Bill Star Gary Lucy Settles Down With Lover Nat and Their Daughter
By LAURA DAVIDSON
He’s The Bill’s hunky young cop about town with a string of women falling at his feet. But in real life former ladies’ man Gary Lucy says he’s left behind his wild, womanising days to settle into life as a dad.
The former Footballers’ Wives star made a big impact when he revved up to Sun Hill on his motorbike as cocky PC Will Fletcher last December.
The maverick rookie has already bedded blonde Honey Harman (Kim Tiddy) and has now set his sights on Emma Keane (Melanie Gutteridge).
But unlike Fletcher, Gary, 24, says his days of playing the field are over. These days he only has eyes for two women – girlfriend Natasha Gray, 26, and their eight-month-old daughter India Jasmine.
Gary said: "We’re loving every minute with the little one. It’s great being a dad.
"I was there when India was born and it was an absolutely unforgettable experience.
"She’s getting more and more responsive as the days go on. She’s sitting up and smiling and giggling and I can’t wait for her to start talking. It will be lovely to hear her call me dad.
"It’s a really strange but a great experience, like nothing else I’ve ever known.
"Life is very different these days. Whenever I’m off work I try to take the opportunity to catch up on sleep because having a baby is so tiring – I don’t think I realised how much.
"Even sitting at home in front of the TV is different because the only thing I watch now is Bear in the Big Blue House."
Gary’s quiet family life is a million miles removed from the celeb lifestyle he enjoyed in his late teens and early 20s after hitting the big time in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.
He said: "I was just enjoying myself like every other bloke my age but I did make a conscious decision to step away from all the celebrity parties eventually.
"I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy going to some of them but it was just getting ridiculous.
"I think I realised that it was pushing me away from what I was meant to be concentrating on, which is acting, so I just knocked it on the head.
"I don’t miss it at all. These days if I suffer from a lack of sleep it’s for other reasons. It’s more likely to be because the baby’s been up all night rather than me going out drinking until all hours."
Gary’s alter-ego Will is in the thick of things in The Bill. He had a steamy night with PC Honey Harman and now the sexual chemistry hots up between him and fellow cop Emma Keane.
They end up sharing a kiss but their path to romance is a bumpy one. Emma has a boyfriend, Matt, and she’ll have to decide which one is the right bloke for her.
As well as battling for Emma’s affections, Will has another fight on his hands when he’s asked to join PC Dan Casper (Chris Jarvis) to represent Sun Hill in the inter-services boxing contest.
Gary added: "That was great fun to film. Although you wouldn’t get me in the ring for love nor money, I’ve actually done boxing training for years. It’s the best form of exercise in my opinion and a good way to get rid of pent-up aggression.
"If you come across someone who irritates you, you can just go and take it out on a punchbag.
"Chris really got into the training as well. At first he didn’t know what he was doing but now he’s down the gym a few times a week."
The Bill is Gary’s first regular telly slot since quitting as Kyle Pasco in Footballers’ Wives almost two years ago.
As one of the original cast members, he pioneered the glam show which quickly became must see TV after its 2002 launch.
Gary left after almost three years but admits he does miss some of the perks of the job.
He said: "It was a laugh to pretend that you could live a footballer’s lifestyle. We filmed in some fantastic locations and had some great toys to play with.
"These days in The Bill I’m either driving about in a police car or running through a council estate with kids screaming abuse at me.
"It’s a bit different from pulling up to your multi-million pound mansion in a Ferrari."
There will be a spot of deja vu, however, when one of Gary’s former co-stars joins The Bill later this year.
Gillian Taylforth, Kyle’s mum Jackie in Footballers’ Wives, is turning up at Sun Hill as a tough-talking sergeant.
"It’ll be great to work with her again," said Gary. "She’s such a lovely lady and what you see is what you get with her. In saying that, she’s playing one of my bosses, so she’ll probably be telling me off – not too unlike Footballers’ Wives, I suppose."
Gary’s call-up for The Bill followed on from his appearance in the ITV two-parter She’s Gone, opposite his acting hero Ray Winstone.
Casting directors called to ask if he could ride a motorbike… and Gary admits he may have initially told a little porkie on that front.
He said: "I said it wouldn’t be a problem riding a motorbike but I’d never actually sat my bike test and thought, ‘Oh God, I’d better get a move on’.
"Thankfully, I passed before my first day on set because they wanted me to ride the bike that day.
"I must admit I was a bit disappointed when I saw Will’s bike. It’s not very impressive. It kind of chugs along, a bit like a hairdryer on wheels.
"I’ve got my own Honda CBR 600 which is a fantastic toy. It can be a very dangerous machine and I’m very aware of that, so I’m careful but it’s great fun and it’s fab for zipping through the traffic. It cuts my commute to work by half.
"I keep pestering the crew to let me use my own bike in the show instead of Will’s hairdryer but they’re having none of it."
It’s probably just as well. Gary, who admits he’s had more than his fair share of speeding tickets over the years, says the role has made him turn over a new leaf and keep a close eye on his speedometer.
He laughed: "I’m a responsible copper these days – well, kind of – so I’ve got to be careful."
(c) 2006 Sunday Mail; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.