Sally Bretton, who plays Lucy in the hit sitcom Not Going Out, chats to British Comedy Guide about her comedy career...

Hi Lucy. Thanks for talking to us. Perhaps we could start off right at the beginning: how did you first get involved in acting?

I was really, really into my drama at primary school. We used to do inter-school poetry competitions and things like that, and the school play was a really big deal, so I was mad into it all.

My secondary school wasn't really into drama much, so it went by the wayside for a while. I still knew I wanted to be an actress though, even though I wasn't doing much of it. Once I finished secondary school I auditioned for drama school and went to Central [The Central School of Speech & Drama], which is where I knew I wanted to go.

At what point did you decide to focus on comedy?

I just sort of fell into it. One of the first jobs I got was in a comedy sketch show [Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show] and so people that work in that area, i.e. the same sort of casting directors, then call you back, and before you know it your CV is mainly comedy.

Most of my drama roles are in the theatre, so I've got quite a nice balance. So I tend to take quite heavy roles in the theatre and then muck about on telly. Ha ha.

Is comic acting harder?

Ummmm.... yeah, I would say that a bit. I don't know why. I think perhaps it's down to timing - it's a science. If you miss a beat, or you're just slightly off, or your intonation is a bit too heavy, or something else, then the gag is lost.

The other part of your brain is also working on delivery and timing, which you don't necessarily need for straight stuff. So, yes, I do find it more challenging... but some people might say the opposite.

Your first big TV role was as Donna in The Office (pictured). Did it feel like a big deal when you were filming the show?

I was quite new to everything at that stage but I remember thinking that it was something special, because it was so different and so, so funny.

I thought it was brilliant but I wasn't sure if it might be a bit divisive, and whether everyone would get it at the beginning. It did actually take people a couple of episodes till they got the hang of the fact that what they were watching was pretend and not a proper documentary.

I don't think anything recent had been quite so big as The Office, so I don't think I could have predicted it was going to be as big a hit as it was though.

It was indeed a big hit - an international phenomenon in fact. Ricky Gervais and Martin Freeman have forged movie careers off the back of the show... but did it have any impact on your own career Sally?

I don't know, I think it probably did. People were interested in who was in The Office because it was such a big success, and people are intrigued by that. But the success of The Office wasn't down to me - I wasn't Dawn, I wasn't any of the characters who were carrying the show. I'm really proud to have been in it but, yeah...

It probably helped in the short-term as there was such a buzz about anybody who was in it, so when you wanted to audition for something people would go 'ah, right, yeah... we'll look at her'.

You went on, via shows like Absolute Power, to the surreal free-wheeling Channel 4 hospital-based comedy Green Wing...

That was really zany, that one. The script was fairly moveable, but having said that, there was a lot of scenes people assumed were improvised but that wasn't necessarily the case. There was a lot of room for playing within it, and if people had ideas the writers were always really open to listening to stuff... but the writers on that were amazing, and there were quite a few of them, and yeah they shaped the show.

Then in 2007 you got the call to audition for the second series of Not Going Out, because Megan Dodds was leaving the show. Was auditioning to essentially drop straight in as the new lead character a daunting prospect?

Well I'm shocking [with contemporary culture] because - and my friends laugh at me because of this - I never know who anyone is, or what is going on. I'm really bad at keeping up with it all, so I hadn't seen the show... I didn't even know who Lee Mack was, actually!

So I got a casting for this thing called Not Going Out and it was about the time they were doing a late night repeat of the first series, so I got to watch one episode before the audition. I watched it and really, really laughed.

I was surprised, because it's terribly witty, dry, and quite in your face... yet still really funny. I've auditioned for a lot of comedy stuff before that I haven't got, and not all of it was that funny. Often you'll read comedy scripts and think 'mmm', but with Not Going Out it was like 'Ohhhh!'.

When you're at the beginning and replacing someone else you don't really start thinking about it, but I got called back quite a few times, and that's when you start going 'ohhwww', and your confident starts to waiver.

Well, it's great that the audience really took to you and your character almost immediately. Not Going Out is filmed in front of a live audience - has that taken some adjusting to?

We do this weird thing in rehearsals called 'the laugh run' where our director, Nick Wood, laughs at stuff maniacally, so you get used to waiting and working out where the laughs are, and stuff like that.

It's actually reassuring to have the audience because once the laughs start coming, your shoulders drop a little bit and you think 'ah, ok, phew, it's alright'.

The audience are there to have a good time and are on your side... but there is always slightly the fear, because you start rehearsing on the Monday and you're filming it on Friday, that there's not much time to get it right. You've got one day on set. Lee will be re-writing and cut things during rehearsals, so the script moves all week too... so by the time you get to the equivalent of the opening night in theatre... you've not had long with the lines and you've got one night to get it all right and that's it, then it goes out to millions of people. It keeps you on your toes a little bit!

We've been to a few of the recordings, and there is some great on-set antics. Is it hard to act opposite Lee? - It sometimes looks like he might be deliberately trying to make you laugh.

Yeah, you know, he's Lee. I find - well, everyone does - that he's hilarious, and so sometimes you do have to dig your nails into your side a little bit harder to try to remain concentrated and serious.

But, even though you can have a bit of a muck about at the recordings, loads of work has gone into it up to that stage - all the writing that's gone into it - and so you want to get it right, even if you're laughing or whatever. The studio audience like it when you make mistakes a bit, but only to a level... too much and they'll be like "we do have a train to catch, come on now..." It's a fine line. I've been to recordings of other shows where they've crossed that line, and you think 'oh, pull yourself together!'

Not Going Out almost got cancelled a couple of years ago, but the BBC have of course now seen sense, and ordered both the fifth and a sixth series. Did you know when you signed up that the show would become one of those vary rare things: a long-running British sitcom?

I really, really - hands on heart - think Lee is hilarious. His writing is so funny and I really, really enjoy the show. Even if I wasn't in it, I would definitely, definitely watch it - I just think it is funny!

I am a bit narrow on what I find funny on telly. There's loads of stuff on that's really not funny and yet keeps going, so surely Not Going Out should go, and go... and go!

When it got cancelled it was a bit like 'What?!?', because Lee has always been so passionate about it. He really, really has. That's another reason too it should continue - so much work goes into it - so I'm really glad the show is in the public consciousness now. People are definitely more aware of it, and it's getting the sizeable audience it deserves.

Good answer Sally. Here's to many more years of the show! Thanks again for chatting to us.

Catch the brand new series of Not Going Out on Friday 13th April at 9:30pm on BBC One. Not Going Out Series 5, and the Not Going Out Series 1-5 box set, are out DVD on May 21st and available to order now