After spending most of the first half of the series cooped up in bed, dark horse Morgana is now starting to become a major player in Merlin. In recent weeks we've seen her lock horns with Uther over a young Mordred, assist Arthur in battle and begin to exhibit some magical abilities of her own. I gave Katie McGrath a bell to find out more about what's next for Morgana - and her impending switch to the dark side.

Have you been recognised much since the show has been on the air?
"That's the one question everybody asks! I actually got recognised for the first time the other night, and I think it was possibly only because I was standing right next to Colin [Morgan, aka Merlin himself]. It doesn't happen often because [the character] is such a huge transformation for me. People don't expect to see you in normal clothes because they're so used to seeing you in the gowns and dresses."

Have you seen the cast much since filming ended?
"We all had dinner with the producers last week to say congratulations and well done. We're all of a similar age and this is our first big job so we all grew along at the same time. It's hard to spend eight and a half months with people and then not end up being friends at the end of it!"

Do you think Morgana realises that she has these powers?
"I think it's a very slow realisation. There's a lot of fear - she's afraid of her powers. Ultimately through the legend, we know she becomes very powerful. As the series goes on, you will start to see more and more of that come out. She's like the ticking timebomb in the show. She's a genuinely good character now and everybody's waiting for her to go bad!"

Have you thought about how you might play the evil side of her?
"I've got so many ideas, I wake up every morning with something new! She could be doing the wrong thing for the right reasons - so she's evil, but you understand why she's being evil - or she could be completely way-out-there evil, spitting in a cage cackling. I don't know yet either! The journey makes it interesting. We know where all these characters are going to end up. You know Arthur's going to be King and Guinevere's going to be Queen, but it's about how they get there."

How would Uther react if he found out about Morgana's powers?
"I think he fears magic because of his history with magic, not magic itself. If he did find out I was magical, I don't think he'd know what to do. I am sort of the daughter he never had, but I don't think it would be as cut and dry as people think. He wouldn't just send me off to be executed. Once you've seen next week's episode, it will become clearer to you why he would be torn."

In next week's episode, she butts heads with him again, doesn't she?
"Yes! The episode is all based around alchemy and the turning of lead into gold, which Gwen's dad gets caught up in. He gets discovered practising magic and gets sentenced to death. The story is based on me trying to save Gwen's father, my relationship with Uther and how I can't forgive him for what he's done. Then it's about the steps I take to punish him for his actions. So it is really quite dark. There are some emotional scenes between me and Uther."

That's what makes her impending "evil" transformation more fascinating. At the moment, she has a very clear idea of what's right and wrong, doesn't she?
"That's it. I hope she does become the character that does the wrong thing for the right reasons. From where she is now, I find it hard to believe she would become an out and out evil character. I think people will watch and say 'yeah, she's trying to kill him but I get what she's doing. I kind of see it.' It's a sympathetic evil. She's got an unbelievable character arc from where she starts to where she ends up, but in every script you can read in tiny little things. As early as episode two you can foresee that she's got magical powers, if you're watching closely."

Oh yes...?
"In episode two I wake up from a nightmare where I see Arthur has died, then I'm the one that throws him the sword because I can see that he's going to need it. She's like a sleeper character that they've seeded all the way through!"

Finally, series two. Have you heard any news yet?
"Obviously we hope it's going to go ahead. We don't know yet though, to be honest with you. For me I'll be very disappointed if it doesn't go ahead. We've left all of our characters on such a cliffhanger that you'd feel it wasn't finished unless you got a chance to see them through. Especially my character, because all her best stuff is yet to come. It's a show that's only going to get better!"

Merlin continues Saturday at 7.25pm on BBC One.

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