EXCITEMENT is building among This Is England fans as the Christmas special hits our screens tonight. Entertainment reporter Katy Forrester chats to one of its stars, Grimsby actor Thomas Turgoose, about trying his luck in America and his upcoming role in a BBC drama ...

BACK in 2006 when Thomas Turgoose was plucked from Grimsby and given the main lead in This Is England, he wasn't sure if acting was what he wanted to do with his life.

But a BAFTA and several scripts later, he says he couldn't imagine doing anything else.

"I have done football coaching with Grimsby Town, I need to see where that is going and I studied photography at college. But I want to continue acting for as long as possible," said the 19-year-old.

"I've met a lot of really great people, I'm lucky and grateful for where I am.

"Stephen Graham, who played Combo, is amazing, he's going on to do great things and working with Martin Scorsese in the US.

"I'm going to go out to America for a month when I'm 21, to live in LA and see if I can get some meetings.

"If it doesn't work out, I'll come back to Grimsby, I don't mind.

"A lot of people here are nice to me. Some people think I'm stuck up, but if I was, my dad would kick my head in.

"If people have horrible things to say I just ignore them, I don't care.

"I think I've handled fame well, I'll never be nasty to anyone.

"If somebody has sat and watched my programme or film the least I can do is give them five minutes of my time."

And it's not just your regular Joe Bloggs who loves his work. Superstar Katy Perry has even shown her appreciation for the last This Is England installment.

"My brother rang me and told me to follow Katy Perry on Twitter because she'd tweeted saying she watched the show and loved it.

"It was mad; she has like 12 million followers. I have more like 12," Thomas laughed.

Although he doesn't want to pull away from playing Shaun in This Is England – and another series is set to hit our screens next year – Thomas is taking on different roles and garnering even more support from industry professionals.

Earlier this year, he spent two months in Budapest in Hungary filming for a new BBC adaptation of Birdsong, based on the 1993 war novel by Sebastian Faulks.

Thomas continued: "There was me and another ten lads, in the sun, 90p a pint, big nightclubs and great times.

"The drama is set in the First World War, all the soldiers had to look tired, so we thought if we drank, we'd look tired.

"My character is the youngest in the regiment, he is a bit scared, but wants to prove himself and fight for his country.

"He's one of the only survivors out of the whole group and kind of loses his mind a bit.

"It was just completely different from filming This Is England. The budget was massive and it's a different crew.

"There were trenches, caves and everything, it was like being in a Hollywood film.

"Seeing everyone in their tin hats and big boots, we had to learn how to march and have gun training. We did a lot of research for the film and I learnt more about the war."

But before we go into the trenches, it's back to 1988 tonight on Channel 4 from 10pm. Tune in and tweet Thomas at @ThomasTurgoose1.