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Samantha thoroughly researched the period. So was she surprised what women had to do to survive? Margaret has to prostitute her daughter, played by Jessica Brown Findlay. It’s unthinkable

today. Or is it?  “Yes, you can imagine it today, absolutely. It’s about the age of consent, not families. It might not be talked about, but it certainly does run in families. But what is

shocking [about then] is the age of consent. It was 12 and it still is that in other countries today. We’re making an historical drama, but a lot of it is still happening today.” She adds:

“Strictly speaking, my daughter is a kept lady, a mistress, and you are paid for that. That happens today, too.” Samantha had a less than ideal start in life but it irrevocably made her the

no-nonsense person she is today. Born in Nottingham in 1977, she had six half-siblings from her parents’ relationships. She lived with her father until she was eight when she was made a ward

of court. Her father, Peter Morton, was an abusive alcoholic. During the next nine years, she lived between foster and care homes. But through the Central Junior Television Workshop, her

emerging talent was discovered and at 13, she was offered small-screen roles in Soldier Soldier and Boon. Her first regular role was in Band Of Gold in 1996, a drama about women who lived

and worked in Bradford’s red light district.  Her extraordinary childhood was told in Channel 4’s The Unloved, a semi-biographical film that was directed by Samantha and broadcast in 2009.

In 2014, triggered by the Rotherham child exploitation scandal, she talked about the sexual abuse she experienced in the foster care system.  Samantha brings exceptional life experience to

every role. We discuss the director Ken Loach’s criticisms of period drama. He said the BBC, and other channels, brought “fake nostalgia”.  Do we need to harden up our period dramas? “I

think the BBC have some issues in what they want to portray. Shows like Poldark are obviously brilliant but we’ve seen it before.  Every 10 years, you’ve got a Jane Eyre, you’ve got a

Poldark. We just rehash. We have a duty to the public to commission writers and say, ‘What do you want to say?’ It’s not about being harder, it’s about being original.” Samantha puts the

case for decriminalising prostitution in the UK: “I think we need to follow the European model, yes, and decriminalise it and protect people. The way that they treat women just means it goes

more and more underground.” It seems to be off the agenda now, I suggest. “Of course. What’s happening in the world?” She adds: “I don’t know if it will provoke debate, but I think it would

be fascinating for people to talk about it because of the historical accuracy of it. They will go, ‘Wow.’” Samantha reveals she has written another film: “Fingers crossed about this one.

We’re hopefully going into pre-production this year.  It’s the continuation of The Unloved. I originally tried to do it as a series, but they were looking for comedy. I’m developing it –

working title Starlings – with Channel 4 and the BFI, and let’s hope we get the full money. We’ll see.” In the meantime, Harlots remains a remarkable watch.  _HARLOTS IS ON ITV ENCORE AT

10PM ON MONDAY._