Jodie Whittaker always wanted to be an actress.

She didn't have a Plan B if anything went wrong.

Luckily for her, it didn't. After a few bit parts on stage and screen she landed a role starring opposite legendary Peter O'Toole in Venus.

"Before I was cast in Venus, I'd worked at The Globe in London, done an episode of Doctors for the BBC and an afternoon radio play – a total of eight days' filming," she explains in her strong Yorkshire accent.

"Then I went and sat opposite Peter O'Toole and made Venus. I think If I hadn't got that part, none of the subsequent jobs would have happened."

Since then she's landed roles in This Life +10 and Brit flick St Trinian's, and recently finished working alongside Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen in Good.

She has also been seen in the BBC adaptation of Tess of the D'Urbervilles when she played milkmaid Izzy Huett.

The next time Jodie will be on our screens will be in Wired, a three-part drama exploring the murky world of bank fraud.

Whittaker plays Louise Evans, a single mother and bank worker struggling to get by with crippling debts.

When her best mate's new boyfriend offers her a way out – set up a false bank account and receive £10,000 in return – she eventually gives in and enters an increasingly dangerous criminal world.

"It's part of the world I know nothing about," Jodie says.

"I avoid banks and I've never been in any sort of corporate environment at all.

"My character Louise is really interesting, too. She's incredibly fiery, a really strong woman.

"You don't read many scripts, especially for crime dramas, that feature a strong woman as the central character. She's also a single parent, too, and has to battle to keep her head above water – basically, she's just really normal."

Bank fraud aside, Jodie says she has a lot in common with her character, and found it easy to get into the role during filming, between May and July this year.

"Louise refuses to be a victim in all this, and I'm not someone who would let something happen to me either," she says.

"In hindsight, Louise would act differently and make different decisions, but she doesn't have that.

"She has a kid to look after, someone putting money in her hand and an immediate decision to make," she continues.

Like most actors, she talks positively about her co-stars ex-EastEnder Charlie Brooks, Bond villain Toby Stephens, Laurence Fox of Lewis and relative newcomer Riz Ahmed.

"I'm not very experienced, I've only been working three years," she admits.

"I try to be like a sponge when I'm around other actors, picking up the way they do things."

Judging by the size of the diamond on the third finger of Jodie's left hand, it's probably safe to assume she and her American actor boyfriend are now engaged.

"He's from Yuma in Arizona, and I go there every year for Christmas in the heat," she says proudly. "It's the exact opposite of a cold Huddersfield Christmas."

During her school years, Whittaker only ever dreamed of becoming an actress.

"I was 20 and I'd never auditioned before I auditioned for drama school – I didn't really think it was that difficult to get in.

"They thought I was this strange person from the North," she says.

"I was very, very jammy and had the dialect teacher in the first round of auditions. That's why I think I got in, because she heard my voice and thought, 'Oh, that's a nice accent we haven't got yet'.

"I haven't had time to think about what's happened since, but I understand I'm in a very lucky position. There's obviously an element of skill required, but it's mainly down to luck and timing."

Wired begins on ITV1 on Monday, October 13.