There's something I love about this time of year. It's certainly not the cold weather or the nights drawing in at an upsettingly early 3.00pm. Neither is it the shockingly untimely arrival of advent calendars in our shops. No, it's the autumn television schedule. Suddenly after a sparse summer of TV viewing, aside from the yearly Big Brother, we are inundated with a season of fantastic programs.
Sky One's Dream Team is one of those program's that, having got hooked on last season, we've eagerly awaited the return. Our patience has paid off, though, and at last Dream Team is back on our screens. Entering its sixth season now, Dream Team have a new arrival, stunner Rachel Brady. Rachel is probably one of the hottest new talents to emerge from Ireland, already having made a name for herself in Channel 4's Planet Pop, MTV's Daily Chart Show Live and Select and Channel 4's celebrity sport show, Formula 4-Stroke Power Boat Racing. "I play Abi, a physiotherapist in the hospital. So, my character's introduced when everyone's brought into the hospital after the crash. Yes, I definitely have loads of juicy story lines, but I can't tell you! It's all very exciting though." I give up on my futile quest for prying information out of her and we start talking about what Rachel is more frequently associated with – presenting.
It comes as no surprise that, although Rachel began her career as an actress, she quickly became popular on the presenting scene. She's literally just walked off her flight on a Saturday morning and, while the rest of the country is trying to pry itself out of bed, Rachel is as bubbly and energetic as ever. She's a natural talker with a wicked sense of humour. She begins to tell me about her favourite interviews. "Geena Davies was someone I was really excited about meeting," she enthuses. "I was trying to find what it was like with Brad Pitt in 'that scene' in Thelma and Louise, though, and all she wanted to talk about was her latest project." All this is said with a big sigh, but her distress at not finding out about Brad doesn't seem to hold her attention for too long as she blurts out: "Oh, and Sam Mendes was absolutely lovely. Who else? Antonio Banderas." If Rachel's enthusiasm isn't contagious enough, she's certainly caught my attention now with her mentioning of one of the most gorgeous men in Hollywood. Surely Rachel has some inside gossip she can pass on to me? "Well, no, not really. Unfortunately his wife was there too! I was a bit disappointed to see he wasn't all clad in leather either. The last film I saw was Mask of Zorro, so it was a bit disappointing to see him all clean cut!" I completely agree with her view on the unacceptable behaviour of Hollywood stars. While we're on the subject though, I bring up Rachel's first brush with fame; probably the most heavily hyped Irish films of the last half-century, I Went Down. It was her part in this cult movie, which also starred Brendan Gleeson, Peter MacDonald and Peter Caffrey, that kick-started Rachel's career. "Yeh, he was a very nice man," says Rachel of Gleeson. "That was a while back now. It was five years ago, now, you know. I've been in London for the last three and a half years." It's in London that Rachel has really made a name for herself. Although, like many Irish actors and actresses over in London, she still professes a desire to return home. As long as the work is here though, she's happy enough.
Dream Team has been going for six series now, so it's obviously popular. Would Rachel be happy to stay in the multi-award winning drama for a while or is she itching to get back to presenting? "No, I would definitely love to stay in Dream Team. I started off as an actress, so that's my first love really. It's very enjoyable at Dream Team. Everyone's roughly the same age and we all have a good laugh, so yes. You never know though." At the moment, Rachel has no time for anything else except Dream Team. When I speak to her, she is on a production break from the show and heading back home to Dublin to see her friends and family. She's well deserving of a break.
Before Dream Team came about, she was working five days a week as a presenter of a daily magazine show, The Pulse. A live show, there were four presenters researching, scriptwriting and fronting the show, so it was very hands-on and demanding. She seems to have it all. Absolutely beauty combined with a bubbly personality, a great sense of humour plus she's a hard worker. It's no wonder that she was snatched up for Sky One's flagship show, something that has really over the years become an institution in its own right. Just before I leave her to enjoy her holiday, I ask what her plans are for after the series. "I really don't know. At the moment, I don't really have time to think about it and we don't finish filming until March anyway. I'm game for anything really!" Thinking about her last emphatic statement, she adds: "Oh no! I can see the headline now! Please don't use that!"
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