She's done a lot of acting, but it's soaps that bring you to the public's attention, Christine Cox tells Steve Pratt.

EVEN 25 years of theatre didn't prepare Christine Cox for the effect of appearing in a high profile TV soap. "You work hard, doing enjoyable, creative, artistic stuff on stage, and then one little soap opera turns people's heads," says the actress, currently appearing at York Theatre Royal after a year, on and off, in Yorkshire TV's Emmerdale.

As Glynis Hardy, she became mixed up with devious Eric Pollard's shady business deals and political aspirations. Originally, Doncaster-born Cox joined the cast for just two episodes. Then she was invited back for three or four more. Later on, the producers asked her to return for a longer storyline.

Glynis appears to have left Emmerdale now, but never say never where a soap is concerned. "The story has been left in the air," says Cox, adding, "But I suspect it's the end of Glynis."

Public reaction was mostly good. "I've done a lot of telly over the years but soap is the thing people take to their heart," she says. "You can be shopping in Sainsbury's and people talk to you. I just love it because I love chattering and seeing how they get involved in the series."

Waiting for her husband in Sheffield's Meadowhall shopping centre, she was approached by a youth, who asked if she was Glynis in Emmerdale. When she replied that she was, he turned to his friend and said: "You owe me £5."

Another time, she was attending her weekly yoga class when a fellow member identified her Emmerdale connection. "She spent the rest of the yoga session embarrassing me," says Cox.

The play that brings her back to York, where she last appeared in Alan Bennett's play Getting On four years ago, is J B Priestley's classic comedy When We Are Married.

She plays Annie Parker, one of three wives who discover to their horror that they may have been living out of wedlock for 25 years. Something to do with the vicar who married the couples not being legally qualified.

Although she's fond of Priestley's work, Cox has never seen or appeared in When We Are Married. She doesn't even know how director Jim Hooper came to cast her, although she thinks that's not necessarily a bad thing. "Jim said he'd heard a lot about me. I didn't ask him what he'd heard," she says. "Often you don't want to know what it is in you that people see. Different people see you in different ways, some as a glamorous, upper class woman and others as a mother or daughter-in-law."

Her entry into acting came through being the shyest girl in the class. A teacher spotted her acting talent and it took off from there. "You're still shy but have a different purpose in life," she says.

Spending so much time acting in her last year at junior school led to failing her 11-plus. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the secondary modern school she attended boasted the only qualified drama teacher in the area. Young Christine's acting ability was noticed and she was encouraged to pursue it.

Most of her stage work has been in the North with companies including Northern Broadsides and Hull Truck.

That's partly because she's lived in Rotherham, where her husband works, for 20 years. The couple met at South Yorkshire Youth Theatre, became friends, and years later got together and married.

She has learnt not to take every job that comes along these days. Two offers for work after the York run have been rejected because they were things she didn't want to do.

"You do get to the age where you start to think about what you're doing and what you want to do. You have to decide to turn certain things down. You just hope some other work will come in," she says.

* When We Are Married: York Theatre Royal until March 29. Tickets (01904) 623568.