IT LOOKS set to become one of the most talked about TV dramas for years.

Kiri is the harrowing tale of a social worker who finds herself at the centre of a police investigation after a child goes missing.

The four-part mystery, which begins on Channel 4 tonight, stars former Coronation Street and Happy Valley actress Sarah Lancashire.

But the title role is played by a nine-year-old schoolgirl from Southampton.

Felicia Mukasa is a member of the UK Film Academy, based at Redbridge Community School, and was picked to play Kiri after a casting director attended one of the acting classes.

After a nail-biting two-month wait the Millbrook youngster was told the part was hers.

Suddenly she found herself working alongside an award-winning actress in a drama written by the author of National Treasure, an earlier series about a troubled entertainer played by Robbie Coltrane.

For Felicia it was a dream come true.

She said: “When I got the part I was delighted and astonished at the same time. I’ve appeared in Mr Bloom on CBeebies but this is the biggest thing I have done so far.

“I really enjoyed being on set and getting to know the cast and crew.

“I spent a lot of time rehearsing and filming with Sarah Lancashire.

“It was a lot of fun, and I was very sad when it was all over.”

Asked about her hopes for the future she added: “I want to take things step by step but I’d like to become an actress and hopefully be successful.

“I’d love to work with Will Smith.”

Kiri goes out after the watershed, which means the Mansell Park Primary School pupil will be unable to watch herself on screen.

But her mum, Debbie Makumbi, and her grandmother, Catherine Makumbi, will be glued to the set.

Debbie, 33, said: “I’m super proud of her - and very appreciative of the academy.

“Without them she would never have been given this opportunity.”

Felicia’s brother, Marliqi, 13, is also a member of the academy, which has another branch in the New Forest.

Kiri is the story of Miriam, a social worker who allows a black girl to make an unsupervised visit to her grandfather before she is adopted by a white family.

After the child goes missing she is publicly blamed by the police, the media and some of her own colleagues.

Kiri, the latest drama from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child writer Jack Thorne, starts tonight at 9pm.