Claire Goose says new role in The Coroner made time away from her loved ones worthwhile

But the actress – known for her roles in Casualty, Waking The Dead and The Bill – felt such an “affinity” to her character in the BBC’s new daytime drama that she allowed it to steal her away from her producer husband Craig Woodrow and two young daughters back in London.

The new show, filmed on location in Devon, follows Jane (played by Claire), a high-flying solicitor who, after another failed relationship, returns to the small seaside town she escaped as a teenager to take up the post of coroner.

The 40-year-old said timing was usually the issue when it came to keeping in touch with her loved ones.

She said: “We’d wrap about 7pm and quite often, we’d have been on the beach all day with no signal. By the time I’d get home, my kids were in bed and I’d missed them. I’d try and speak to them in the morning while I was sat in the make-up truck.”

But her role was worth it.

“It’s lovely to see a female in a role that is more often than not filled by a male,” she said.

“She loves her job; and for someone who’s always felt a bit of an outsider, she’s finally independent. Although she works alongside the police and there are certain protocols, no one can tell her what to do. She is respected in and outside of work.”

Thriving on its serial format, the bold, light-hearted show is shot in self-contained episodes that can be watched in any order Monday to Friday; a quirky format the cast was more than happy to take on.

Claire said: “One of the things I loved about my time on Casualty was working with guest stars and different actors every week.

“If it was just the six regular characters throughout The Coroner, things could become quite stayed and fail to flourish. When you’ve got this dynamic of new, fantastic people coming in all the time, it challenges you as an actor. And I like that…”

Another thing likely to win over viewers is the flirtatious relationship between Jane and Davey (Matt Bardock), the local detective sergeant.

Claire revealed: “You don’t find out about it in this series, but they were childhood sweethearts, who split when Jane won a place at Edinburgh University to study law. He kissed someone else, and while it was a case of ‘one strike and you’re out’, it really broke her heart.

“He’s now married to Annette, the other woman, but you never see her.

“I think it becomes very apparent that they should be together, but she’s not the sort of woman to break up a marriage and he wouldn’t just leave his wife.”

The Coroner begins on BBC One on Monday, November 16.