Jenna Coleman calls new crime thriller The Serpent ‘most terrifying job of her life’ after sick drugging & murder scenes

JENNA Coleman has described new crime thriller The Serpent as the ‘most terrifying job of her life’.

The 34-year-old actress stepped back into time to play the part of serial killer Charles Sobhraj’s accomplice Marie-Andrée Leclerc – which came complete with a catalogue of sick drugging and murder scenes.

But surprisingly it wasn’t the horrifying images she had to film which kept her awake at night.

This time the star, who wowed fans with her posh tones in Victoria, had to perfect a French accent for the role of Marie-Andrée, which would be a challenge as some of her co-stars were from France – including Tahar Rahim who plays Charles.

“It’s definitely one of the most terrifying jobs I’ve done,” laughed The Doctor Who star.

She told TV Mag: “I knew I was going to be walking on set with Tahar Rahim, who plays Charles, and other French actors as well.

“Plus, Marie-Andrée is actually from Quebec, and the French-Canadian accent is so specific!”

The new BBC drama depicts the true story of Sobhraj’s reign of terror as he killed countless travellers in Thailand, Nepal and India during the 1970s, drugging them and often stealing their identities.

He was eventually caught and jailed for his crimes, as was his accomplice Marie-Andrée.

Jenna went on: “She was a young girl who’d not really left Canada before – she met this man and within a month the drugging of tourists began, and she was completely on that train journey with him.

“I think she was so obsessive about Charles, she must have been living in a delusional state.

“It shows you the power of Charles and the manipulation he could wield on people.”

She added: “He was incredibly audacious.

“He did things that were so brazen and if he got in trouble, he was able to effortlessly wriggle out of any difficult situation he found himself in.”

The Serpent airs New Year’s Day, 9pm, BBC1.