In work, I can bring some of that `let's not take this too seriously' attitude Everybody could do with a bit of that. You need to laugh about things."Saskia Reeves is in Plotlands, starting tomorrow on BBC1 at 8.30pm; i.d., Screen Two on 31 May; and Butterfly Kiss, Screen Two on 14 JuneEYE TESTMid-1960s: Born and brought up in London1970s: Went to improvisation workshops with her sister every weekendEarly 1980s: After drama school, first job at the Covent Garden Community Theatre She did lots of pub theatre "I remember performing in a West End pub. We still want the same things - a sense of community and love."Reeves doesn't see it as a problem that Plotlands is yet another period drama "This period does not distance you," she reasons. "You get a hint of the period from the costumes, but it's not rammed down your throat You must leave the period behind and get on with the story. The corsets shouldn't get in the way."Plotlands is Reeves' first major television serial - a fact she ascribes to the pitiful lack of meaty screen roles for women.

Without being a method monster, she committed to making things authentic."The executive producer concedes that this can make her demanding on set, but maintains that the ends justify the means. "Other actors are demanding, too, but you look at the end result of their efforts and wonder why you went through all that grief," Graham continues. "That's not the case with Saskia."Reeves argues that Plotlands overall isn't necessarily intense "It's meant to be entertaining," she says "It may be set in 1922, but people don't change. "Without lapsing into cliche, I'd use two `I' words to describe her One is intensity. She has the technique, but is also blessed with photogenic features and presence The other is integrity. She storms out and hisses with conviction to no-one in particular and to the world in general: "If you touch my daughters, you're dead." Later, in an achingly plausible gesture, she tries to hide her despair from her daughters by putting her hand over her mouth to stifle sobs. The actress herself reckons that one of her strengths is her concern to be believable "from A to Z".Louis Marks, the producer of Plotlands, contends that "At no point in the programme does she just give you two dimensions."Graham agrees.

However, the role of Chloe, an abused wife who flees with her two daughters to build a new life on "their own little piece of England", confirms Reeves as one of our most magnetic actresses.On their first night in the new settlement, Chloe hears a rustling outside their tent. She had an edgy, elfin quality about her." It's the same when you meet her face-to-face. Initial unease - she doesn't give many interviews - soon gives way to an unexpected warmth and (would you believe it?) smiles. Her hair scraped back, highlighting her limpid green eyes, Reeves is sipping coffee in a central London cafe.She attributes the earnest reputation to her bone structure.