The girl from Hoghton who became a TV star

Viewers of the latest series of Fresh Meat may be surprised to hear that comic performance doesn’t come naturally to Hannah Britland.

The 23-year-old shone in Channel 4’s hit student sitcom, playing the strong-willed Sam, the reluctant love interest of Jack Whitehall’s public schoolboy, JP.

Cast opposite one of the most recognisable faces in British comedy, it’s a far cry from Hannah’s days starring in school productions back home in Preston.

She says: “I used to live in Hoghton Tower, kind of in the grounds of it. It sounds very posh, but it wasn’t!

“If you’re going up the drive they have got cottages to one side, tucked away into the forest.

“We had this really rundown cottage that my parents sort of did up, so it was a bit of a fairy tale for 15 years.”

Hannah went to St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Hoghton, where she got an early taste of her career to come playing Jessie in an inter-school adaptation of Toy Story, before attending Brownedge St Mary’s Catholic High School in Bamber Bridge.

“We used to do so much, especially in high school, just production after production, and I was always singing. I lived for it. I absolutely loved it.

“It was always a passion – singing much more than acting. I was a singer originally and worked really, really hard on my singing.

“I went to Cardinal Newman College in Preston – it feels like ages ago, I’m only 23, but I feel like an old woman!

“I did three A-levels and a BTEC in Performing Arts, which included singing, dancing and drama.”

Hannah gained a place at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where she underwent classical training, following in the footsteps of movie stars like Daniel Craig and Ewan McGregor, and TV talent such as Homeland’s Damian Lewis and Downton Abbey’s Lily James.

“I got to Guildhall and they were like ‘we need to undo everything you’ve learned’, because they want to take you back to the start - they don’t want you polished.

“When I arrived I was a Grade Eight singer and thought I knew everything, and then got there and realised I knew nothing!

“Everyone there was amazing and had been doing it for years and years, and I had to try and catch up, so it was pretty intense.”

The course gave the young performer an education in how to be a theatre actress, while outside of college she slowly adapted to life in the capital.

“I’ve got godparents and family that live in London so I had been there before, but I came down really young, straight from college.

“I was 18 and it was a bit of a shock, mainly because of the hours I was doing at Guildhall.

“We would do 12 hours a day, five, sometimes six days a week, so I never really got to see any of London during those three years because I was always at school.

“It was hard work but I wouldn’t change it. I had the best time of my life there.”

In Hannah’s third year she took part in a talent showcase, where she was spotted and signed by a talent agency.

Then in 2011 she got her first big break when she landed the part of Emma, a bi-sexual runner, in the third series of E4’s award winning science fiction comedy-drama, Misfits.

“It was my first audition and I got it. I did five weeks and I made some really good friends.

“They were just so kind to me. Because I’d had classical training I knew how to act, you can either act or you can’t if you know what I mean, and if you can act on stage you can act on screen. But there are so many technical things, technical phrases where I just didn’t have a clue.

“So I was learning on the job, but it was so exciting and it’s such a clever show, so it was amazing to be a part of it.”

In 2012 the actress took on “a completely different role”, working with Brenda Blethyn in the detective drama Vera.

“I played a young girl whose mum had been murdered. I played a very vulnerable, very upsetting role.

“It was almost straight after Misfits and it was great to have that contrast on my CV.

“I love doing a gritty drama and getting my teeth into something, that’s my favourite kind of role I think.”

Hannah narrowly missed out on a part in the Formula 1 biopic Rush, after her contribution to the movie didn’t make the final cut.

However, she did get to work with its famous director, Ron Howard.