Skins and Sunshine of Leith starlet Freya Mavor is slipping into something more 17th century for her role in New Worlds, the much anticipated follow up to Channel 4 mini-series The Devil’s Whore. Alongside Joe Dempsie, Alice Englert and Jamie Dornan Freya took part in a Q&A following a special preview screening of the first episode. Her’s what she had to say:

Q. New Worlds has a lot of different themes and subtexts, what does your character specifically represent and bring to the series?

I would say Beth definitely takes a while to grasp the seriousness and the reality of the political situation. In the beginning she’s been living in a very sheltered environment where her mother has actively chosen to live away from politics and the royal court as way of protecting Beth from the evils of the world. But through this encounter with the rugged Abe Goff she has this awakening. Her eyes and her heart are opened to a whole new world. It’s cheesy but true. I think for her it’s about discovering herself as a woman, falling in love and finding her sense of justice. I’m going to stop there…

Q. How did you research this period of history?

Martine and Peter were very helpful in suggesting things when I asked. Martine suggested a great book called Cavalier by Lucy Worsley. Which is all about the 17^th century, following the Cavendish family, it gives a great insight into the intricacies of that era. Everything from childbirth to the way you hold your cutlery.  When doing something like this that’s the kind of detail that helps creates a reality.

Q. Do you think people will see parallels between the evens in the show and what is happening in the world today?

I think it was a more brutal time back then, people fought tooth and claw, it was a lot more animalistic in the way everything operated. I definitely think any show that explores social concepts still reaffirms a divide that exists today. I feel like there’s never going to be a politically comfortable situation. I mean just being Scottish and talking about the referendum … I’m not going into the referendum actually.  But I think the show’s also about fighting for things that aren’t necessarily going to be an immediate result. It’s fighting for a cause and freedoms that generations later will take the benefit of.

Q. Do you think the show will make a younger audience want to engage in politics more?

One thing that’s definite about this series is that it’s not some sort of cosy tea and crumpets on a Sunday night watching people in tight corsets run around. It’s got a really strong and important message to I that I think does come through. The fact that it looks so beautiful, with a great cast and beautiful writing makes you pay attention.

Q. How easy is for you and Jamie to integrate a love story in amongst all the political themes and action?

I think as the series progresses you’ll see that things don’t necessarily go to plan; they don’t even go well at all for our characters. That was partly due to the fact that they’re in this love drunk stage. They’re both being active and rebellious in this haze of romance which puts them both in danger.

Q. Has the project made you personally more politically aware or motivated?

Getting a historical project incites you to read up about that period of history and research it. I didn’t know half the stuff before doing this. It was a real eye opener. For me it was a very beautiful but intense and full on experience. I ‘m looking forward to seeing the rest of the series!

Be sure to check out our other posts for the rest of the Q&A and what the rest of the talented young cast had to say.