Actress Jodie Whittaker is to hit our screens in a leading role in new Sky 1 drama The Smoke.

Jodie, of Skelmanthorpe, is to play a firefighter alongside actor Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) as her boyfriend.

The Smoke follows the high-adrenaline adventures of White Watch, a team of London firefighters.

The role comes after the 31-year-old actress and former Shelley High School pupil shot to fame in critically acclaimed TV series Broadchurch.

Other credits include One Day with Anne Hathaway, Marchlands, Return To Cranford, Venus and the St Trinian’s movies.

The latest TV offering The Smoke is written by Lucy Kirkwood (Skins), the eight-part series and also stars Rhashan Stone (Strike Back) and Gerard Kearns (Shameless). Jodie plays a self-assured and whip-smart firefighter Trish who is madly in love and is prepared to go to hell and back with him should she ever be called on to do so.

Jodie said: “The Smoke is about a very complex group of people and no-one is an obvious good guy or bad guy. It’s more complicated than that. For instance, my character has made decisions she regrets and continues to make mistakes, but she has a lot of strengths too.

“All too often female characters are the ‘token bitch’ of a drama which is so boring.

“It’s great to play someone with more personality.”

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The plot revolves around Jodie’s character Trish and boyfriend Kev which will capture the audiences attention.

She added: “From the first episode the audience will get so attached to the pair that they’ll need Kev and Trish to be together.

“We enter The Smoke nine months after an accident that has left Kev with life-changing injuries and they have been through a huge change in their emotional and physical relationship.

“There is so much love between them and they’re trying to survive in the aftermath of this trauma with contrasting reactions.”

The Smoke launches on Sky 1 HD on Thursday, February 20 at 9pm.

And while viewers may be keen to compare the new series to other firefighter dramas, the producers and cast feel this is a first for TV drama.

Producer Chris Fry said: “The storytelling is extremely bold.”

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