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It has unoffically been hailed as an english version of the US hit The Sopranos. So it's no wonder that Simone Lahbib - who stars as Jackie, the tough daughter of a gangland boss, in ITV1's Family alongside Martin Kemp and Jamie Foreman - went to the lengths of meeting up with a group of gangland women to ensure she researched her role well.
"I can't go into detail, but there was a drinks party organised with some people where I was able to pick brains," she says. "It's really a fascinating world they live in."
"The women are the strength in these families. They support the men emotionally and set up a strong home life for stability. They are also very glamorous. It was a real eye-opener."
Family life is something Simone, 37, holds dear. The Stirling-born actress recently got married to Italian actor Raffaello Degruttola - whom she met six years ago on the set of ITV1's Thieftakers - and clearly remembers her first meeting with his family in Italy.
"When I went over, there was a bit of that modern woman feminist thing in me. I thought 'Hang on a minute, why am I serving the men while they are sitting at the table enjoying themselves?' But the more I got to know the culture, the more I realised that the men and women each have their role. The men work hard and bring home the money, and the women look after the home and family. I've got a lot of respect for the way they do things. We probably have it harder trying to do everything."
"Home life is very important to them, but I'm even more adventurous than that. I like a nice home, but I like to get out and socialise too. I've got a very strong family culture myself as the eldest of five. I was brought up to offer help, except in my house the boys got up to offer as well."

On the day we meet, Simone is still on a high from her wedding. She married Raffaello, 33, last May in a huge ceremony in Stirling attended by more than 150 guests.
"It was the best party ever, with a roomful of the best people," says Simone, who lives in North London.
"There was loads of entertainment. My brother, Steven, sings in a band called Bane Remedy, and they performed their debut gig and were absolutely fantastic."
"A lot of my friends are performers, and some of the Bad Girls cast were there, so some of them got up and did their diva bit, and some did a spot of cabaret. I was very emotional during my dad's speech - he had ll the girls crying and some of the men, too. It was a really great day. I bought a lovely dress from a shop called Mirror Mirror, in Crouch End. It's a shame you can only wear it once."
Simone's first TV break was in the ITV1 soap London Bridge, but it was her role as Helen Stewart in Bad Girls that made her a household name. The story of Helen falling in love with prisoner Nikki Wade, played by Mandana Jones, also turned her into a lesbian icon, but Simone says she was unprepared for all the attention it brought. She was stalked by a female fan and was even followed home by women fans of the hit show.
"It was intruiging at first having all that interest and then I found it quite difficult, but it does go away when you're not on screen," she says "We had so much feedback from people saying thanks for portraying two women in a love in a realistic way. It opened up a door ro a world I didn't know much about."
"Mandana is a very beautiful woman. It's nice for me to watch a handsome guy on screen, so why shouldn't women want a beautiful woman to look at?"
Simone was also pleased at the way the drama dealt with other issues, particularly bullying, as she herself was bullied at secondary school in Scotland.

"There was some name calling and taunting threats, and on a few occasions it would become phyiscal. I would deliberately try to stay in at lunchtimes. One time, someone told me a group of girls was waiting for me with scissors at the end of the corridor. They were going to cut my hair off and flush my head down the toilet. I obviously didn't walk down the corridor."
"My dad confronted them, and said that he'd call the police. They stopped after that. I think it's quite therapeutic to see something like bullying being tackled on television if you are going through it yourself. I think that storyline helped a lot of people."
Simone is hoping Family will be as successful as Bad Girls. "There was such a great buzz on it, and we all feel good about ," she says. "Martin is almost too good to be true. He is so calm and relaxed and lovely, and Jamie is such fun. It was a hoot to work on, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that the public likes it and it goes into a second series."
If it does there will only be one problem for Simone - trying to fit in a baby without disrupting filming.
"I'd love to start a family, and I'm not getting any younger, so the sooner the better." she says with a smile.

By Karen Hockney.