Michelle Keegan has said her part in upcoming comedy Brassic is an “empowering role” that portrays single mothers in “a positive light”.
The former Coronation Street star, 32, plays Erin in the six-part Sky 1 series, a young woman whose troubled childhood leads to a wild teenage phase and an unplanned pregnancy.
Keegan, who is married to The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright, said she loved the character’s independence and fiery nature.
She said: “(She is) definitely a positive role model. Erin’s an empowering role for women, especially for single mums as well and it’s put her in a positive light.
“And I love the fact that she’s fiercely independent and she’s very fiery.
“But in Erin as well, she’s really quite emotional and you see that as the series progresses. You see that side of her as well.”
Created by This Is England actor Joe Gilgun and Shameless writer Danny Brocklehurst, Brassic follows a group of cash-strapped working class friends living in the fictional village of Hawley.
Keegan said she had jumped at the chance to work with Brocklehurst again, after starring in his 2015 BBC One series Ordinary Lies, which was set in a car showroom.
““I’ve worked with Dan before, how many years ago? Four or five,” she said.
“So I’m a massive fan of Dan, so when I got sent the script and knew he’d written it, I was like, yeah it’s gonna be amazing.
“And also with Joe’s influence as well, injected a bit of genius in there.
“Honestly, it was amazing and I remember laughing out loud and halfway through the script, it was something that I wanted to be part of.
“Straight away. So I’d never done a comedy before as well, so for me, it was a yes straight away.”
Brassic airs on Sky 1 on Thursday August 22.