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PA – Nicole (Maimie McCoy)

Born to wealth, privilege and education, Rachel is a searing intellect, possesses an extraordinary business ability and has an extremely unselfconscious and eccentric attitude to life. Combining that with a look and a demeanour that can only be described as "ageing toff meets Amy Winehouse", she's a no-nonsense force to be reckoned with at Hartmann Payne.

"It's not everyday you get asked to play a mad upper-class lesbian who wears vintage Chanel and speaks Latin most of the time," says Emily, with a grin.

"I have to say we've worked very hard on Rachel's look and I would say the main elements of my performance are my hairdo and my almost belt-like mini skirts.

"The hairdo is a cross between a posh toff and Amy Winehouse. It is very big hair and as a junior member of the cast – who shall remain nameless – told me, it's also rather ageing.

"We wanted Rachel to look posh and imperious but slightly slutty – although she's not a sexy person at all.

"She's not unlike actors I've seen from bygone generations in that she's larger than life and not afraid of being very camp and over-the-top. I suppose she's based on an amalgam of people I know, but one person who has definitely ended up in Rachel is actually a relative of mine.

"I had a mad Italian grandmother who was rather stylish and used to wear clumpy Gucci shoes with amazing handbags and her way of being warm was always to be rather brusque and grumpy."

As Emily explains, Rachel has never had a dark day in her entire life. She takes life upfront and full on and, from her very first scene, it quickly becomes clear that this grandiose businesswoman is an one-off.

"I have a scriptwriter friend who always tells me to look at the way a character is introduced because that determines your impact in the story. If it's a very well written introductory scene everything about that character should be contained in that first moment.

"Rachel's first moment is her flashing her breasts at a bunch of builders in the street and running off guffawing to herself. So I thought it doesn't get much better or more high impact than that. She's just someone who is entirely without fear."

Whilst she may be unpredictable, Rachel is a good boss and with her PA Nicole shares a warm, genuine relationship based on mutual respect.

"It's strangely maternal but only in a very indirect way because Rachel's not a maternal person at all. But there is a lot of respect there, maybe because she sees some of her younger self in Nicole.

"However, generally when it comes to the PAs, Rachel does behave like a man sometimes. She's highly predatory, but in not in an indirect way like women are. She is pretty blatant and touches bottoms and makes lewd comments. She's like a lad basically, a Latin-talking lad."

Despite her playfulness, Rachel is in a long-standing, loving, monogamous lesbian relationship and is also in the fortunate position to be working because she loves it and she's good at it. She sure doesn't need the money.

"When I first read the script what I loved about Personal Affairs is that it's definitely not bland, plus I loved how entirely unselfconscious Rachel was and that she doesn't pander to other people's neuroses and isn't even sensitive to them.

"She's like a bull in a china shop and I was kind of in the mindset already when I got the part as I'd just played a mad upper-class nymphomaniac in a play called Ring Round The Moon in the West End, which I thought was a step in the right direction towards Rachel."

However, while Rachel is at home wherever she rests her vintage Chanel clutch-bag, actress Emily admits she'd struggle with office life.

"I'm quite hyperactive and need to be on the move. I wouldn't be able to sit still for a whole day. No way. I'd rather be a bicycle courier than sat in an office," says Emily, who has also starred in Auf Wiedersehen Pet and played the lead in historical drama Catherine The Great.

Her next project is for the big screen, a movie called Secrets Of Love which is due to shoot next spring in New Orleans.

"It's a dark strange story, a thriller about a very corrupt cop played by Malcolm McDowell. And yet again I am playing a lesbian who is slightly on the edge," she adds, laughing. "However, she's not posh and she's in a very different world to Rachel. There definitely won't be big hair and vintage sugar-mouse-pink Chanel miniskirts in that one!"