Saying Goodbye to DS Sam Murray
The Skinny caught up with actress and musician Heather Peace. Peace played Detective Sergeant Sam Murray on the just cancelled Lip Service, a show about a group of lesbian friends in Glasgow
Can you put the cancellation of Lip Service in context? It seemed to come a bit out of the blue. Have you got the impression the Scottish lesbian community feels let down by the cancellation?
It actually didn't come out of the blue for us. I thought it was a bit odd that they put the show in a Friday night slot (when most of the demographic are out on the town!) and they also cancelled the late night repeat, which seemed to be very popular? Then they just didn't re-commission and said nothing about it until pushed by the media. It was a bit of a strange way for it all to happen. The fans seem incredibly disappointed and I understand why. Two series of 6, quite frankly, is just a token to the community, not the commitment that they deserved.
How has the rest of the cast and crew reacted to the news?
We are all disappointed. Most of the crew from Lip Service are, funnily enough, now working on Waterloo Road, another show I'm involved with set near Glasgow! So it's been nice to be amongst friends again.
You’ve spoken to us before about Lip Service filling a gap by telling the ‘stories of women.’ One of the criticism’s leveled against Lip Service was that it only represented a small cross-section of lesbians. Are there any lesbian stories you feel we’re not seeing, that you’d like to see being told in the mainstream media?
You can never please everyone. If you tried to show the whole demographic, issues and full cross section, it would be a very cluttered story. The L-word did do that, but they had so many more episodes and a bigger budget in which to do it.
I think it was far more important to portray a story that appealed to everyone, gay and straight. There's no point preaching to the converted. It's much better that people who don't often see girls kissing girls, (except in porn), see this story and can relate to it. It can therefore do way more positive things for us as a community.
You’re one of the only out gay female actors working on a mainstream TV show (Waterloo Road). How has that been? What are the consequences (the benefits and the challenges) that you feel people experience from being out in the British TV industry?
It's been ok. I've only been talking about it because of Lip Service, before that I just didn't really do many interviews unless they were promoting a particular TV show.
I've got to be honest when I say it's a bit boring talking about my sexuality, it's not the whole of me. So many interviews want to concentrate on it. It will be great when the day comes and no one cares. That will be a good day.
The positive side of being out is the reaction from young women coming out. They tell me it has helped. I can't believe that me just talking can have an impact on anyone else's life and what an amazing thing to be able to do if that's the case. Without my visibility I also don't think people would have stumbled across my music. I'm sure they did through an interest in finding out if I was lezza or not! They googled my name and hey presto, they see I'm also a musician!! Brilliant. The community has been incredibly supportive.
Who were your role models in that respect when you were first entering the acting business (and also the music business)?
I can seriously say there weren't any! The thing is, I was acting, singing and writing before I kissed a girl and liked it! I was already at drama school. I didn't talk about my sexuality when I was young as an actress as I had been profusely told not to by a producer. I was told "you are the only female in this show and are there as the totty for the boys, we know you're a lesbian but we'd rather you didn't talk about it." That just wouldn't happen today.
Do you think it’s easier for young women now to imagine themselves as successful, out gay women?
I think you have to just see yourself as a ‘successful woman’ and not let your sexuality play on your mind at all. If you don't see it as something that will hold you back then anyone else who sees it as a disadvantage looks foolish. We as women still have a lot to do to make sure we are treated fairly and equally in comparison to our male peers, so for me that's the challenge.
Tell us a bit about your new single.
The new single Fight For is taken from my debut album Fairytales. It has, however, been given a really nice, fresh remix. The original song I always saw as an album track but really loved the lyrics. The remix has given it a much poppier feel. It's a little ditty about fighting for a relationship, although my fans seem to have given it lots of different meanings to embody the things they generally think are worth fighting for in life. I love it when a song means many things to different people.
How do you balance being an actor and a musician? Do you feel the two industries compliment each other?
I'm not balancing the two very well at the moment. It's been manic. But in my industry you have to be prepared to go all out when chances come along. I'd only be moaning if there was no work around. Both are great jobs and I feel blessed to be doing them. They do compliment each other. The music side is way more stressful because the buck stops with me if it's rubbish. I've enjoyed working on Waterloo Road because I'm not the boss; they tell me when and where and what, and that's been quite comforting because it's what I know! The music is the unknown, but it's really exciting. You never know what's going to happen next. Although, what I do know is that I'm off to tour Australia tomorrow and then I'll return at the beginning of March to start my UK tour. Very exciting.
And finally, will you miss Sam?
Yes. I'll miss her.