Joanne Froggatt has opened up about a personal connection she has to the story behind her new show, Sherwood.
MORE: Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery makes career-changing debut with co-star Michael Fox
Chatting to the BBC ahead of the launch of the drama, the actress, who is known and adored for her role as Anna Bates in Downton Abbey, explained how her childhood and growing up in the north of England shaped her understanding of the miners' strike, which acts as a backdrop to the upcoming series.
WATCH: Check out the trailer for Sherwood starring Joanne Froggatt
"I was pretty familiar with [the history]," she said, adding: "I was very young when the miners' strike happened and whilst I didn't live in a mining town, I did live in the north of England."
Joanne, who plays Sarah Vincent in the show, continued: "I didn't fully understand it, because I think I was three or four, but it was a part of my childhood. When I was older, we learnt about it in school, and I learnt about it from family as well who taught me how divisive that time was in the UK.
MORE: Downton Abbey fans furious after spotting major photoshop change to Maggie Smith
MORE: Will there be a second season of true-crime drama The Staircase?
© Photo: BBCJoanne Froggatt plays Sarah Vincent
"It was interesting to look back and revisit that as an adult, to see it with new eyes and gather a better understanding of the politics behind it"
Sherwood, which also stars The Missing actor David Morrissey and The Crown star Lesley Manville, tells the story of two shocking killings that shake a community's core, sparking a massive manhunt.
The synopsis for the contemporary drama says: "As suspicion and antipathy build, between lifelong neighbours and towards the police forces who descend on the town, the tragic killings threaten to inflame historic divisions sparked during the Miners' Strike three decades before."
© Photo: BBCDavid Morrissey and Terence Maynard in Sherwood
David also opened up to the broadcaster, giving detail about what fans can expect from his character, Detective Chief Superintendent Ian St Claire, a canny officer with a good judge of character.
"He has to go back to his childhood area to investigate this terrible death of a man he knows and that puts him back into a community and a place in time and history that was very complicated for the community, and very complicated for him personally."
Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
