Miranda Hart has said that she "admires" her Call the Midwife character Chummy.
The Miranda actress portrays Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne in the BBC drama, a midwife based on one of writer Jennifer Worth's real-life colleagues, who passed away in 2011.
Worth personally recommended Hart as "perfect" for the part, with the actress explaining that she was instantly interested in the project upon reading the original book.
"The producers sent me the book and of course I went straight to the chapter where Chummy makes her entrance at Nonnatus House," she told the Radio Times.
"I was really intrigued, thinking, 'Who is this woman I apparently remind the writer of?' and that was me immediately hooked."
Speaking about her character, she sad: "I really admire Chummy. It can't have been easy to step out of her own world - that extreme upper-class background - to become a midwife in the East End.
"I read an article recently about the five things people are most likely to say before they die, and number two was, 'I wish I had been able to be myself'.
"I'm sure there are still lots of people who think, 'I wish I had said to my parents: actually, this is what I want to do with my life'. So Chummy was extremely brave."
Hart added that she was pleased to be playing someone who is married, having played Miranda in the BBC comedy of the same name for a number of years, a character known for being rather hopeless with men.
"It's good, isn't it? Normally, I'm the one fawning over the man, but in Call the Midwife I'm the experienced woman.
"There's a bit in the new series where the girls and I go to see South Pacific at the cinema. And during the love scene, Chummy leans down and whispers to her friends, 'Yes girls, I know all about that'. I love it that sweet Chummy gets there first!"
Call the Midwife returns for its second series on Sunday, January 27 at 8pm on BBC One.
