Leverage actress wants to be first female Doctor Who

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE LEVERAGE?

The show is about a group of con artists who have always worked alone, and they're supposed to be the absolute best at what they do and they each have a different specific skill. So there's a hacker, there's a sort of acrobatic thief, there's a fighter, and Timothy Hutton's character brings us all together.

YOU PLAY SOPHIE DEVEREAUX. WHAT'S SHE LIKE?

My character is the grafter, she's the person who they refer to in the conman business as the meeter and greeter. Timothy Hutton plays a character who's been a fraud investigator for years who's been chasing these criminals and he knows everything about them. He knows all their techniques. Even though they all have an individual skill, he decides to bring this group of people together to pull off a scam on someone who has betrayed him, then they sort of form this troupe. They're just a bunch of dysfunctional characters, basically, who have always worked alone and now start to work as a team.

HOW DOES THIS DIFFER FROM OTHER CONMAN SHOWS AND FILMS?

The thing that sets us apart from other shows like Hustle, and also Ocean's 11 - because it is in those sorts of genres - is that we all develop a conscience and start helping people, so it has that sort of Robin Hood element.

ARE YOU THRILLED WITH ITS SUCCESS IN AMERICA?

It's gone down a storm in the States, but I think partly because of the economic climate. There are many episodes where we're sort of helping the everyman get his house back and getting revenge on the evil corporations.

DID YOU MAKE A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO CRACK THE STATES, OR DID 'THEY' COME TO YOU?

I'd sort of lazily gone over there every couple of years and done a couple of auditions. I'd never really applied myself to it. I got this basically off the back of Jekyll and Coupling. The writer of Leverage is a big Steven Moffat fan and had followed his career. He was a Coupling fan, but I think when he saw me in Jekyll he really wanted me for Leverage.
Not a lot of people saw Jekyll. It didn't really have huge numbers, but I really loved it and it's probably the thing I'm most proud of.

NOW THAT STEVEN MOFFAT IS IN CHARGE OF DOCTOR WHO, WOULD YOU BE KEEN TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE?

I'd love it. I'm kind of feeling like I'm going to have to start stalking him at some point [laughs]. I think there was an internet campaign last year to make me the first female Doctor Who, but obviously that wasn't quite a strong enough voice out there [laughs].
It would be brilliant to have a female Doctor Who at some point. I don't think they'll ever do it. I'd do anything. I'd play a monster on it. It's such a good show.

WHEN DO YOU START WORK ON LEVERAGE AGAIN?

March 1. I've still got my baby belly, but hopefully I'll be able to work some of that off before I start.

IS IT TRUE YOU MADE YOUR TV DEBUT IN KIDS' TV SHOW INTO THE LABYRINTH?

Yes! That was a sort of Doctor Who type thing wasn't it? I only did one episode. That was one of those things with wobbly sets and cardboard cut outs. I haven't thought about that for about 25 years. I do remember lots of dry ice and wobbly cardboard sets.

WHAT'S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER?

I've been so lucky in my career, starting out with Dennis Potter and doing some really interesting theatre, and then Coupling was a huge, huge benchmark for me. Discovering a love of comedy was a really big turning point in my life and challenging myself, realising I did have a talent for timing and being goofy, and not taking myself too seriously.

ASIDE FROM DOCTOR WHO, WHAT'S A DREAM JOB FOR YOU?

I enjoyed working with Mike Leigh in his play 2000 Years at the National Theatre, and I would literally give my right arm to work with him again, and devise a role with him.