For one thing, Down lives with 13 cats and two dogs which would probably drive the cool, sarcastic Miranda to distraction. Down's off-beat beauty and dark humour, which won her small roles in theatrical productions of Hurly Burly and Death and the Maiden, jibes well with the Mysterious Ways character.

Miranda is the occasional sidekick of anthropology professor Declan Dunn who investigates mystical phenomena to gather proof of miracles.

Down had three auditions before she was dubbed Miranda, her first on-going role in a television series.

"I felt I had ruined it at my third audition because the producer had given me a direction and I felt that I didn't take it," she says. "I was sure I had wrecked it". "This is my biggest job." Unlike Miranda, she does believe that there are other planes of existence which human beings are unaware of. "I haven't had any experiences of it," she says. "I was always very afraid of ghosts as a child. I have never really wanted to see a ghost." But her mother was visited by her grandfather after he died.

"I believe in the strength of the soul to come back to give us comfort," Down says. "I don't believe in a hell. I do believe you should try to be the best person you can be and life teaches us that.

"Things do come back to us. I think our life is testing our will and strength in rough times."

She says unemployment is one of the struggles the universe sends to test people's strength. "When I moved to LA when I was 19 that was a big testing period," she says. "I was alone and I was very scared. I knew that I had nobody in the immediate vicinity to call if I was in trouble. "I always look back to that time and I remember how brave I was when things get tough. "I think that if I can move to LA alone and survive I'll be okay with whatever is happening now. "Life experience does give you depth – you can't buy that."

Down studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in California before moving to England to study at the British American Dramatic Academy.

"I feel like I've done some courageous things and I remember that on the days when I'm not feeling so courageous," she says.

"I'm 25 and I've done a lot."