TWELVE years ago when Jessica Stevenson played Nancy in her school production of Oliver few in the audience could have known they were watching a star in the making.

Now the actress, who grew up in Brighton, has been named Best Female Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards for her roles in Caroline Aherne's TheRoyle Family and Spaced, which she co-wrote with Simon Pegg.

But the 27-year-old is far from a newcomer having been acting since she was a child in school productions, at the Dorothy Stringer High School in Loder Road, Brighton, and the National Youth Theatre. She was first spotted by an agent when she was 17 and starring in the NYT production of Blitz and went on to take a part in a Disney film with Robert Sean Leonard at 19.

She said: "Acting was really nurtured at my primary school, which is where my acting began, St Luke's in Kemp Town. There was an exceptional music department, a teacher called Pat Halford used to write plays and Molly Taylor would do the music.

"What really sticks in my mind is performing There's A Hole In My Bucket Dear Liza when I was about six.

"Then I suppose I loved the applause, but now I love the psychology of performing. I love people and working out how people work and I find myself watching people all the time, especially on the tube."

Born in Lewisham, Jessica Stevenson moved to Canning Street with her mother, Jane, and older sister, Zoe, when she was two. She remembers a childhood surrounded by talented and artistic people, during which her family afforded her a lot of freedom.

She said: "It was a brilliant place to grow up, the most amazing street. I was surrounded by loving and interesting people, who were artists or performers or interested in the arts. The jazz singer Joely Wilson was my next-door neighbour.

"It gave me a lot of confidence and I am sure growing up in Brighton gave me a different perspective on things."

Jessica started writing because she did not want to wait for people to offer her parts, preferring to create her own.

"I find having to go to auditions for acting jobs very hard," she said. "There is a feeling you are powerless and you don't get jobs because of the colour of your shirt. There are inevitably going to be times when you are out of work so I decided to be proactive and it makes me feel good because I am doing things regardless of whether

someone has given them to me."

Jessica added she wanted Spaced to reflect her generation and youth culture which had been previously overlooked in comedy.

She said: "I had been thinking about sitcoms for a long time. There seemed to have been a dearth of good British ones and American ones like Friends, Frasier and Seinfeld seemed to have taken over.

"I'd been writing bits and bobs for a while, including sketches for Six Pairs of Pants the show where I met Simon, and a short film with my friend Katie Carmichael. Spaced comes from my experience of life and what I thought was missing on telly."

She gravitated towards comedy roles naturally and even tried to add humour to the straight parts she played.

She said: "I was a nurse in Staying Alive and I used to say do you want me to fall over here or walk into the wall? It would be really funny.

"That's what I liked about the Royle Family. I could play my character straight without worrying about getting laughs and it was funny anyway.

"It was one of the best jobs I have ever had. All I had to do was sit on the sofa and eat scotch eggs or maybe a Club biscuit."

Jessica, who now lives in London with her partner Adam and 14-month-old son, Gabriel, said that the award will give her time to relax and the confidence to only take on projects she is really interested in.

"I don't know where I am going to put the award. Maybe on the mantelpiece but I was thinking of having it madeinto a pendant so I can carryit around with me," she said.

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