ACTRESS Natalie Gavin gets her first starring role on primetime TV tonight.

But the University of Huddersfield graduate wonders how people will receive her role as a drug-dealing mum.

Natalie is one of the stars of the new BBC1 drama Prisoners’ Wives that is pulling in millions of viewers.

She takes the part of Lou in tonight’s episode which goes out at 9pm.

It is the latest in a series of roles for Natalie. And even when not acting she is kept busy with auditions for new parts, meaning regular appointments in London.

But she is still eager to find time whenever possible to visit the University of Huddersfield drama department which played a role in getting her career off to a flying start.

Natalie, 24, plays Lou, a high-rise dwelling mum with a young son. Her partner is doing time and in order to make ends meet, Lou dabbles in drug dealing on her decayed council estate.

But there is a twist to the story and when Lou visits her partner in jail, the two adults go to great lengths to make sure that their boy does not grasp the situation.

It is Natalie’s highest profile role to date and she loved the experience of filming the six-part series on location in Sheffield alongside a roster of well-established TV stars.

She also relished the new acting challenge of playing the mother of a young child. But she was apprehensive over how viewers would react to her drug-peddling character.

“To be honest, I thought people would dislike her straight away for leaving her son alone in the flat, for example.

“But viewers do seem to sympathise with her and I really appreciate that. Lou is doing her best, living in a flat with mould on the walls and not much food in the kitchen. She just wants more from life.”

Natalie graduated with a BA Honours degree in drama last summer. She enjoys returning to the campus and is quick to acknowledge the importance of the training she received in many styles of acting and performance.

Natalie has landed plum roles but is quick to admit that many auditions have not led to the offer of a part.

“I started my degree full time and I was half way through the second year when I took two years out for ‘Shameless’ and ‘The Chase’ on TV.

“Then I came back part-time, but half way through my third year I got the part as Andrea Dunbar in The Arbor.

“One time we took it on tour to Sweden and I flew back at four in the morning to be back at uni in time for a presentation.”

Her determination to complete her degree echoes the gritty nature of the hard-pressed Northern working class roles that have become Natalie’s speciality.

“I really like portraying characters rooted in real life,” says Natalie. “But I’d be keen to try my hand at something more escapist. And I would love to be thrown into a comedy.

“I am happy to switch from project to project. But if I was offered a part in a series like Coronation Street and if the character felt right and suited me, then I might well go for it.”