An Endeavour actress has said she only asked for a walk-on part but producers liked her so much they wrote her the role of the Oxford Mail’s editor.

Abigail Thaw, daughter of Morse actor John Thaw, plays Dorothea Frazil in the ITV detective drama series.

The series is a prequel to Inspector Morse, following a young Morse at the beginning of his career in Oxford’s police force.

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Thaw explained when she heard they were making the show she originally only asked for a small, walk-on part.

She said: “I got involved because I got a call from my agent saying they are making a prequel, a one-off, to Morse and they are looking for a young John Thaw and did I know anyone.

“I could not think and also thought why the bl**** h*** am I not in it!

“So I asked is there any chance I could just have a walk-on part or just sit in the background in a uniform - sort of ‘alright Governor’. It would be quite fun wouldn’t it?”

After seeing her showreel, Endeavour’s creator Russell Lewis had other ideas and created the role of Dorothea specifically for her.

She said: “It went down quite well, so it became more permanent.”

Thaw called working on the series “gorgeous” as many people in the crew on Endeavour had also worked on Morse with her dad.

She said her father would have loved it and would be “very proud” of the show. 

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