F***ing liberty! I’m only 10 and had to swear for Catherine Tate

She wants to be the next Catherine Tate — but she's only 10 years old and doesn't like swearing.

Alana Knowles won a part as a young version of the comedian's foul-mouthed grandmother character, Nan, in a Christmas special, for which she was required to say the F-word.

Alana's mother, Kaye Colman, gave consent for her daughter to swear but the schoolgirl from Wapping was shocked to discover she was required to say Nan's catchphrase "f***ing liberty!" when she found Santa had left a present in her stocking.

"At the auditions I didn't have to swear, and I didn't like having to do it," Alana said. "But mum said it was okay — as long as I didn't repeat it. I don't swear in real life and I haven't done it since."

Alana, who has a brother Charlie, 12, won the part in auditions at her drama school and met guest star David Tennant.

"Catherine was really nice; very lively and talkative. She called me a superstar' and said I was good at acting," Alana said.

The schoolgirl had a changing room next to Tate's and celebrated her birthday on set.

Ms Colman said her daughter understood the swearing was part of Alana's role, playing the young Nan in a scene conjured up by the Ghost of Christmas Past in a retelling of Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

"At the beginning they were going to dub her voice," Ms Colman said. "But I gave them my permission to let her swear."

Alana, who studies drama at the Pollyanna Training Theatre and attends English Martyr's RC Primary, both in Wapping, hopes to be a comedy actress when she is older.

"I watched the show with all my family on Christmas Day and they were really proud. I would love to do it again," she said.