As the current series of period drama The Mill draws to a close, show star Sacha Parkinson is already gearing up for her next historical role to hit our screens.
For Sacha, who plays The Mill’s Miriam Catterall on Channel 4, will star in the new series of ITV’s hit period drama Mr Selfridge as Connie Hawkins, the ambitious sister of Kitty.
It proves that her decision to leave Coronation Street in 2011 was certainly a good one - as she doesn’t appear to have stopped working on meaty drama roles ever since.
She says: “I feel really fortunate that I haven’t really had much time off between roles, because every actor panics when they reach the end of one job about what happens next.
“I’ve done a steady succession of really quite different jobs and that’s great for any actor. It was a leap leaving Corrie, but if it didn’t work out, at least I’d know I’d tried.”
The Mill has become Channel 4’s most successful ever drama, based on the lives of real people working in Quarry Bank Mill in Styal in the mid 1800s, and the second series will be released to buy on DVD on September 8.
And as the second series comes to an end, Sacha says she hopes that Channel 4 will commission a third series of the drama.
She says: “Everyone who works on The Mill is so passionate about it. It was a joy to go into filming every single day, so we all hope there will be another series - it would be such a shame to waste all that energy that is invested in this for it to end.
“And for me personally, I love filming in Manchester because it’s my roots.”
She will fast forward to 1910 for her role in Mr Selfridge, with the promise of slightly more fabulous costumes than those involved in The Mill.
She says: “Working on Mr Selfridge has been so fun, when I found out I got the role I couldn’t breathe! I was mesmerised when I first went on to set, it’s so beautiful, and such a contrast to The Mill!”
As for her character, she laughs: “She’s this bundle of energy and so gobby. I like playing a cheeky one!”
We’ll also be looking out for Salford-raised Sacha, 22, in new BBC drama The Driver before the year is out too.
