Star of BBC2's 1960s drama Mad Men January Jones talks herbal cigarettes, vintage lingerie and living in the past... How has your character Betty changed since Mad Men started? "In series one, she kept everything inside and didn’t say what she was feeling – she’d go around with a smile on her face and, once in a while, have an explosion of emotion. By series two she had evolved into a stronger person. She had the courage to say what she was feeling and kick Don out of the house." Were you surprised when, at the end of the last series, she picked up a stranger in a bar? "Betty’s only human. She’d found out she was pregnant, she was in the city by herself and the Cuban Missile Crisis could have meant the end of the world. She’s a sexual person and I think she was just horny!" What advice would you give her if you met? "Get out and grow up! Betty isn’t stupid – she’s had a college education and travelled the world. There’s no reason for us to pity her because, at the end of the day, she made the decision to be a wife and mother." How do you deal with the chain-smoking on Mad Men? "We’re not allowed to smoke proper cigarettes on set, so they have these awful herbal ones. There are lots of us smoking in every scene, so you do get a bit of a headrush." How do you transform into Betty? "I get my hair and make-up done and then I put on the girdle and the long line bra with the pointy tips. I add the stockings, heels and the big dress, and then look in the mirror and see the character. It’s a bit of a cheat as an actor, really. I’m already halfway there when I arrive on set." Has her style influenced you? "I’m a big fan of vintage fashion, but I can’t go and buy 1950s and 1960s-style clothing now because people will think I’m going method, dressing like Betty every day." Given the choice, would you rather live in the Mad Men era or the present day? "I’d go for now. I wouldn’t have dealt very well with the lack of opportunities back then. I’d have been one of those girls burning their bras." Did you do much research on the period? "Not loads, but I am a huge fan of old movies, so I had seen plenty of films from the 1960s – a lot of Hitchcock and Grace Kelly – so I knew the feel of the era." You have an unusual name. Were you born in January? "Actually I was, but that’s a coincidence. My name comes from January Wayne, a character in a book called Once Is Not Enough by Jacqueline Susann. My mum read it, and my dad liked how January sounded with Jones."
