A NORTH-EAST actress flew the flag for the region when she made her TV debut this week.

Susie Potter hit screens across the country when she appeared in the new series of hit E4 show My Mad Fat Diary on Monday.

The series, which follows troubled teen Rae through life In the 1990s, is Miss Potter’s first TV role.

The 25-year-old, from Darlington, went from stage to screen after studying theatre at Manchester Metropolitan University.

She said: “TV is completely different to theatre. Sharon Rooney [who plays protagonist Rae] is lovely and funny.

“A lot of us were the same age and we had so much fun.”

Miss Potter comes from a creative family - her dad Joe Potter founded the Darlington Green Theatre, which he and her mum Alice are still involved in.

"I was about ten when I started getting acting," said Miss Potter. "I've always done it, but I sort of fell out of it when I was about 13 because of my social life. Then I got back into it when I was about 17.”

After graduating from Manchester, Miss Potter went to pursue an acting career in London, where she did lots of auditions and worked as a waitress.

She now works at a school for children with special needs in her spare time.

The next episode of My Mad Fat Diary is on Monday, February 24 at 10pm on E4.