Yahoo News Footballers' Wives' Zöe Lucker explains why she returned to show following exit
Footballers' Wives was the iconic early '00s series following the players of the fictitious Premier League team Earls Park Football Club and their wives, as well as the drama on and off the pitch.
It ran from 2002 to 2006, introducing the world to the iconic character of Tanya Turner, who was, as the captain's wife, in charge.
When Tanya actress Zoe Lucker decided to bow out of the show during series four, ratings plummeted, so ITV bosses decided to get her back at all costs, and that meant pulling in a superstar to act opposite her. Naturally, Zoe accepted.
Lucker exclusively told Digital Spy: "I worked with Joan Collins in season five. She's literally my icon. I was in New Zealand at the time and the exec producer, because I'd left halfway through season four, he rang me.
"I was touring in New Zealand and he said, 'How do you feel about coming back if Joan Collins was your nemesis?' And I just thought well, that's a no-brainer."
She admitted that working with Dame Joan Collins was an "absolute highlight" of her career, and it sounds like she is just as delightful as she seems.
Related: Zoe Lucker and Laila Rouass reveal their favourite Footballers' Wives moments
"Working with her was a highlight, absolute highlight of my entire career," Zoe continued. "She's outstanding. I respect her and thought she was just brilliant and funny and lovely and just such a talent."
Lucker recently told the Radio Times that she wouldn't be keen to step back into Tanya's high heels and acrylic nails for a reboot of the series, despite the flurry of interest it has gathered lately with the arrival of the show on Britbox.
"The thing that would worry me is, what if it wasn't as good?" she said. "I always panic about that. The fact that people still talk about it the way they do, I would hate for any of us to go back and for any of us to be disappointed and it would be such a shame."
Footballers' Wives will be available on Britbox from August 26, 2021.
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