Friel not angry over 'Brookside' links

Rex Features

Anna Friel has insisted that she does not get annoyed when the media refer to her Brookside days.

The 33-year-old actress admitted that the press often still label her as 'the former Brookside star', in reference to her two-year stint as Beth Jordache on the now-defunct Channel 4 show.

Troubled Beth was involved in some of the programme's most memorable storylines in the '90s, including British soap's first lesbian kiss and the infamous 'body under the patio' plot.

Reflecting on her 'soap star' tag in an interview with The Northern Echo, Friel explained: "To be honest I don't even think about it - there's nothing I can do about that and without that, I wouldn't be where I am today, so you can never look back and wish away your past and labels.

"All you can hope is that people start to link you to other things as well and maybe it will change into 'actress Anna Friel'."

Friel completed work on ABC drama Pushing Daisies last year. She also appears in the forthcoming comedy film Land Of The Lost.