AN actor has spoken of her delight at securing her biggest role yet as she stars as a dysfunctional teenager in a dark new comedy which has received strong reviews.

Jessica Barden, who hails from Northallerton, has taken a leading role in The End of the F***ing World, which is being aired on Netflix and Channel 4.

Barden, 25, stars as 17-year-old Alyssa alongside Alex Lawther, who plays James, in the unconventional coming of age love story.

The Hollywood Reporter described the eight-part series to be “a comedy gem of a UK import”, while Metro US said it was "brilliant".

The Radio Times described the eight-part series to be a “brilliant, concise and emotionally charged bit of British dramedy… at turns disturbing and hilarious, sometimes, remarkably, both at once.”

It added: “Barden puts on an incredible display as a bratty yet ultimately kind teen, and shares a dry rapport with Lawther.

“The twisted, efficient story that The End tells is a nicely contained thing that requires no additional embellishment, and it should be binged and cherished in its tart glory.”

Based on Jonathan Entwistle’s hit short film of the same name airing four years ago, which also starred Barden, it is developed from the award-winning novels by Charles Forsman.

Barden sais she was delighted to return to the role, now that Forsman has finished writing the comic original and it has been turned into a series.

The show sees the awkward teenagers enter an unlikely romance, before deciding to take a road trip across Britain to escape their struggled relationships with their parents.

However, James turns out to be an up-and-coming psychopath, seeing Alyssa as his first murder victim.

Barden said: “There was always talk of it being a film or a series, but you don’t pin your hopes on things in this business.

“Then it all came together and it was special to be back on something we did at the start of our careers, and to make a film for Netflix and Channel 4 was a dream come true.

“It’s the best it could have been because we’ve all learnt something over the time in between. It was my favourite job I’ve ever done.”

Barden left school in Yorkshire aged 15 and moved to London to pursue an acting career.

She made her TV debut in 1999 in children’s hit sitcom My Parents Are Aliens, yet it wasn’t until 2007 when she got a break in Coronation Street as Kayleigh Morton.

Named as a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2015, she starred in The Lobster alongside Colin Farrell, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, John C Reilly and Ashley Jensen.

Most recently she has secured roles in Julian Barratt’s Mindhorn and horror film Habit.

She added: “I’m proud of the way my career is unfolding, and I’ve been given opportunities to learn every single time.”

Barden is turning her attention to The New Romantic, a film about young women who look for a benefactor to fund them in return for their attention.