Renee OConnor

TV Series Xena

"I don't think I realised what a toll some of the elements of the show - like the fighting and some of the character situations where Gabrielle felt violated - would take on me morally," she admits. "I've had this real hesitation to get back into television and now I know why!

"When we were making an episode called The Abyss, the feeling of being persecuted became really powerful. There was a scene where I was just tied up and people had their hands all over my body and they put something in my mouth, and I felt awful! I couldn't believe it could happen on a TV show and it made me so angry, so that was a low point for me,"