Anna Maxwell Martin has revealed she loves playing Frankenstein author Mary Shelley because she is a “weird b***h.”

The 38-year-old actress portrays the novelist in ITV Encore’s new period crime drama, The Frankenstein Chronicles, and said there needs to be more strong roles for females like these.

Anna Maxwell Martin
Anna Maxwell Martin (Ian West/PA)

She said: “I think we’ve made big strides forward in terms of female actresses leading shows. But there’s still some way to go.

“Often women are portrayed as ‘the girlfriend’; ‘the cutesy sidekick’; ‘the downtrodden wife’ – all those stereotypes. It’s great playing Mary, because she’s a bit of a weird b***h.

“She’s really strong, powerful; so bright, fiercely intelligent and yes, perhaps there aren’t enough of those parts.”

Anna added: “What Benjamin Ross has written is a very strong, intelligent woman… finally! So, it’s easy to bring that to life and respect her memory.”

The Frankenstein Chronicles' Mary Shelley (Anna Maxwell Martin), John Marlott (Sean Bean) and Nightingale (Richie Campbell)
The Frankenstein Chronicles’ Mary Shelley (Anna Maxwell Martin), John Marlott (Sean Bean) and Joseph Nightingale (Richie Campbell) (Rainmark Films/ITV)

Created and written by Benjamin, The Frankenstein Chronicles sees policeman John Marlott, played by Sean Bean, drawn into a horrifying murder case when the body of a child washes up on shore.

In the six-part series, Mary stands strong alongside Marlott and young investigator Joseph Nightingale (Richie Campbell), but Anna said in real life, the author could also hold her own with her male counterparts.

“She was hanging around with blokes. She had her sister with her, but she was really hanging out with the guys; Percy Shelley and the rest of them,” the actress explained.

“She was pretty cool. And to write that book, it’s phenomenal to think she wrote that book at that time.”

The Frankenstein Chronicles begins at 10pm on ITV Encore on November 11.