ROUND THESE parts she’s known as Hannah Fitton, especially at her home in Shepley.

But on stage she has adopted another surname.

Hannah Harford is starting to forge a theatrical career at the age of 25 after completing a postgraduate drama course.

She has just finished a short run in Thark – a 1920s farce by Ben Travers – at an auditorium in Highgate, north London.

The 10-strong cast had originally put it on as their end-of-year play at drama school before deciding to take it out into the wider world.

Hannah says: “Thark averaged an audience of about 50 each night. This is a massive achievement to do on the fringe, as a lot of plays have more actors on the stage than members in the audience on most nights.

“We received the Time Out critic’s choice and a four-star review. We had a good bond on and off stage, which really helps working on a farce piece, which is all about timing and trusting.”

Hannah began acting, singing and dancing at the age of four and continued with classes until leaving school.

She was a pupil at Kirkburton Middle and Shelley High School, where screen actresses Lena Headey and Jodie Whittaker first went on stage.

Hannah travelled all over Yorkshire for festivals and locally took part in the Mrs Sunderland and Janet Beaumont competitions.

As a child she performed at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and at Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre in the Royal National Theatre’s version of An Inspector Calls, by J B Priestley.

After Shelley she went to Wakefield College to study for A levels and a BTec in performing arts, then on to York St John University to study performance and theatre for three years.

Then came her year-long postgraduate course at Drama Studio London.

“I auditioned with a piece by the Northern playwright Jim Cartwright, something I felt really comfortable with. I was over the moon – the intake at drama school is competitive and extremely selective, with an intake of only 63 for my year group,” says Hannah.

After living in London for the past 18 months, she has decided the capital is not for her and has headed back to Shepley.

Hannah says: “I would like to continue my career in the theatre, but I’m also very interested in film and TV.

“As an actor, I don’t think I can be picky. Work is hard to come by in this industry and it’s an extremely long slog. But, like anything, if your willing to put in the graft the rewards do come.”

She’s proud of her Yorkshire roots.

“From the time I started drama school, professionals and other actors have both constantly said that being from the north will serve me well in this career,” she says.

“I’m very proud of where I come from. As they say, you can take the girl out of the north, but you can’t take the north out of the girl.”