Daily Record 24th March 07

Andrew Davies (House Of Cards, Pride And Prejudice, Bridget Jones' Diary, Bleak House) adapts Jane Austen's gothic masterpiece - and we reckon this ravishing romp will make a star of lead actress Felicity Jones.

She plays spirited, wide-eyed country girl Catherine Morland, who throws herself into Bath's debauched high society - naively toying with the affections of the two handsome men vying for her heart.

After dancing and flirting with good-hearted Henry Tilney (JJ Feild) at her first society dance, Catherine also attracts the attention of caddish John Thorpe (William Beck). And to complete the confusion, Catherine's new best friend - John's sister Isabella (Bleak House star Carey Mulligan) - is planning to marry her brother, James.

With her imagination fired up by Gothic novels, and a head full of gossip courtesy of ambitious Isabella, Catherine throws herself into her new and exciting life - with her vivid fantasies played out in some sexy dream sequences.

"I love Catherine Morland," grins actress Felicity, who is a revelation in her first lead role.

"Out of all the Austen characters, she has such freshness and an optimism about people. There is a lot of myself in her, when I was younger - that open-eyed wonder that she has.

"She is so willing to please that she gets carried away with both Henry and John. Henry is someone who teaches her and has quite a paternal role in her life whereas John is much more of a bad boy."

And the dreams, in which Catherine is attacked by hunky highwaymen or ravished by Henry were as cream to film for 23-year-old Felicity.

"It was a really lovely experience," she says. "I was doing something different every day. One day I was trying to horse ride, the next I'd be running through fields full of cowpats in the middle of Ireland with JJ Feild - wearing a nightgown.

"Right from the beginning you get an insight into her thoughts, and her developing affections for Henry Tilney come out in these quite sexual dreams."

With scandal and heartbreak alongside the romance, and a superb cast this classy costume drama has it all.