After playing Sister Bernadette in Call The Midwife, actress Laura Main is no stranger to period drama.
But it was a bit of a shock when she was told her character in her latest series - C4's The Mill - would have a 17-year-old son!
"I went through a stage of going for roles as young mums, but now it seems I'm just a mum - I've finally crossed that line!' says Laura, who stars as Rebecca Howlett, the wife of a farmer whose family come to the mill desperate for work.
"I'm mother to three boys and one joins the army and two go to work in the mill with their father. They are 8, 13 and 17!"
"My character is somewhere between 30 and 38 and that's all I'm saying! It's technically possible for me to have a 17-year-old son so you just have to embrace it!"
Something else that Laura has embraced since getting the part in this second series of C4's award-winning drama is a slightly shabbier wardrobe than she has in Call The Midwife...
"The Howletts are desperate for work when we meet them so they're clothes are a bit threadbare," she says. "I did go to the audition without make-up because I thought it would be good for the role. Maybe it helped me get the part!"
The Mill series two begins on Sunday July 20 at 9pm on Channel 4.
