We know Natalie Bassingthwaighte as a naughty Neighbour– but does she secretly long to be a mum?

Neighbours' nastiest blonde finds herself in the eye of the storm this fortnight, when her arch-enemy Darcy Tyler wakes up from his coma. As Izzy Hoyland battles to get the better of the dastardly doctor, we caught up with her alter-ego, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, to ask the actress what it’s like playing the raunchiest resident on Ramsay Street…

"When I first started on the show, people expected me to be just like Izzy – I probably scared a few of them off!" smiles Natalie, on a break during filming at the soap’s Melbourne headquarters. "That perception is changing now, and I think it’s because I’m doing so many things outside of the show. People are getting to know the real me – through my music."

MUSIC MAKER

Natalie is talking about her recent association with award-winning Aussie dance group Rogue Traders. Founding members James Ash and Steve Davis asked her to join them earlier this year, resulting in Voodoo Child, a top five smash hit record Down Under.

" It’s awesome! Our sound is basically club music, with a lot of electro rock thrown in. We’ve almost finished an album, and it will be great when that finally comes out. Every song is fun and crazy and based on different characters - so I get to dress up and be someone different all the time!"

In the video for Voodoo Child, Natalie sports a black wig – which meant that some Neighbours fans didn’t even recognise her at first. "That was the point – I wanted to do something separate from the show," she says. "I thought I would get a lot of criticism, but people have been very positive. I don’t know when it will be released in the UK, but it’s definitely on the cards."

GREASE LIGHTNING!

In between playing scheming Izzy, Nat has also appeared in a recent big budget stage production of the classic musical Grease – starring opposite another Neighbours graduate, Craig McLachlan. "I had a blast doing that. I’ve loved the movie ever since I was a kid," she says. "My background is musical theatre, so I want to do more."

With so many demands on her time, it’s a wonder that Nat also manages to have a very happy personal life. But then again, she doesn’t have to wait for evenings to catch up with her boyfriend, Ryan Eckersley – because he’s an assistant director on Neighbours!

Steering clear of typical showbiz gushiness, Nat says it definitely wasn't a case of love at first sight…"It started out as a friendship and went from there. The best thing about Ryan and I is that we laugh a lot and have a good time."

STAYING…OR GOING?

Despite a series of recent articles in the Australian press, Natalie assures us that she’s not leaving Neighbours to focus on her a full-time musical career any time soon. "I'm not leaving the show – it’s simply not true!" she smiles.

" I did an interview and they asked me when my contract finished, and I told them it was next July. They asked if I would stay or go. I didn’t want to be presumptuous, because I don’t know if the producers will even ask me to stay on. So I said there are other things I want to do – and that turned into a headline saying I was on my way out!"

So what is Natalie’s grand career plan? "Well, I’ll definitely be staying on Neighbours until next July. And I want to focus on Rogue Traders, but I’d also like to do more stage work and try my hand at film. But I need to make time to have babies one day!"