She’s played Sara Sidle in the hit American forensics drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for six years, but Jorja Fox says she still isn’t bored with the role.

Unfortunately though, some of her scenes still make her stomach turn, which is a bit of a problem for someone playing a forensic scientist.

“I had a bit of an epiphany about it this year. I’m not squeamish in general and I realised that it’s not what I’m looking at that makes me squeamish, it’s the why and the how.

“The victims on our shows mostly come to a very violent demise, and that’s the part that freaks me out. It was nice to figure that out. Not liking violence is something I don’t mind being stuck with.”

It’s unusual for an actor to stay in one role for so long, but Jorja is in good company. Unlike other American ensemble dramas like ER or The West Wing, none of the central cast members (William L Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads and Paul Guilfoyle) have left for `new challenges’. What’s keeping them there?

Lucky

“I think we really love each other,” says the 37-year-old. “We really got very lucky. I know that Bill Petersen was involved in the casting and he tells a story that what he was looking for more than anything else was a group of people who would have fun together.”

In 2004 this tight unit was nearly ripped apart, when Jorja and George Eads were fired. Jorja was told her services would no longer be needed just before filming started on the fifth series.

George’s departure quickly followed when he turned up late for the first day’s shooting. The reasons for Jorja’s sacking were less clear, with reports at the time citing an alleged failure to send a letter to CBS, who make CSI, saying she would be on time for shooting.

“That’s a big long story,” says Jorja, “and there’s a lot of different stories.

“But all’s well that ends well. I was indeed fired. For, like, nine days. I’ve never been fired, ever, for anything. So in a way it was a kind of cool rite of passage.”

Pressed about the reasons for her sacking, Jorja merely says it was a huge misunderstanding.

“I think, with all due respect, big companies sometimes do things to send a strong message to a lot of people,” she says. “Everybody that year put in for a raise. That’s very customary on an American show if it’s doing well - every two years you put in for a raise.

“But it was also a year that two other Top 10 shows from CBS would be putting in for raises. So I think that a very astute businessman might think to himself, that could be a lot of raises. Their way of discouraging that was, I think, very effective.”

Jorja implies that it’s thanks to the rest of the cast that she got her job back so quickly.

Cast

“Most of the cast wasn’t at work that day,” she grins.

It was also widely reported that Jorja refused to sign back on until her friend George was also re-hired.

Of course, the episode had a happy ending and the mutiny has come to an end on the good ship CSI.

The show recently aired its most shocking finale in the US (where it still attracts over 25million viewers) and the sixth season is also about to come to an end here (where it gets a very healthy 4m).

“This finale is a phenomenal thrill ride,” Jorja says. “There’s an extra little surprise at the end of the second part that comes completely unexpected.

“We’ve never done traditional cliff-hangers before and I think there might be about 4m jaws dropped when it airs.”

Outside CSI, Jorja flexes her creative muscles with her side project Honeypot Productions, a theatre company she set up with friend and former Murmurs singer Heather Reid.

While the theatre work is an exciting string to her bow, Jorja maintains she is happy to stay with CSI and can’t wait to start work on the seventh season.

“I would have thought after two or three years I would have been bored of the character. But it’s still a great feeling to know I’m going back.”