Doc Martin and Horrible Histories actor to star in Glasgow play

“I counted I played 150 characters over the two series we have just filmed,” she says, with a laugh. “That’s nuts. I’m used to sticking on three different wigs and talking in silly voices, and by the end of the day you forget what your own name is.

“But doing this play is a complete departure for me.”

This play is Home, I’m Darling, which is at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal from February 14 to 18. Written by Laura Wade, it is the thought-provoking story a woman on a journey to become the perfect 1950s housewife.

From the outside looking in, she and husband Johnny (Neil McDermott) seem to have it all, but behind the gingham curtains, things are starting to slowly unravel…

The idea of devoting one’s life to housework Is a “funny mindset”, says Jessica, who admits she and Judy share little in common.

“Judy is very dedicated to this life, and she wants to do it,” she says.

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“I mean I can walk past piles of dirty clothes for days but Judy would never do that. Her house is pristine, she takes it seriously.

“What is so clever about this character is that she is happy. She is not a trapped little bird, she is living in a beautiful cage of her own making.”

Jessica adds: “But there is an amazing speech in the play, made by Judy’s mum, in which she says, ‘the 50s didn’t look like this in the 50s’.

“Everyone has this idea that it was all pretty dresses and feline eyeliner, and women walked about feeling absolutely thrilled all the time but it was hard.

“It was not the Doris Day image we have from old films. Women of the time wanted to go to university, or play tennis, or whatever it was, but when they met a man all that had to stop.”

She pauses: “I mean, the government actually encouraged women to stay at home, to ‘do their duty’.”

Jessica has been fascinated by the different responses audience members have had to the show.

“Has it made me look at my own marriage?” she muses. “I mean, I think Ben and I are like most couples with children – there’s a lot of logistics involved.

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“There are definitely things we do that are my jobs and his jobs, and I suppose the danger with that is that it becomes expected you each do those things. But I think we have a good balance.”

Jessica is married to producer and director Ben Wilson, and the couple have two sons, Frank, who is six, and four-year-old Arthur.

Frank will appear in an episode of the next Horrible Histories series, reveals Jessica.

“I play Charles Dickens’ daughter Mary and Frank plays my little brother,” she says, smiling. “It was hilarious – he was like an old ham, walking about on set being all ‘I am an actor’ and loving it.”

She sighs: “Sadly, I think we might have another actor on our hands.”

Jessica grew up in Sheffield where she started performing in school plays.

“We were really lucky in that our high school used the Crucible Theatre’s main stage for our productions, so I was spoiled,” she smiles. “I liked the feeling of doing that. I started writing and doing sketch shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, where most of the time audiences consisted of three people and a dog. But it was a way to get on the stage.”

It was a tough environment, says Jessica.

“It was very competitive,” she nods. “Sometimes, you knew you had an audience because they couldn’t get in to Tim Vine’s sold-out gig next door, but you'd take that.

“I did a stream of terrible jobs in London to be able to do it. And it did work because I got my first agent on the back of it.”

She pauses. “Looking back, I have no idea how I did it. I must have been a lot braver in my 20s than I am now.”

For more than a decade, Jessica played receptionist Morwenna Newcross in Cornish drama Doc Martin, which completed its final series last year.

“Although I auditioned for the ‘last ever’ series in 2011,” she says, with a grin. “No - this time it really was the last one, and it was sad to say goodbye. Apart from anything else, I got to live at the seaside for five months of the year, and I got to work with Martin Clunes, which is always a joy.”

Jessica won a Children’s BAFTA for her role as Mary Queen of Scots in Horrible Histories, the CBBC sketch show which brings historical stories and characters to life.

“That was fantastic,” she agrees. “I was gobsmacked to win. We’ve just finished series 10 and 11 and some special episodes, which will hopefully be shown later this year and early next."

She adds: “We spend most of the time just trying to make each other laugh.

“It’s a nice gang to be part of.”