Brian Beacom

THERE is no chance Hannah Tointon will be sick on anyone when she comes to Glasgow in the New Year.

The former Inbetweeners star, who famously threw up in one episode, is set to play an altogether more gracious character.

Hannah will star in a theatre production of the Hitchcock murder plot classic Strangers On A Train.

“I’ve been doing a lot of comedy in my career so this will be a complete change,” says Hannah, smiling.

“And hopefully I won’t have to throw up on anyone. But then, women being publically sick on anyone in back in 1950 hadn’t yet been invented.”

Hannah, 29, who has also starred in Hollyoaks and Doctors, is immersing herself in the world of fifties noir.

“I’m reading the book at the moment,” she says of Patricia Highsmith’s novel from which Hitchcock’s screenplay was adapted.

“So I’m still getting into the head of the character. But I’ve been told by the director not to watch the film, that the book will give me more insight for the theatre performance.”

She adds, smiling;” “But I do love Hitchcock and I think the film will be too hard to ignore.

“Maybe when I’m in rehearsals and have an idea what I’m doing I’ll watch it then.”

Hannah is set to play Anne Faulklner, the wife of Guy, whom he suspects of having an affair.

These days, a messy divorce is all it takes to end suspect relationship, but in this 1950 setting, murder was deemed less problematic.

“That’s why I’m so interested in the psychology of the characters, to get inside the head of a woman who is on the inside, yet caught up in her husband’s world of deceit.

“I’m fascinated by the idea of manipulation, that two men could meet on a train in a chance encounter and suddenly a joke about killing a wife becomes a real plot this murder.”

She adds; “You can imagine it happening in real life and that’s quite scary.”

Hannah’s partner is Inbetweeners and Fresh Meat star Joe Thomas.

Has immersing herself in the Strangers world resulted in her viewing the seeming very nice Mr Thomas a little differently?

“Not at all,” she says, laughing. “Luckily, I have full trust in him not to have me killed.”

Hanna, whose sister is Miss Selfridge actor Kara Tointon, loved The Inbetweeners.

She says when she first read a script she couldn’t stop laughing out loud.

Is there a chance the sitcom could come back, ten years on, as is the case with the classic Cold Feet?

“Gosh, never say never and the cast all go on so well. It could happen, but then again I couldn’t really say.”

Meanwhile, she’s focusing on playing a pencil-skirted, rather sensible middle class lady who is set to be murdered.

“It will be great to do a period piece on stage. I’ve never done one before and it will be so different from The Inbetweeners.”

*Strangers On A Train opens at the Theatre Royal on January 22.