A sense of the new Kate

Charity Wakefield will play the heroine in Andrew Davies's adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, which will be one of the BBC's biggest dramas next year.

She will also star in a modern take on Rapunzel to be screened on BBC1 six weeks later.

The 26-year-old, who lives in East Dulwich, said: "It's a really exciting time at the moment and to be in two wonderful dramas is fantastic. I just try to focus on doing a good job as an actress and try not to be overwhelmed by it all.

"To be likened to Kate Winslet is humbling - she's an amazing actress." Winslet played Marianne-in Ang Lee's 1995 film. In Davies's production Wakefield stars with Janet McTeer and David Morrissey. "Sense And Sensibility has been an amazing experience," she said. "I had 10 weeks of wearing incredible costumes and filming in beautiful country houses."

Rapunzel is a "reinterpretation" of the fairy tale, in which Wakefield plays a successful tennis player wooed by a failing male player. "I had to learn to look like a top player.

"I loved it but it was incredibly nerve-racking playing in front of crowds of extras," she said.

Wakefield, who was brought up in Tonbridge, Kent, was encouraged to pursue a career in acting by her parents, Caroline and Robert, after showing promise in drama at Claverham Community College in Battle, East Sussex.

Her grandfather, James Hayter, was a respected British actor who appeared in Robin Hood with Richard Todd, and in The 39 Steps. She said: "My parents knew and respected the acting world and so it was encouraged. Although I loved drama, I didn't have any big roles and it wasn't until after my A-levels that I decided I could pursue a career as an actress."

After graduating from the Oxford School of Drama in 2003 she starred in several short films. She earned good reviews as Elaine Robinson in The Graduate at Staffordshire's New Vic Theatre, and as Constance in The Three Musketeers at the Bristol Old Vic.

In 2005, she worked on Yesterday Was A Weird Day, based on the 7 July London bombings, which was performed in Edinburgh and Battersea.

"We did that just after the bombings happened. I felt the extra weight of responsibility to be convincing as these were the words of real people affected by the events," she said.

Sense And Sensibility begins on New Year's Day at 9.10pm on BBC1. Fairy Tales starts on Thursday 10 January at 9pm on BBC1.