© TELEVISIONTELETEXT - Sunday 11th April 2004 by Rachael Jolley.

MEET THE ORGANIC MISTRESS OF THE GLEN

Scottish actress Simone Lahbib has been swotting up on farming with visits to her husband's family farm in Italy before joining Sunday night favourites Monarch of the Glen.

"I love it out there. I love visiting, it's wonderful, although farming is far too much like hard work for me."

Simone, who is married to Raffaello de Gruttola. takes regular holidays to Raffaello's family farm near Florence, but says she has no dreams of swapping her city life for a country idyll.

Simone Lahbib, who is best known as Helen Stewart in Bad Girls, has started filming for the next series of Monarch of the Glen along with the other new arrival ex Dr. Who Tom Baker.

Simone says despite Monarch's reputation as soft Sunday fare her character Isobel will not be a walk over and will be a main character.
Isobel arrives in Glenboggle to take over a farm that has been run down by her grandmother and turn it around, she told TV Plus.

New Monarch of the Glen character Isobel Anderson, played by Simone Lahbib, must come to terms with giving up her city life, but the actress has no plans to do the same.

"In London you can go out all the time." said the actress who met husband Raffaello de Gruttola on the set of Thieftakers.
but Lahbib, who grew up in Stirling said: "I'm really enjoying being up there in the fresh air for the filming and I get to see more of my family."