The story starts in Bath, where all of society go to find a bride. Henry Tilney is a man who doesn?t really want any part in that society. He?s the unexpected bachelor. And then he meets Catherine.

Henry and Catherine's love story is not a classic one, particularly as the heroine's view of the handsome vicar is somewhat distorted by her love of Gothic literature.

The first time we meet Henry he is not as we expect him to be because he has a very strange reputation. There are rumours about the Tilney family, particularly that the mother died under strange circumstances, and we don't know if it's all bred in Catherine's imagination or not. Was it foul play or negligence or a strange Gothic murder.

Throughout the story, as it's seen through Catherine's eyes, we see her young, exaggerated imagination unfold. She is always reading Gothic horror stories, so her perception of the Tilneys is in the perspective of what she reads. That is one of the underlying themes of the piece how much fiction can you live and read and digest before it starts distorting your view of reality.

Having good guys and bad guys in Austen is perhaps a bit simplistic, but Henry is the guy who gets the girl at the end. I don't think John Thorpe is necessarily bad. Even Henry isn?t necessarily all good - he's a bit of a snob at first and he comes with an awful lot of baggage. It's about Henry overcoming the issues he has with his family to find love, and John is a man who is looking for love for social and financial reasons. But we are telling, primarily, Catherine's story.

One of the key developments in the relationship between Catherine and Henry is when she's invited to Northanger Abbey, because our father has assumed she is a rich heiress and wants her money. Her imagination has run wild about the death of my mother and she accuses my father, through me, of some foul play. Henry, who has fallen in love with her, suddenly realises that she is just like all the other girls, or so he thinks. He leaps in and destroys her by telling her she is just a silly little girl like the rest of them. All of this idyllic, natural growth to the relationship is destroyed in one scene, on one simple misunderstanding and an act of imagination.

JJ was flattered to be asked to play the lead in Jon Jones' next drama, shortly after completing another of the acclaimed director's films.

I've worked with Jon Jones before (on The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton) so he already knew how to put up with me! I have to say, Jon is by far and away one of the best television directors I've ever worked with. I was so flattered to be asked to do this because, as an actor, I think the best compliment you can receive is to be asked back by the same director. And to be asked back within six months was beyond my expectations.

It was a terrifically short filming schedule, so we really had to jump in at the deep end and get stuck in. We started with the final scene ? the first scene we shot was will you marry me Catherine! It can be a little bit strange shooting the last scene first but all filming is shot out of order, so you should know where you character is supposed to be at any time. But you do usually get to know people before you say you love them and ask them to spend the rest of their life with you!

Proposing to a stranger was the least of JJ's worries. Learning to dance was far more nerve-wracking.

The first time Henry and Catherine meet is at a Bath ball. I get to prance around and pretend I'm a good dancer! They get on very well and she soon finds out that there are all sorts of mysteries about his family. The character of Henry Tilney was based on Jane Austen's unrequited love - on which she based a lot of her work - called Thomas Lefroy. We filmed the ballroom scenes in the King's Inns, Hall of Judges in Dublin, in which hangs a giant portrait of the Chief Justice of Ireland Thomas Lefroy. So we were dancing underneath me!

To prepare for the dances I had to fly backwards and forwards to Dublin and be told off viciously for my posture, my arms, my legs, my chin, where I look, where I breathe! Maybe I should have taken more note of movement at drama school! It was fantastic fun though. The Movement Director Sue Mythen was an absolute perfectionist - it's like she's been transported from that time to here. She was very structured and precise which is great, because at the end of the day I'm never going to be able to do 100%, but if I can get 50% of what she wants then I think I'll get away with it.

As well as dancing, JJ also had to undertake his fair share of stunts.

The strangest scenes I've ever had to shoot were the fantasy scenes, which involved sword fighting, being airbrushed with white make-up to look gothic, running around in a cow field with horses - which seem to dislike me - and slipping in cow pats all night in the rain! And all whilst trying to look dashing! We spent some time with a stunt man called Phillipe Zone, who was convinced that as long as we try to kill each other then it will look convincing!! We also spent a lot of time training on the horses. I had a beautiful gray called Smirnoff who liked to bolt at the sight of a camera. So I managed to gallop around most of the Wicklow countryside, unintentionally, to try to get control of her.

As a fan of costume drama, JJ enjoys each element that goes into starring in one.

I seem to do a lot of costume dramas. Northanger Abbey was my fourth of the year. I did three Victorian ones and then Regency. Sometimes it can be easier to play something which is so alien to yourself, although you do get odd costumes, which pinch in very strange places. And lots of frilly sleeves which get in your lunch! The costume department got very bored of me coming back from lunch with my frilly sleeves covered in ketchup!

It's been nice to go back and watch as many Jane Austens adaptations as possible. To be honest, I hadn't read any Jane Austen before this. Strangely enough, after reading Northanger Abbey, I have noticed more and more layers to her writing which I didn't necessarily appreciate before. It's been really nice getting into one of our classic writers as a result of getting a part. Although we don't have a society now where you have to marry for money, the themes in Austen are pretty universal. We are all searching for a partner and love and hoping that we can throw out all of our issues and backgrounds and simply be with the person we love. Whether it's in Austen's time and it's about throwing away your inheritance or it's in modern times and it's about throwing away the baggage we have with our past, it's a very universal thing. That's maybe why people keep going back to Austen.