SHORTY STAR JESS' BOLD NEW BEGIN NING

Jessica Joy Wood has overcome family heartbreak to find her voice on Britain's biggest medical show

- Donna Brookbanks.

She’s best known as murdered wife Julia Reinhart from Shortland Street, but actress Jessica Joy Wood is also the writing genius behind some of the show’s most dramatic storylines, such as the death of Harper Whitley and the arrest of Harry Warner.

And with those credits under her belt, the star, 42, recently left New Zealand to pen scripts for the UK’s biggest medical drama, Casualty.

“I'd been at Shorty for nine years and I needed to spread my wings,” she explains. “It’s important to take risks.”

When Woman's Day catches up with Jess, it’s from her rented “proper terrace house” in Cardiff, Wales, where she lives with her husband Carl Dixon, 41, and their son Wyn.

“Wales is awesome!” she enthuses. “There are a lot of similarities to New Zealand. People have the same sense of humour and the country is beautiful. The Welsh language has also had such a cool resurgence and it’s interesting coming from where we're at in New Zealand with te reo Māori. Wyn will learn Welsh at school.”