Jodie's suddenly a very familiar face; Huddersfield actress Jodie Whittaker is currently in Canada for the premiere of her movie, Good. But, as ANDREW BALDWIN reports, TV audiences are able to watch her over the next few weeks in BBC 1's lavish new production of Thomas Hardy's classic novel Tess Of The D'Urbervilles

Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), Sept 22, 2008

Byline: ANDREW BALDWIN

IF you thought that face looked familiar on television last night, it was.

Viewers following BBC serial Tess Of The D'Urbervilles saw Huddersfield actress Jodie Whittaker make her first appearance in the story.

She plays Izzy, best friend of Tess, the spirited heroine of Thomas Hardy's classical work.

It will have been required watching by dad Adrian, mum Yvonne and older brother Kris at their family home in Huddersfield.

But Jodie herself was not around to see it. She was in Canada after an appearance at the Toronto Film Festival.

She was there for the premiere of her movie Good, about the rise of the Nazi party in pre-war Germany.

The film critics, apparently, are already talking about Oscars.

Not bad for someone whose big break came less than two years ago when she was plucked from hundreds of hopefuls to play the female lead in Venus alongside acting legend Peter O'Toole.

"We're all thrilled for her. She has achieved such a lot," says dad Adrian. Not that his daughter is letting fame go to her head.

She wore a chic one-shoulder black Jasmine De Milo creation at the Toronto premiere of Good - but was proud to sport a Yorkshire accent with it.

However, she admitted: "No one understands me, not even my boyfriend understands what I'm saying."

Good is an adaptation of the play of the same name by C P Taylor and stars Viggo Mortensen as a German professor who is seduced by the truly dark side of the Nazi party in 1930s Frankfurt.

He slowly falls deeper and deeper into the party, rationalising each betrayal as it happens. Jason Isaacs is also on board in the film.

"It was fantastic.

They're so incredibly generous.

Jason and Viggo, they're so cool," Jodie reveals.

"They're just brilliant and they're such a good laugh. When the piece is as heavy as ours, you really need a sense of humour on set to keep the energy going, and it was great. I learnt a hell of a lot from such wonderful people."

Jodie, 26, has been working almost non-stop since her breakthrough role in Venus.

As well as Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, she will be seen on TV this autumn in three other productions.

Shooting of Thomas Hurndall, scheduled for transmission on Channel 4 on October 13, is a compelling feature-length drama chronicling events after the death of a British student photographer shot by an Israeli sniper in 2003.

It tells the true story of one family's quest to discover the truth about what happened to their son.

She will also star in Consuming Passion, 100 Years Of Mills & Boon, a drama which is just what the title says - about the publishing company famed for its romance novels.

Jodie is in the first story within the 90-minute drama as Mary, wife of Charles Boon, the wheeler-dealer co-founder of the publishing imprint.

Also coming up is Wired, in which she teams up with East Enders' star Charlie Brookes in a fast-paced three-part ITV1 thriller that delves into the murky, high-risk world of bank fraud.

Wired sees Charlie, best known as Walford's Janine, playing a girl at the centre of a pounds 250m internet bank theft.

Jodie plays Louise, a young, fun-loving single mum, who's given a high profile promotion at ZBG Banking and is targeted as the woman to facilitate the theft.

Part of it was filmed in Liverpool, giving Jodie a rare chance to catch up with her mother.

"It was great to be so close to home. I had some free time so I rang my mum and she was able to jump on a train to meet me for a coffee," said Jodie.

'It was fantastic. They're so incredibly generous. Jason and Viggo, they're so cool'

andrew.baldwin@examiner.co.uk

CAPTION(S):

WHITTAKER IN WESSEX: Huddersfield actress Jodie Whittaker (second left) as Izzy Huet in Tess of The D'Urbervilles with (from left) Rebekah Staton as Marian, Emily Beecham as Retty and Gemma Arterton as Tess. One of several new TV and film performances for Jodie; HECTIC DIARY: for Huddersfield actress Jodie Whittaker