ANNA MAXWELL MARTIN has won two Baftas (for Bleak House and Poppy Shakespeare), and has also appeared in North And South, White Girl, The Night Watch and South Riding.

Now she’s adding Accused to her already impressive CV.

She was, as you’d expect, attracted to the role because the writing – by Isabelle Grey and Jimmy McGovern – is so strong, but admits she also decided to accept the part of Tina Dakin, a prison officer at a young offenders’ institution, for more down-to-earth motives.

“I’ve always wanted to work on a Jimmy McGovern project for artistic reasons,” she says.

“Then on a practical basis, this shoot was very short and I have two little children, so to be involved in such a highcalibre piece with a limited time commitment was a great opportunity and really fortunate.

“Also because Tina looks like a real person, hours aren’t spent in costume and makeup.

The whole process took about 15 minutes. I did my own hair – then it was straight to work.”

Tina is the mother of three young children; she and her husband struggle to make ends meet, but are nevertheless happily married.

“I felt I’d never really played anyone like Tina before,” says Anna. “I read the script and was excited. It’s the story of an ordinary woman’s struggle to do the right thing by her family, look out for those in her professional care, and eventually follow her conscience – which is her salvation.”

ALTHOUGH acting a part is nothing like actually living it, Anna reckons she got a sense of what Tina’s life would be like. “It must be incredibly stressful to be constantly vigilant. I think it adds to the pressure of her job. I felt stressed just acting it,” she says.

During what starts as an ordinary day, Tina meets new inmate Stephen Cartwright, the young man at the centre of the last week’s drama.

She runs through the ground rules with him, but knows something isn’t right. Despite reporting the situation to her senior officer, nobody takes any action, so when Tina is called away to deal with an emergency elsewhere, Stephen is left alone – and it’s then that he appears to take his own life.

She later comes face-to-face with Stephen’s father, Peter, and it’s then that her problems really begin, and she’s left feeling betrayed by those who are meant to support her.

But, once on the witness stand, Tina has plenty to say both for herself, and to those who’ve let her down.

Without wanting to give away too much about the plot, Anna says we should look out for co-star John Bishop’s performance. The comedian is, apparently, a revelation. “I couldn’t do a scene with John without bursting into tears,”

she recalls.

“John’s a wonderful person and gives an amazing performance. He’s so truthful playing Peter. His acting is so real, it made me cry every scene I had with him.

“Hopefully Tina’s story will move audiences as much as it did us while making it.”