Arterton 'didn't want to play Drewe'

Gemma Arterton has revealed that she did not want to play the lead role in her latest film when she was first offered the part.

The 24-year-old star of Tamara Drewe said that she was reluctant to accept the role because she "didn't like" the character.

Speaking at the film's London premiere, Arterton said: "I didn't actually want to play Tamara when I first read it because I didn't like her.

"She's a femme fatale but she's really lost, she's desperate, she's a very modern woman. I know a lot of women like Tamara Drewe.

"It's good to play people that you don't understand originally because you have to work out why they do the things that they do."

The comedy, based on Posy Simmonds's graphic novel, tells the story of a young newspaper journalist torn between two lovers in the English countryside.