By Hannah Stephenson, News Letter

Tara Fitzgerald arrives at our meeting looking elegant as ever in a cool black linen suit and eye-catching fake ponyskin mules. Her dark hair is cut short to the nape of her long, slim neck and she has the fragile looks of a porcelain doll.

But her petite English rose appearance belies an inner strength which has enabled the 31-year-old actress to cope with a number of real-life traumas which would send many actors into therapy.

Her father's tragic suicide, a teenage ectopic pregnancy and the painful end of her five-year relationship with Soldier Soldier actor Dorian Healy have failed to dent the actress's enthusiasm for life and for tackling hard-hitting roles.

Her latest role as the terrified victim of a stalker in the two-part psychological thriller In The Name of Love is no exception.

The Fatal Attraction-style storyline sees her playing a confident career woman who has a night of passion with an ex-boyfriend she bumps into at a wedding party, while her regular serious boyfriend is called away to work.

But despite all her pleas that it was a one-night stand, the former lover won't take no for an answer and begins stalking her.

The actress, who has been in The Camomile Lawn, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, The Woman in White, The Student Prince and Brassed Off, admits filming the drama had a profound effect on her.

''It wasn't the most enjoyable of roles,'' she said. ''It had a horrible, insidious nature to it and I was glad to finish it. It just left me feeling very vulnerable.

''We all believe we are stronger than we are. We all like to think we're invincible.''

Although she has never been the victim of a stalker, the actress admits she found herself looking behind her when she walked home.

''I became super aware of closed circuit cameras and hypersensitive to the idea of being watched.

''It's frightening. It's the notion that one is in control of one's life and then it can be collapsed so simply - that's frightening. I became aware of how vulnerable we can be.''

But she and actor Tim Dutton, who plays the stalker, were already friends when filming began and that helped them through the traumatic scenes.