‘There’s a lot of pressure’

Caroline Morahan on presenting the IFTAs

With just three days to go until the 2015 IFTA Film and Drama Awards Caroline Morahan is in final preparations for presenting the show.
The brunette – who is home from LA – will take centre stage in the Mansion House on Sunday for the annual awards show and told U magazine she’s “excited”.
“I’m really excited. I think there must be subconscious nerves because I’ve had a couple of not very restful sleeps the last few nights, I think script ideas are going around in my head, perhaps!” she laughed.
“But I’m really looking forward to doing it and pushing the boat a bit, and hopefully people will enjoy it and have fun.
“The room is going to be beautiful, it’s a really prestigious event, it’s the most high octane, glamorous and important event in the film and television calendar so it’s a real honour to be captain of the ship for the night,” she added.
And obviously being the presenter means a fancy dress – and lots of them. “Oh plural, girl, plural! Dresses!” Caroline laughed. “I have been loving the kind of Pretty Woman experience, minus the prostitution, in Brown Thomas,” she laughed.
“I’ve had Darren Feeney helping me in there and Ciara in personal shopping, I’ve had the run of the entire store, so I’ve picked several gowns. It all depends on the timing how many changes I’ll get through but I also have a gorgeous gown from Louise Kennedy that’s really spectacular, and I’ll be wearing Louboutins for the whole thing,” she added.
But with the glamour also comes pressure. “Oh yeah, I mean you do but you kind of have to rise above that and concentrate on doing a good job and get out of your head.
“There’s a lot of pressure because I’m in a room full of my peers – people I’ve worked with, people I’d love to work with – and then of course the television audience so you want to do a good job. You want it to be slick and entertaining, so yeah, it’s a lot of pressure, I’m not going to lie,” she added.

* Caroline is promoting the HB Hazelbrook Farm Ice Cream Fundays Campaign in support of Down Syndrome Ireland, www.downsyndrome.ie
** Catch more of Caroline’s interview in the new issue of U magazine which hit shelves next Tuesday.