When a young actress lands the starring role in a groundbreaking new BBC drama, it usually calls for celebrations all round. But when Rachael Stirling, the 25-year-old daughter of Dame Diana Rigg, was offered her latest part, friends advised caution. "People said, 'Are you sure this is the right thing to do?'" she reveals. "You see, it's so controversial."
The role in question is the heroine of the £10 million period drama series Tipping the Velvet, which, because of its gay scenes, has become the most controversial drama production the BBC has ever attempted.
Based on the highly praised debut novel by Sarah Waters, it tells the story of Nan Astley, a sweet 18-year-old living in strict Victorian times. As she grows into womanhood, she leaves her father's oyster parlour in Whistable for the bright lights of London where she is taken under the wind of glamorous music-hall star Miss Kitty Butler, a male impersonator in top hat and tails played by Keeley Hawes, 24.
Some of the scenes between Nan and first love Kitty are so intimate that the director called for them to be shot on a closed set. However, Rachael doesn't appear fazed, despite tackling such scenes for the first time.
"I couldn't afford to be afraid or self-conscious," she says. "That wouldn't do anyone any favours and I'd have been misrepresenting my character, so I just went for it. The kissing was fine — and at least we didn't get 'tache burn!
"Seriously, though, if you're dubious about a part, don't do it; you'll never persuade the audience to believe in the story or character. I never wavered in my determination to play this role and to do it as best I could."
In forthcoming episodes, viewers also see Nan become the sexual slave of an aristocratic widow played by Anna Chancellor ('Duckface' in Four Weddings and a Funeral). How does Rachael think her parents — Diana Rigg and Scots landowner and businessman Archie Stirling, who divorced in 1990 — will react?
"Mamma read the book and just said, 'Oh, this is the first lesbian drama since Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, isn't it?'" says Rachael. "We didn't talk about it again. We don't, really — I go off on my thing and do it my way."
As for her father, Rachael reveals that when she was a girl he used to react to anything risqué on TV by calling out: "Eyes down to sandals!"
"He hasn't read the book so he doesn't know what it's about, except that I've told him it's going to be 'eyes on sandals' for a large percentage of the performance!", she laughs. "I'm a bit sorry for my two brothers. They're a lot older than me and it must be hard for them to watch."
Although Rachael is happy to say that she has a very good relationship with both her parents, she admits that when she started her acting career after studying history of art and Russian history at Edinburgh University she did her utmost to keep her pedigree a secret and never mentioned her mother. "I went 'undercover' until I worked out that people thought I was all right as an actress. Once I felt I'd justified myself, I owned up to the other half of my life, which is my mother."
Rachael's portrayal of Desdemona in the National Youth Theatre's 1996 production of Othello led to inevitable "like mother, like daughter" comparisons, aided by Rachael's dark-eyed prettiness, resonant voice and height — she's tall like her mother, who was recently voted the sexiest star in TV history,
Is it an advantage to be the daughter of such a distinguished actress? "At first, I was so desperate to prove I could do it that I was almost disparaging about my ma. Now my attitude is huge pride. But it's such a boring cliché to be the daughter of an actress. I'm a living, walking, breathing, smoking cliché! It's lovely to have a career in common with my mother. But even if it opens doors, it never gets you the part. And I've lost parts because I've been too tall!
"It's been nice to come home to somebody who has been there, done that and got the t-shirt. But my parents left it to me. We're utterly independent. I tend to throw myself into whatever it is I do — and no amount of warning or advice can ever stop you from making a mistake."
Many who have seen Rachael as Nan believe that Tipping the Velvet will make her a star, building on her success in films like Still Crazy, Maybe Baby and Complicity. "Oh, who are these people? I'd like to meet them," laughs Rachael, who reveals that the BBC didn't initially consider her right for the role as she wasn't a "household name". Not one to give up, she auditioned six times before clinching the part.
Rachael is aware that this production is inviting controversy and attracting audiences who are more interested in the sex scenes than the drama. "Yes, some people are bound to be watching it for purely titillating purposes, but my wish is that they turn it on with voyeuristic intent and get caught up in what is a wonderful story," she says. "It mirrors every young person who has ever had any insecurity or who has ever felt that they didn't fit in. This is the journey of a girl determined to find where she fits in."
In her own private life, Rachael is happily settled with John Lycett-Green, a nightclub DJ and the son of writer Candida Lycett-Green and late Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman. "I never believed there was someone out there for me — now I do," she says. "I really feel I've found my soulmate."
As for her career, she doesn't rule anything out — certainly not the soaps. "You've got permanent work and have a really food time. These actors go in day in, day out and they're brilliant.
"When I'm 50, I'd like to be the next Peggy Mitchell in Eastenders!"
