Securing the role of Emma Morley in the new TV adaptation of One Day<\/a> involved a rigorous audition process that took months, recalls Ambika Mod<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI totally get why they did it,\u201d she says, \u201cbecause they\u2019re two massive roles and they needed to cast them right.\u201d<\/p>\n Leo Woodall was the second potential Dexter Mayhew she read with and although, at the time, she was yet to see him in series two of The White Lotus<\/a>, she remembers that they experienced \u201ca really natural rhythm\u2026 a really good vibe\u201d.<\/p>\n Watching the undeniable connection between the two as they film in a studio in Acton, North London, certainly justifies their selection out of the 200 or so other actors who auditioned.<\/p>\n While Woodall was yet to find fame when he got the part, Mod had appeared in the BBC1 series, This Is Going to Hurt<\/a>, in which she played student doctor Shruti Acharya.<\/p>\n \u201cThe show felt extremely important,\u201d she tells me. \u201cWe filmed it during lockdown, so it was a more crucial time than ever for the NHS. I knew it was going to strike a chord, but I didn\u2019t realise Shruti\u2019s storyline was going to have the effect it did. I feel lucky and proud of that job.\u201d<\/p>\n Mod, now 29, read One Day aged 13 when it first came out in 2009 and has reread it four times since. She also watched the 2011 film<\/a> when it was released, but has not revisited it for the role.<\/p> \u201cI\u2019m very different to Anne Hathaway, so I was never worried about that. Just the fact that I\u2019m not white and I\u2019m getting to play Emma\u2026 I don\u2019t think that would have happened ten years ago. That in itself is a way to modernise the story.\u201d<\/p>\n Mod, who grew up in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, to Indian immigrant parents, shares a dry, sense of humour with her character. In fact, the series\u2019 lead writer Nicole Taylor says Mod \u201cgives a damn good script note\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a writer and I can\u2019t turn that side of my brain off ever,\u201d Mod says of working with Taylor to find the best version of Emma. \u201cI got to know her so well. I just really, really love Emma and always wanted to do right by her.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Ambika](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/11\/OneDay-FirstLook-cee5ff2.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"OneDay-FirstLook\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>