some of the other Emmerdale cast members this week. Its always so  lovely to see Phil and Holly as they are so nice. I have to be very honest and say I’m a little bit in awe of both of them but for very different reasons. I think Philip Schofield is simply amazing, he’s such a fantastic presenter, he’s always so calm and collected and seems completely unflappable, especially when he’s live.  Holly is just gorgeous, I genuinely spent half of the time she was speaking to me thinking ‘oh my god she’s so beautiful!’. It’s a wonder I actually came up with anything to say. I think she’s a fantastic role model for young women. She juggles work and motherhood and always seems like she’s having good fun, whilst remaining completely professional. She’s definitely the girl you’d like to be friends with.

This morning Matthew Wolfenden and I did a couple of interviews for Daybreak and Lorraine. As we were in the Emmerdale studios it was a ‘down the line’ live link, which is always a bit weird as you can only hear the presenters. You also have to wear an earpiece so that you can hear the director in the gallery down at the London studios. This always makes me feel a little bit crazy as you’ll be having a conversation and suddenly you start hearing voices and people counting down as they get ready to throw to you for your feature. In January I covered the very lovely Richard Arnold’s Entertainment slot on daybreak which was such good fun and a huge learning experience. Having the responsibility of delivering the latest showbiz news in a live environment was quite nerve wracking so much so that even now hearing the daybreak music still gives me butterflies.

Freddie had his final Water Babies lesson this week, which was really sad because it made me realise how much he’s grown and that he’s not a baby anymore. We first started his classes when he was just 11 wks old as we knew we were going on holiday and I wanted him to be confident in the water. I’m so glad we did it whilst he was so young as now he absolutely loves having his baths and swimming. With the Water Babies course you can opt for your child to take part in an under water photo shoot, which we chose to do. It was absolutely amazing to see my little baby, under water and swimming by himself despite only being a matter of months old. I admit I did cry when I saw the picture as he looked so independent!

He’ll definitely be able to put all of his lessons into practice next week as we will finally be on our hols, which means that it will probably be a few weeks before you hear anything from me…enjoy the peace I say ha ha! Love Natalie xx

‘Great Gatsby’ inspired outfit planning and Freddie’s first holiday

Hello everyone,

Hope you’re enjoying my blog. Make sure you leave your comments and any questions for me on here and i’ll do my best to reply to them.

It’s been a bag of pick and mix this week!

Illness, sunshine, filming, photoshoots and the return of….RAIN!! I have never felt more ready for a holiday. Thankfully we will be heading off to the Maldives and Dubai for our first family holiday with Freddie very soon. I am so excited although a little overwhelmed as to what to take.

If I had my way there would be no luggage allowance and I could take my whole kitchen and Freddie’s bedroom to be sure I have everything I need for him, but alas this is not the case and I MUST stick to the airline restrictions! I’ve almost mastered the art of travelling light so fingers crossed I will be able to do the same for Freddie.

When he was born very dear friends of ours bought Freddie his first passport holder, it is so cute and I can’t wait to put his passport in it. I have to say getting the picture for his passport was an experience in itself! Trying to get an 8-month-old little boy to sit still and look straight at the camera with a blank expression is the hardest thing in the world and it took a ridiculous amount of attempts, which created quite a scene in our local post office. In the end we went to a photographer who literally got it in one shot. I definitely recommend others do the same to save yourselves from feeling like the most inept parent in the world, whilst people queue for foreign exchange and stamps!

I’m so excited for our trip because juggling the Emmerdale filming schedule, Freddie, home improvements and a new project I’m working on has definitely taken its toll this week and left me with the worst cold! I have been walking around the studios stinking of Olbas oil and carrying a handbag that could put Boots out of business with its contents!

Thankfully the beginning of the week was so lovely and sunny and we were filming outside, so I was able to get some much needed Vitamin D in between takes. The Emmerdale village is such a beautiful place to work when it’s sunny (but horrendous when it’s cold and it is mostly cold) it puts everyone in a great mood! We were slapping on the sun cream because it was so hot. I always laugh at our crew when they get really bad t-shirt tans.

I also managed to do a lovely photoshoot this week with Fiona Wade (who plays Priya) and Matthew Wolfenden this week, which was great fun because it was inspired by the release of Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of  F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Now we all know I love a bit of old fashioned glamour so you can imagine I was completely in my element with all of the clothes and head pieces, not to mention the jewellery! They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, well I definitely made friends with an amazing pair of earrings!

It’s the British Soap Awards next week and i’m thinking of taking a little bit of inspiration from the shoot for my hair and makeup. Dark eyes and softly curled hair will hopefully work with the dress I’ve chosen. I’m so excited to see the film as I’m a huge fan of both Baz Luhrmann and Leonardo DiCaprio, and of course the era in which the film is set.

James and I also went to our friend’s birthday party, which was really lovely. It was so nice to spend some time together and with our friends. I did a bit of recycling with my outfit as I’d worn the dress the previous week to the ‘Wreck my dress’ experience. I’m so terrible for wearing things to death. Once I find an outfit I love I tend to wear it to everything. I’m a great believer in good value for money!

Well it’s going to be a very busy week next week because it’s my friend Donna’s baby shower, The British Soap Awards and I’m taking a little trip to see Phil and Holly at This Morning. I will definitely get pictures of that to share with you all.

Have a lovely weekend — let me know what you get up to!

Love Natalie xx

A week of filming and glamorous photo shoots

Hello all,

Thanks for reading my blog.

It’s been quite a hectic filming week, but in and amongst the long days I’ve still had chance to partake in the odd bit of fun!

First up, Matthew Wolfenden and I did a very glamorous photo shoot for TV Times magazine to promote our current Emmerdale storyline. We are so used to being in our character clothes that it was actually quite nice to glam up our characters, David and Alicia.

We had such a brilliant team working with us, the gorgeous Lorraine McCulloch styled the shoot, while the very lovely Tally Bookbinder was in charge of hair and makeup. I loved the look — it was very old Hollywood. I’m such a huge fan of that era, as I grew up watching films from the 30s and 40s with my grandad — it’s where my love of acting and musical theatre began. I completely believe my grandad when he used to say it was the ‘Golden Age of Cinema. I’m inspired by the likes of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

I also attended the launch of the ‘Wreck My Dress’ experience in Manchester with some of the other Emmerdale girls this week. It was such a fun evening, not only because of the entertainment but because it was a lovely chance to have a girly night out with a few drinks. As we all have a lot of early starts it’s quite difficult to get us all together on a school night.

The idea behind the event itself is absolutely brilliant! Basically the ‘Wreck My Dress’ experience gives people the opportunity to create their own short film or flashmob piece which they can then use to add a bit of Hollywood to an event. For example, it could be recreating a fight scene from a James Bond film, which is then acted out in the middle of an 18th birthday party or creating a short film starring yourself as a proposal or invitation. I have to say the ‘scene’ at the launch party definitely got my attention — there were fights, fireworks and fake police!

It’s been quite a week for photo shoots as I had another one just this morning. It was so much fun because the clothes were really bright and they totally got me in the mood for summer, especially as we’ve had such a fantastic week of sunshine. It’s always great to have a selection of different looks on shoots as it helps me create different characters as it can feel quite boring just being myself!

One of my favourites from today was a hot pink neoprene dress that had quite a 50s feel (there I go again with the old school glamour) — all I needed was an apron and a cupcake to complete the ‘perfect housewife’ look which is actually quite hilarious because I’m anything but! I’m so terrible at cooking — I can just about manage a very simple spaghetti bolognese but that’s about it!

I also managed to have a good catch up with my friend from school, X Factor’s Carolynne Poole. We were having a laugh about how we used to have to sing duets in school plays….we do quite a good rendition of Enough is Enough (No More Tears).

After a hectic week, I for one am definitely looking forward to the bank holiday weekend. Hope you all have a great time and let me know what you get up to!

Love Natalie x