Julia Sawalha talks to Polly Weeks about finding romance for her lovelorn character, Dorcas Lane, in Lark Rise To Candleford, and why she feels like she’s celebrated a good Christmas already.

WHEN it comes to Sunday night telly, the schedule is usually filled with warming, feel-good productions, designed to help the viewer relax and unwind before the week ahead. What they don’t normally include is a stellar line-up of UK acting talent.

However, when Lark Rise To Candleford aired at the beginning of the year, the impressive cast list included Philip Glenister (Ashes To Ashes), Phil Davis (Quadrophenia), Dawn French (French and Saunders), Olivia Hallinan (Sugar Rush), Mark Heap (Green Wing) and Liz Smith (The Royale Family).

Another familiar member of the Candleford set is Julia Sawalha, who rose to fame as Edina’s put-upon daughter, Saffron, in Absolutely Fabulous.

With Lark Rise returning for a second series, Sawalha is happy to be back in the role of postmistress Dorcas Lane.

“I just love doing costume drama and recreating history,” she explains.

“I like the clothes, and I like Bill’s (scriptwriter Bill Gallagher) writing. It’s a really beautiful series and people enjoy it.

People stop me in the street to tell me how much they love the series, so you feel like you’ve done a worthwhile job. It makes you want to do more to make people’s Sunday evening’s cosy and happy.”

To kick-start the second series, viewers will tune in to a late 19th century Christmas, replete with snow-filled scenes and traditional carol singers. On a sadder note, it will also be Dawn French’s last show.

But with the absence of Dawn and Liz Smith, who left at the end of the last series, the cast will be joined by several new town members – including Jason Merrells, who was previously seen in Waterloo Road as Jack. His new character James Dowland has an instant impact on Dorcas.

“Mr Dowland comes and opens a new hotel in Candleford and sparks a new love interest,”

Sawalha reveals.

“But problems from his past start to emerge, which have an effect on their will-they-won’tthey relationship.”

However, with Dorcas having laid her heart on the line in the previous series, this year could see her being that little bit more protective. “She concentrates much more on her post office family,” says Sawalha.

“She hasn’t got a fella and hasn’t got a confidant, so her emotions are much more on the surface. She’s very brave and strong in caring for her family. We’ve got some nice touching scenes, so that relationship is explored a little bit more.”

The post office family plays a major part in the Christmas episode, where you can expect to see all the joys and problems Christmas brings with it. Laura (played by Olivia Hallinan) has to decide between heading back to Lark Rise to spend the day with her family or staying with her friends in the post office.

Sawalha admits that, just like every modern day Christmas, “there are Christmas family arguments and people doubling up on Christmas gifts”.

Although filming for the Christmas episode took place months ago, Sawalha recalls it as “wet and muddy, just like real Christmas”.

She adds: “It does feel like I’ve already had Christmas, we had a lovely tree in the post office with candles on it. There’s a lovely scene when I’m cooking all the food and I’m suddenly taking in all that Zillah’s done for me throughout my childhood, and so she very much lives through me in the post office.”

As for the rest of the second series, there are high hopes it will be just as popular as the first.

Sawalha believes the success is down to the complex relationships between characters, and the slow, non-confrontational way in which they unfold.

“It’s not challenging. It just takes you far enough. You can get teary, have a good little smile, and there are pretty costumes and pretty scenery.”

As for Sawalha’s own Christmas, it’s likely she’ll be tuning in to watch the Christmas Strictly Come Dancing Special, as she’s become quite the fan and would love to take part in the show.

“If I hadn’t have been working on Lark Rise this year, I’d have asked to do it. I worked with Anton last year and we got on really well. I’d love to dance with him, but he’s too tall for me.

“I think dancing is an incredible skill to learn. I went to see one of the live shows last year, and it was just so showbiz it was unbelievable. I was seeing sequins and rhinestones for about ten days after.”

■ Lark Rise To Candleford, Christmas Special,