We sat down with Ali Bastian — actress, performing arts school founder and Hollyoaks icon — to talk about beating cancer, building something new in West Cork, and why she thinks TV owes women so much more than a “Sexiest Female” trophy.
“Your Body and Your Mind Have to Believe It”
It has been a year since Ali Bastian finished radiotherapy, bringing to a close a long and gruelling breast cancer treatment journey. She is cancer-free, she is busy, and she is (cautiously) gratefully looking forward.
“It feels great, but your body and your mind have to believe it. There’s always an underlying fear of recurrence, and it’s just about learning to manage that. When you know it can happen, of course it can happen — but you just soldier on and try to be fine. Whatever fine looks like.”
What has helped most, she says, is keeping moving, in every sense.
“I think that’s partly why I’ve got so busy. The new performing arts school, the rescue dog, life is enjoyable right now.”
bingo sites worth your time
Ranked and Reviewed ✅
“It’s Ignited Something in Me That Was Always There”
Two weeks after rescuing a Border Collie from The Haven in Tipperary, Ali and her family launched a performing arts school in West Cork teaching dance, drama and singing to local children and adults. It was, she says, a long time coming.
“I’m absolutely loving it. It’s really reconnecting me to what I love and where I came from. I was a child actor, I went to stage school, and it feels really good.”
The school taps into something deep-rooted. As a child, Ali was always the one choreographing dances and directing her friends. Now she is doing exactly that, with an audience of wide-eyed kids in pretend Chicago hats.
“It’s ignited something in me that probably was always there and would really make my heart sing. It’s just been a long time coming.”
But for Ali, the school is about more than performance. In a world increasingly dominated by screens and AI, she sees it as something close to essential.
“It feels really important to be creating that space for young people to find their voices, to find their confidence, to connect in the real world. When you play a character, you step into someone else’s shoes and imagine what it’s like to inhabit their world. That level of empathy and compassion is so important to cultivate.”
“Hollyoaks Did It First, Then Everyone Else Won the Awards”
Ali is perhaps best known as Becca, the teacher at the centre of one of Hollyoaks’ most daring and talked-about storylines. Looking back, she has no doubt about the show’s place in soap history.
“Hollyoaks really was bold with the storylines it tackled. What would tend to happen was the other soaps would follow suit — we were the underdogs. We’d do it first, put it out there, and then everyone else would pick it up and win all the awards for it.”
The Becca and Justin storyline was unusual in soapland for one simple reason: it ran slowly, and audiences stayed invested.
“It was an interesting one because it went on for quite a long time. A slowly built story that got lots of investment from the audience.”
“I Want to Catch the Next Wave”
With the performing arts school thriving and her health restored, Ali has one eye firmly back on the screen. She knows exactly what kind of roles she is after.
“I’d love to do a drama. Playing a policewoman on ITV’s The Bill was something I absolutely loved. I’d love to be a detective — the lawyer, the detective, that sort of stuff. A bit more heavyweight.”
She laughs off an earlier ambition.
“I used to always want to be a surgeon. I was obsessed with the idea of hospital drama. But I am actually over that now, I think.”
>> Read another exclusive interview with star of The Chase, Shaun Wallace, as he opens up on the hit TV quiz, breaking barriers and tracing his ancestry.
“Thank God That Ship Has Sailed”
Ali was a prominent face of the Hollyoaks era, a time when soap actresses were regularly put forward for “Sexiest Female” at the awards ceremonies, and magazine shoots were more obligation than opportunity. She is unambiguous about how she feels looking back.
“I think it’s really good that it’s gone. It signifies a realisation of the degree to which we were all, at some level, participating in completely objectifying women. The industry has had to learn just how inappropriate and undermining all of that is — of your talent, of you as a human being. Thank God that’s changed.”
The noughties, she says, were a different world.
“You look at some of the documentaries coming out now, like the America’s Next Top Model one, and think — what on earth was going on? I am absolutely delighted that ship has sailed.”
“Bigger, Bolder, Faster, More of Everything”
With Strictly Come Dancing facing one of its most turbulent periods — presenter changes, professional dancers axed — we asked Ali whether the show might benefit from a year on the shelf. She isn’t convinced.
“I think it’s such a staple now, people love it. I can’t see them shelving it for a year or two.”
Her own experience of the show was a world away from where it is heading, she thinks.
“When I did it, it was still very true to its Come Dancing roots — much more classic, fewer themed weeks, no crazy makeup or props, which I think detracts from the actual dancing. It was Len’s era, and he was a real technician. He just wanted to see the technique and that you were really learning.”
Part of her would love to see a return to those roots. But she is realistic.
“I think it’ll be bigger, bolder, faster — more tricks, more flips and bigger than ever.”
“To Think I Have a Future I Can Plan For Feels Pretty Amazing”
Perhaps the most powerful moment of our conversation came when we asked Ali simply: what do you hope for?
During her treatment, she tells us, she could not allow herself to think about the future at all.
“My brain just wouldn’t let me go there. You don’t know if you’re going to have one, so you can’t imagine it. And now, to think that I have a future I can begin to plan for, it feels pretty amazing.”
Her gratitude for the care she received in Cork is heartfelt and immediate.
“I feel so lucky for the incredible care I’ve had here, the most amazing doctors, nurses, and team who got me through this.”
As for what that future looks like?
“I just want more of everything. More life, more fun, more laughs, more time with my kids, more hugs, more beach walks, more family life. That’s at the heart of everything for me. And I can’t wait to step back on set.”
Reader comments