Sheridan Smith has described her upcoming role in ITV's new thriller Two Birds as a 'gamble', revealing she must undergo gun training, combat training, and learn to ride a motorbike for the physically demanding part.
The 44-year-old actress, currently starring in BBC One's The Cage, will play PC Izzie Cornwell, a widowed British officer who investigates a murder in a small Australian mining town. Smith admitted at the London launch of The Cage: 'I'm not very good at gambling, but probably the job I'm doing next is the most different to me.'
She added: 'I've got to do gun training, combat training, and learn to ride a motorbike, which I've fallen off twice already. [It's] a job in Australia. That might be a gamble.' The six-part series, written by The Cry's Helen FitzGerald, follows Izzie as she tries to reconnect with her sister and rebuild trust with her daughter while investigating a murder linked to a notorious crime family.
Smith has adopted a rigorous diet and enrolled in an intensive £2,350 bootcamp to prepare for the role. The cast includes Stephen Peacocke as Detective Matt and Judy Davis as formidable crime matriarch Mrs Baxter.
The Cage premieres Sunday, 26th April on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
