Jack James Ryan left gobsmacked by 'breathtaking' Sheridan Smith on new ITV drama

Passenger actor Jack James Ryan has opened up about working alongside Sheridan Smith on the new ITV drama I Fought The Law, admitting she took his breath away

Jack James Ryan was left blown away after "watching" Sheridan Smith on set.

The actor who became a household name after working on Coronation Street and Passenger landed a role alongside the former Gavin and Stacey actress in ITV 's I Fought The Law. ITV previously confirmed that filming had started for the new series, I Fought The Law – focusing on the real-life story of mother Ann Ming's fight to change the Double Jeopardy Law to see the murderer of her daughter finally brought to justice. Ann, a former nurse has been campaigning for several years to have the murderer of her daughter, Julie Hogg, convicted.

But after four months, the 27-year-old still couldn't believe his luck after "geeking out" over Sheridan, 43. "People say 'Oh I've always loved this actor' but when I knew that I was going to be playing alongside Sheridan, I couldn't believe it," Jack exclusively told the Mirror.

Manchester-born Jack continued: "It was just amazing, I have followed her career as a young actor and been totally inspired by the work that she's done, so getting to spend the last four months watching her work and stealing everything was the best, so much better than drama school." Jack went on to reveal that Sheridan can instantly "switch on" and get into character at a moments notice following a break in filming.

"She is absolutely breathtaking," he gushed. "To be surrounded by these actors, it has an absolutely great supporting cast throughout the series, so to be surrounded by them felt like I'd won the lottery – this is the type of work that I've always dreamed of doing."

Speaking about the show, Jack said: "I've never been in anything that was based on a true case, or any of the characters have been real, it's always been fictional stuff. Straight away you feel the pressure to do it justice. Sheridan plays the trailblazer, Ann Ming, who has done so much for raising awareness in the work that she's done.

"I know that we all felt the pressure, Sheridan and everyone, to do this story justice and deliver it in a sensitive way that was going to be impactful and honouring the people that we've lost. And also the people that are still fighting for justice, it was't easy but it was also incredibly exciting to be a part of something which felt like it has the opportunity to really help and change people and have a real impact for the better."

"I'm really, really excited for this to come out, and I think it's going to be, it's going to be a really different side to me that people haven't seen before," he stated, adding there was a "quite a visual transformation." I Fought The Law will share how Ann and Julie's family dealt with her mysterious disappearance in Cleveland back in November 1989 after finishing her shift at a local pizza parlour. Julie had been incredibly close to her parents, Ann and Charlie. She was just 22 when she was murdered.

Julie's body was discovered by her mum 80 days after it was hidden behind the panel of her bath by her murderer. However, her terraced home had been thoroughly searched by forensics officers in the days after her disappearance. While there has been no official transmission date for the drama, ITV has confirmed that it will air in four parts.

The series, based on Ann's book, For The Love of Julie, will also star Daniel York Lou as Charlie Ming and Enzo Cilenti as DS Mark Brathwaite. Elsewhere, Marlowe Chan-Reeves, Olivia Ng, Jake Davies, Victoria Wyant, Kent Riley and Rufus Jones will also appear in the drama.

This month, Jack teamed up as a Movember ambassador – raising awareness of mens mental health and encouraging lads to speak up. Reflecting on joining the Movember campaign, he said: "I was already well aware of the amazing work that Movember has done and do for raising awareness and funds for male mental health, just to be a small part of history moving forward is very exciting. It's such an exciting project and really meaningful project to get behind, male mental health is so under reported and so unspoken about."

This year, the tongue-in-cheek All Mos Save Live Campaigns is the 21st year of fundraising from the Movember team. The initial idea came after one ion three Brits discovered that not being able to grow a moustache as the biggest barrier of getting involved to help the cause. Almost one quarter of men said they couldn't grow a moustache or were not satisfied with the ones they were able to grow.

For more information about Movember and how to get involved visit https://uk.movember.com/register

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