'I was looking forward to a scene where Ricky was to become Amy's pet when I was told he had been poached from the farm. He'd come up to you like a dog, sit, wag his tail and drink water out of a bottle. 'Ricky the warthog was my favourite animal. I was on set one day, standing next to an elephant and I was mesmerised. Jessie added: 'It was an amazing experience being that close to the animals. So she starts off on the wrong foot with Danny and Sarah (Amanda Holden).' 'She arrives on the show with a bang - quite literally as she drives into a cow. 'Amy comes across as scatterbrained, but she's actually quite a bright spark. 'I said goodbye to Kat two-and-a-half years ago but every day I get stopped in the street by people asking if I'm going back. To be able to have conversations and people aren't ear-wigging. 'It was refreshing to be able to go to work and not be followed. Jessie, 36, was also able to leave behind some of her past history, which has made her a target for the tabloids. It was a great experience going to work every day and seeing giraffes, zebras and lions.' 'It was a bit of a leap to take, especially as I'm quite a homebird.

The London-based actress admits to feeling slightly daunted about taking the job on location in South Africa, with daughter Tallulah, now three, also travelling with her. It would be too much of a change otherwise, and after six years playing Kat I'm used to walking in high heels.' They did such a great job with her costumes because as Amy starts to adapt she begins to wear more earthy colours and combats - she's still got her heels on though. 'Amy's outfits are flouncy, bright and bold.

But Stephen said that I looked like an Oscar,' she said.

'I loved the costumes, the more gaudy the better. Jessie is wearing a gold tracksuit when we first meet her character. Vet Danny, played by Stephen Tompkinson, berates a tourist for hitting a cow while driving through the township, but is stunned to learn the culprit is Elliot Kriel's wife, Amy. 'At first she's not really an animal lover, but she adapts.' 'She's a complete fish out of water,' explains Jessie. The actress, still known to millions as Kat Slater, joins the regular cast as stiletto-wearing Essex girl Amy Kriel. FORMER EastEnders star Jessie Wallace has swapped the villains of Albert Square for some real animals in Wild At Heart (ITV1, Sunday, 7.30pm).

Wild at heart bbc cast