LA sun is great, but I miss all the mist and rain of home – Victoria

"I DIDN'T think it was possible, but I miss drizzle," said the 39-year-old.

"I really do. I miss the mist and rain. We miss home," she said.

The former Fair City actress and her brood moved over to LA in 2011.

Aside from the lack of rain on Hollywood Boulevard, the star says she loves the LA lifestyle and thinks the City of Angels gets an unfair rap.

"Everyone always thinks it's full of plastic human beings and microbiotic food," she says.

"That is there but that's everywhere you go these days. LA gets a bad rap."

The star says she had built up a close circle of friends and her children are happy there.

"I have a lot of fun and have a lot of good pals out there, close friends. And it's great for the kids, they're outside every day. But now the kids think 64 degrees is cold, so they are ruined," she laughs.

Juicy

This week, the blonde actress started rehearsals for NBC's Dracula. And Victoria says her role is particularly 'juicy'.

She will star alongside Irish actress Katie McGrath and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the new 10-part series, which is due to air later this year.

"The scripts are fantastic," she said. "I play Lady Jane and it's a really juicy role. I like playing characters with a little darkness and edge.

"She's a socialite," she explained. "She's the Daphne Guinness of her era, she's breaking through Victorian trends and she's tougher and stronger then most women. She breaks all the rules."

Pilot

Over the past several months, Victoria has been busy working on a TV pilot about the underbelly of the US beauty industry.

The series, currently under the working title Vein, follows a group of women working in the cut- throat industry.

Victoria, who starred as Dr Edel Swift in RTE's The Clinic, said: "The pilot writing is going really well. ABC haven't picked it up yet, but two cable companies have asked for it at the moment – which is amazing."

hnews@herald.ie