Catherine Zeta-Jones bases Kill Jackie role on people she knows

Actor Catherine Zeta-Jones says she based her performance in the new series Kill Jackie on people she knows in Wales.

The Mumbles star plays Jackie Price, a former cocaine dealer who is being targeted by hitmen, in a new series for Prime.

It is the first time she has played a role using her Swansea accent and the first time she has filmed a drama in Wales.

“I played on people I know in Wales, people who are comedic and the accent makes it funny and real and true, but the character comes from a tough side of Swansea, which we do have as well,” she said.

The series is based on a book called The Price You Pay, set in the US, and the central character is a man called Jack.

Zeta-Jones said they “flipped it” for her to be a woman with all the quirkiness and craziness that Jack had in the book.

She said: “I told my creative team, I want to play her Welsh. And they went OK.”

“For many reasons. One, I’ve never played real Welsh Swansea ever, never shot in Wales and I think it would ground me in her character and add nuances that I would know,” she told Lucy Owen on BBC Radio Wales.

“I’m so glad I did it because she’s such a great character and I just wanted her to be Welsh.”