Jo Joyner plays Beth Nicholls...

At first sight, Beth appears little more than a sex kitten whose eye is always on the next man with a large wallet.

"Beth is one of the laziest nurses, she looks after number one and will do as little as possible, unless there's something in it for her - and then she'll work extremely hard!" laughs Jo.

"She's got a lot of sides to her though, and I like the contradictions. She's quite feisty, but thinks nothing of using her feminine side - she likes to look good, wear short skirts, but she can be tough and mouthy."

"She's a faithful friend when the chips are down, but that doesn't mean she doesn't sometimes break the important codes of sisterhood! As for her morals, I like to think she's not vindictive, just somewhat selfish, and quite misunderstood."

Despite the characters' close living proximity, it isn't always plain sailing with the girls' relationships - Beth and Kate certainly have their differences. However Jo feels there is more to their conflicts than meets the eye.

"They definitely have more in common than you see on the surface. Beth's hang-ups with Kate arise from jealousy. She sees a lot of her qualities in Kate, and feels that if she had been from a loving, secure and affluent family like she assumes Kate has, she could have been like her. It's a complete lack of empathy on both sides."

Beth is a survivor, but despite the outer veneer, inside she has many complications, particularly with men. "I think she's definitely got issues with sex. Sex doesn't mean to Beth what it means to healthy, confident, happy women. She uses it as a way to get some sort of security that she misinterprets in the form of money, when actually security, good friendship and a good man would be better."

While preparing for the role of Beth, Jo spent a day shadowing a nurse and she has nothing but admiration for the profession. "It's a real vocation, nursing. Everybody knows that you don't do it for the money. The issues they have to deal with, and the hours they work, are incredible.

When you are on a ward with them, you realise that they just don't sit down; and the attention they manage to give to so many people and still keep their energies up - it’s incredible."