AFTER roles as a troubled teenager in a TV soap, a feisty reporter in a crime drama and a woman up to her knees in mud in a theatre classic, playing a panto princess is a welcome change for Jayd Johnson.

But this is no lily-livered, lovey-dovey kind of princess. As you might expect, Jayd - who won a Bafta for her portrayal of determined journalist Paddy Meehan in Field Of Blood - is playing it tough.

"Panto princesses can sometimes be a wee bit dull," she says, adding diplomatically: "Not all of them I mean - I loved all the princesses when I was wee.

"But Jasmine in Aladdin is different. She is a tomboy, who has ideas and plans and wants to change things.

"She was always my favourite panto character.

"My two cousins and I used to act out the Aladdin story all the time when we were younger and I was always Jasmine.

"So it is fun to be playing her for real."

The 23-year-old's panto debut, as the mysterious princess who steals the heart of street-seller and genie-magnet Aladdin, takes place at Cumbernauld Theatre this festive season.

She is already loving the experience.

"We got on the stage today, which was awesome," she says during a break in rehearsals.

"I am really excited about it. I have a four-year-old nephew and he can't wait to come and see the show."

"Although when I told him I was going to be Princess Jasmine this Christmas, he asked me if I wasn't going to be Jayd any more.

"He was a bit surprised about it all, but when I explained I could be both, he was fine."

The run starts on November 28 and ends on Christmas Eve, with two and three performances on some days.

"It's such great training for me," says Jayd, a little surprisingly for someone who has been acting since she was eight.

"Oh, no - I'm always learning, always listening to the people around me. It's when you think you don't need to learn any more that it all goes wrong.

"I always think I can do it better so I am really grateful when I can learn new skills. It's the best thing about this job. I learned to clog dance recently. That was fun."

Jayd joined drama classes when she was at primary school in Rutherglen.

There was no showbiz background - her parents, Connie and Johnny, run a cafe in the Forge Market - but Jayd just loved acting.

When she was 11 she landed her first professional acting job in the film Dear Frankie, starring Emily Mortimer and Gerard Butler.

From the age of 13, she played Nicki Cullen in BBC soap River City, leaving in 2009 after six years.

Although her character could return, Jayd admits she would find it hard to play her now.

"I loved River City and I learned so much on the show, and I would never say never …

"The programme has changed a lot. I am not sure where Nicki would fit in now.

"I think I am happy to leave her as a nice memory."

After leaving River City, Jayd moved to New York to study at the American Academy Of Dramatic Art, whose former trainees included Lauren Bacall and Robert Redford.

She returned to Scotland after being 'headhunted' for the role of wannabe reporter Paddy Meehan in Field Of Blood, a BBC Scotland drama based on Denise Mina's books.

Set in 1982, the drama also starred Peter Capaldi, David Morrissey and Ford Kiernan, and it won Jayd a Scottish Bafta.

The follow-up, The Dead Hour, was equally well received, but there are no plans to put Mina's third Paddy Meehan story, The Last Breath, on screen.

"I know a script was written, but nothing came of it," says Jayd. "It's a shame, because the story isn't finished. I hope there is still a chance it might be made."

Since moving back to Scotland, Jayd has appeared in a number of stage productions, including the critically acclaimed Bondagers at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh, about a group of 19th century female farm workers.

After Christmas, Jayd plans to go travelling - Vietnam and Cambodia are possible destinations - and she would like to do more producing, following a successful stint as producer of Mate, a film about a group of young Glasgow people.

But, for the moment, she is happy to be immersed in the world of festive frolics.

"My granny used to take me to the panto when I was little, and I loved it," she says. "It's a lovely, magical thing to be part of and I am looking forward to helping everyone get in the mood for Christmas."

l Aladdin is at Cumbernauld Theatre from November 28 until December 24. See www.cumbernauldtheatre.co.uk for more details.

ann.fotheringham@ heraldandtimes.co.uk