Susan Cookson was "terrified" she wouldn’t be able to stop when she turned stunt driver to film a high-speed car chase in ‘Emmerdale’.
The 54-year-old star performed her own stunt for the scene, which saw her character Wendy Posner involved in a chase on a wet road, and she feared she might not be able to come to a halt because the wheels started locking when she had to make it look like her alter-ego was losing control of the vehicle.
She said: "I did the driving scenes, and I absolutely loved it.
"When I read the script I thought we’d be on a low loader. But I had to drive up and down this road at speed.
"There was nobody else in the car with me.
"I had a two-way radio in the car with me so I was getting some instructions, but by and large the director was telling me before we set off, ‘At this point in the road I need you to do this.’
"We did have the car that was chasing me behind me."
Asked if that was "terrifying", she said: "It was, it really was.
"Because as an actor you go for it and get under the skin of it, and I was getting up to 45mph on this unused road we were on.
"At one point I had to make it look like I was losing control of the car and pull into a muddy lay-by.
"And when I did that bit, we had had a lot of rain, the wheels were locking and I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, am I going to stop?’ "
The former ‘Early Doors’ star admitted she enjoyed filming the segment, but was "exhausted" afterwards.
She added: "It was extremely excited, but I was exhausted by the time we’d finished.
"Because my adrenaline was running and running."
Susan made her debut as Wendy, the mother of Victoria Sugden’s (Isabel Hodgins) rapist Lee (Kris Mochrie), in July.
Before appearing on screen as Wendy, she was excited about all the "gritty" storylines that were heading her way.
She said: "I am thrilled and delighted to be joining the community, both on and off screen, that is ‘Emmerdale’.
"I am also excited about tackling all the gritty and emotional storylines that are ahead for my character Wendy. I’m thrilled to be playing such a fantastic character."
Susan Cookson’s ‘terrifying’ Emmerdale car chase stunt
