AUDIENCES watching former River City star Holly Jack in Treasure Island at the Pavilion Theatre will reckon she serves up her serving wench role perfectly.

However, Holly, who plays Molly in the hit show, reveals she's had plenty of panto practice.

"I've been appearing in panto since I was three," she says, smiling.

"And over the years I appeared in panto at drama school. Then a few years ago, in Dumfries I played Snow White and that was a bit of a young girls' dream realised.

"I'd always watched the princesses over the years in panto and always wanted to wear the beautiful dresses and be swept away by the handsome prince."

But having played the gorgeous creatures on stage, Holly realised that being beautiful isn't always the best part.

"I quickly came to realise that Snow White dies very early on in the production," she says, laughing.

"She spends most of her time in a coffin, before being brought back to life."

Last year, Holly appeared in Kilmarnock in Jack and the Beanstalk as the Princess. However, this year she's happy to be reduced from royalty to appear as down-to-earth Molly.

"Molly is great. She's quirky and she has a bit of cheek about her. And what's really great is little girls in the audience won't know of a character like her.

"She's fresh and she's new, and she's great to play."

Holly grew up in Airdrie. Her mum was a dance teacher and little Holly was dancing as soon as she could walk.

"That got me into the performing mullarkey," she says, grinning of showbiz. "And once I did a few acting roles I realised that was the direction I should go in."

Holly trained in musical theatre at Gamta, studied singing and dance, and could have gone in that direction.

But she wanted to work in television and film, to land the dramatic roles.

"Then once you've learned that skill, you can jump back into musical theatre and panto," she says.

"It's great to have a range of abilities."

Holly's parents were supportive when she declared her desire to become a performer.

"I don't think it came as a surprise to them," she says, smiling. "It was always obvious from an early age that's what I would want to do and they really encouraged me."

Holly also teaches drama, ten to twelve hours a week, to kids aged five to eighteen.

"I love that aspect of work as well," she says. "It's great to put across what I've learned."

Very often, shy kids entertain the world of theatre arts and performance creates a new confidence.

But Holly reckons she didn't need to be talked out of her shell. In fact, she had no shell to speak of.

"I was always confident, always busy, doing some sort of class every night after school.

"It's only now as an only child I wish I had brothers or sisters, but at the time I never ever felt lonely. There was too much going on."

Holly has already achieved a massive amount of experience. In 2010 the 25 year-old joined the cast of River City as Nicole Brodie - described as "14 going on 40".

"After musical theatre I moved to London for about six months. But I was really lonely and didn't know anyone. And it was so expensive to live there.

"So I came home, and amazingly, a week later I got my audition for River City. But I had about five auditions before I landed it."

Holly, who hopes to work in America, had a great time in the series enjoying dramatic storylines such as trying to seduce a married councillor, being exposed as a cyber-bully and becoming a single mum to baby Grace.

"I'd aimed for television," she says. "I was so excited to have landed the role.

But she felt she had learned as much as she could while playing that character.

This year she decided to 'be brave and move on' and joined the cast of Waterloo Road as a new student, Bonnie.

"I've yet to play an adult on TV," she says. "But I don't mind the fact I look young. You've got to acknowledge your strengths and use them."

Holly adds; "It was so nice to play a new character, even though she is another wild child. And the other attraction is the series is national, picking up more than five million viewers.

"Hopefully it's given me great exposure. And Bonnie has been great to play in that she's very glamourous, not like me at all."

But her Molly is a little bit glam? In a pirate girl sense.?

"A wee bit," she says, laughing. "But she's more funny than glamourous."

* Treasure Island, The Pavilion, until January 18.