Actress Joanne is set for a big year

ACTRESS Joanne Froggatt has a hectic 12 months ahead after an amazing year as one of the characters on awardwinning Downton Abbey.

Joanne, who was born in Scarborough and went to drama school in the town, before heading to the Redroofs Theatre School in Berkshire, is still coming ro terms with the success of the period drama which picked up a Golden Globe earlier this month for best television mini series. ITV1’S hit saga about the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, has proved a huge success in the UK and its latest achievement showed it had also captivated audiences across the Atlantic. Accepting the award at the Beverly Hills ceremony, the show’s creator, Oscar winner Julian Fellowes, said: “How fabulous this is. The whole Downton adventure has been an extraordinary one.

“Like spotting a promising child and waking up to find they’ve have won the Olympics – and that’s what we’ve lived through.”

And Jo, who plays Anna Smith, the head housewife, said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of Downton Abbey.

“We are thrilled people have taken it to their hearts and that it has become so successful.

“I’m very much looking forward to filming the third series next month.”

You will also catch Joanne, 31, playing Sally in You Want Me To Kill Him which will be released later this year.

The film, directed by Andrew Douglas, is based on a true story where a teenage boy descends into the dangerous world of the internet with harrowing consequences.

Jo, whose parents Ann and Keith still live in Littlebeck, is due to start filming a new film called Filth soon where she plays a police officer called Mary.

The film is an adaptation of Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh’s novel and stars James Mcavoy as the main character who plays the role of a drug-addled police officer who manipulates and hallucinates his way through the festive season in a bid to secure promotion and win back his wife and daughter.