Charlotte Riley's formal nights out prepared her for her role in 'Close to the Enemy'.
Charlotte Riley
The 34-year-old actress is set to star in the seven-part period drama - which airs on BBC Two on Thursday (10.11.16) - and admitted she had a head start with the dance training for the show because she regularly goes out swing-dancing in London.
Asked if she had to learn to swing dance for her new role, she said: "Actually I knew how to swing dance already, from nights out watching swing bands at the 100 club and Lady Luck Club in London, the kind of places where people ask each other to dance very formally."
However, Charlotte - who is married to Hollywood star Tom Hardy - admits her and her co-star Sebastian Armesto made a few footwork mistakes when on set.
She added to Stylist magazine: "Seb [who plays her on-screen husband Alex] and I had a laugh, especially when we - supposedly the stars of the scene - messed up our steps while we were surrounded by professional dancers."
Set in 1946, the series focuses around a British intelligence officer whose intentions are to charm secrets from a scientist being held against his will.
Meanwhile, Charlotte previously revealed she was excited to take on a role that is set in the "interesting period" of post-war Britain.
She said: "It's just such an interesting period, 1946. There was this insane amount of creativity around. Everyone had been so suppressed and focused on the war effort but then the creativity burst through and that's kind of what Rachel represents."
'Close to the Enemy' starts Thursday 10 November on BBC2.
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