ON SET WITH... Michelle Keegan

Michelle, 29, found fame playing feisty Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street. Now she’s taken over from Lacey Turner in BBC1’s hard-hitting Army drama Our Girl. Here, she talks us through a week on the show’s set in South Africa…

9 MONDAY

I was a big fan of Lacey Turner in Our Girl but I think the woman I play, British Army medic Lance Corporal Georgie Lane, is a brilliant new character and I hope people embrace her. She’s very good at her job and she knows what she wants in life. She puts work first and isn’t afraid to get stuck in, which is good as it’s usually her and a group of lads. I’d say she’s a good role model for girls because she shows you can achieve what you set out to do. And when you make mistakes you pick yourself up again...

10 TUESDAY

South Africa is doubling for Kenya in our show, where Georgie’s platoon are on a posting at a refugee camp, and today we’re filming action scenes, a new experience for me but something I’m really enjoying. Going up in helicopters, getting thrown out of cars... brilliant! The physical side of the job has been very liberating. We went to boot camp before we started which was hard work, and a bit strange as I was the only female with all these men, but that’s what it’s like for Georgie.

11 WEDNESDAY

Georgie has two loves in her life; her fiancé, Dr Jamie Cole [Royce Pierreson], and the man who literally left her at the altar in the first episode, special forces operative Elvis [Luke Pasqualino, right with Michelle]. The whole series follows her trying to decide which one is best for her.

12 THURSDAY

I have a really emotional scene today, where Georgie’s struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after being kidnapped by terror group Al-Shabaab, and then rescued. I learnt a lot about PTSD by talking to some real female medics during my research and their stories run into my mind and help me think about what Georgie is going through. I didn’t really understand how serious PTSD could be until I talked to them and I heard some really heartbreaking things. I’ve got real respect for what people in the Army do; I don’t think I’d be able to cope.

13 FRIDAY

A lot of the subject matter we’re dealing with on this show is tough and because I’m in almost every scene I’m working 12-hour days, six days a week, which is tiring but I’m loving every moment. I know it’s going to be one of those times where I look back and know it was the experience of a lifetime. I haven’t really had any time to get homesick and instead I’ve bonded with this brilliant group of lads. I know it’s a cliché but we really have become a bit like a family and I know we’ll all stay in touch when filming ends and we all head home.

Our Girl, Wednesday, 9pm, BBC1.