Natalie

Rogue's Gallery Of Talent
Ramsay St's blonde vixen, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, trades in her day job, James Wigney reports

Neighbours star Natalie Bassingthwaighte is turning to the dark side in her quest for world domination. On June 3, the day after she films her final scenes as blonde super-vixen Izzy Hoyland [the writer spelt it 'Holland' - Doh], expect to see a new-look Natalie. "I have booked into the hairdressers at 11 in the morning to get my hair coloured dark," Bassingthwaighte said this week. "I want to say, 'OK I'm not Izzy any more', and take off that cape and maybe not be recognized for just a minute. If you play a character for three years, you have to look a certain way and I'm a blonde vixen - so now I'm going to be a hard-core brunette," she says with a laugh. Bassingthwaighte won't let on whether Izzy will go out with a bang or simply move to Queensland in the time-honoured tradition of Australian soaps. "I know how I'm going out now - and I really like it," she says cryptically. "No clues - it may be a bit unusual, that's all I can say."

But then she may have walked away with the biggest prize in Australian TV. Bassingthwaighte's nomination for the Gold Logie has shocked nobody more than herself, particularly given she's about to leave the show that has made her a household name. She thought a nomination would have been more likely earlier in her career, but the fact that she plays a character who epitomises the word "bitch" has counted against her in the past. Ironically it is her increasingly impressive list of extra-curricular activities, including fronting dance/rock band Rogue Traders, that may have finally brought the recognition her way. "People always worry when you play the bitch that that's what you're like in real life and they don't want to give you an award because they think you are a horrible person," she says. "So in the last year I feel by doing Grease and Carols By Candlelight and Rogue Traders, I got to do things where people saw me for me and then they start to realise, 'Oh, you were acting'." So can she beat bona fide legend Bert Newton, heir apparent Rove McManus, Blue Heelers veteran John Woods (with possibly his last roll of the dice), McLeod's Daughters darling Bridie Carter and the Home And Away trio of Bec Cartwright, Ada Nicodemou and Kate Ritchie? Bassingthwaighte, 30, screws up her face and says, "I think if I have some Rogue Traders' fans rooting for me, maybe, but the people in there are legends. Everyone I am up against is pretty extraordinary."

Just as Neighbours could not contain the talents of now world-class singers and actors such as Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce and Natalie Imbruglia, Bassingthwaighte's ambition is almost boundless. Top of the list is the astonishing success of Rogue Traders, the ARIA-winning dance act she helped reinvent and push up the charts. The band's first album with Bassingthwaighte, Here Come The Drums, is still sitting at No.3 on the chart six months after its release. Its success is one of the reasons she is moving on. Rogue Traders founder James Ash was at first uncertain what effect her celebrity would have on the band and Bassingthwaighte, who had a musical background before she joined Neighbours, wanted to be sure she was getting the job for the right reasons. "When I auditioned, James was really upfront and said he wasn't sure about the whole Neighbours thingh and whether it was going to work for them. I said that was cool and that I was really proud of my job, but I didn't want my music to be about Neighbours. I feel like I'm a different person when I'm on stage to when I'm playing Izzy and I wanted to get there on my own merit."

Bassingthwaighte was also wary of the stigma attached to soapie stars-turned singers. For every Kylie or every Natalie there is a Bec Cartwright or a Melissa Tkautz. It was not until her manager reminded her that she had extensive experience in musical theatre in shows such as Rent and Chicago, that she realised she had nothing to prove. Bassingthwaighte hopes to put the musical skills to the test on the next Rogue Traders album. Here Come The Drums was largely written by the time she signed on and the singer's day job and her lead role in Grease - The Arena Spectacular curtailed her writing plans. "I was literally stealing half an hour to lay down some tracks - and then I'd go back to work. I'm OK with that because I got to do Grease and Neighbours, but for the next album it [songwriting] is going to be a big part."

Before anyone's thoughts turn to the next album, first the band is taking Here Come The Drums to the world. Influential British DJ Pete Tong played the single Voodoo Child on his radio show last week and the early response has been promising. The band will head to the UK for a whirlwind promo tour, then on to a corporate gig in Las Vegas and the return to Australia to prepare for a national tour later in the year. While she is in the US at the end of July, Bassingthwaighte also plans to investigate acting opportunities in Los Angeles. "I have only been to LA once," she says, "and even though the skies aren't that blue and it's a bit dusty and it's not beautiful like Sydney or Melbourne, walking down the street I felt like I was going to be there. So I think I will - my instincts are usually right."

Her acting dreams are varied: playing a superhero in a movie; a period piece; voicing a character in a cartoon; a Broadway show. Such is her determination it would be unwise to bet against any or all of them becoming a reality. "My biggest dream is to be really happy. I am happy, but I want to do great work. I want to have a family and be proud of the work I'm doing and do my family proud," she says. With a wide world of possibilities beckoning, it seems the multi-talented Bassingthwaighte's biggest dilemma is what profession to write on her Customs form. "I never know what to do with that," she says, laughing. "I think I write entertainer and it often feels like people think I'm a stripper. I kind of think I'm a mixed bag of lollies, but I don't think I can write that."

Instant Expert
Born: Natalie Bassingthwaighte on September 1, 1975 in Wollongong
Spouse: Dating Rogue Traders drummer Cameron McGlinchey

* Played Tinkerbell in her Year 6 production of Peter Pan.
* Sang and danced at an amusement park and theatre restaurant before getting her break in Rent.
* Was this year's Moomba ambassador.
* Shared a Neighbours scene with cricketer Shane Warne, due to screen in July.