To be more precise Josie Lawrence will be remembered for one comedy show, the milestone improvisation orgy Whose Line Is It Anyway? which burst onto Channel Four screens 20 years ago.

Which is strange since Lawrence, now 48, spent years in the theatre before she ever appeared on TV screens and she's been hard at it ever since.

But doesn't it seem a long time ago?
Lawrence said: "Well, yes it does. The series actually ended ten years ago and we filmed a lot of them in rapid succession so although they were screened over years and years it actually only took us days to film them.

"But of course there's all these re-runs being shown all over the place and there's actually a whole generation of people who are seeing them now.

"I like it too - suddenly I'm like the grandmother of improvisation comedy."

A quick flick through Lawrence's CV confirms she has a long and impressive pedigree on the stage.

She's starred in countless productions starting with her first theatre job playing a young boy in the classic The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.

And the list stretches right up to her latest role in Sir Tom Stoppard's spy thriller Hapgood which opens next week at West Yorkshire Playhouse.

In the Playhouse co-production with the Birmingham rep she appears as Hapgood, head of a British espionage agency desperately battling against Russian spies.

"It was written and first performed in the 1980s." said Lawrence. "So it's set in the midst of the Cold War which obviously makes it a little bit different. But it doesn't really matter.

"What is interesting is the fact that technology has moved on so much and Stoppard had to rewrite it some years later to keep up with changes.

"Certain bits of the storyline pivot on the limited technology of 20 years ago, so someone might be, for example, plausibly out of range of a signal or something, but these days in the age of the mobile that just wouldn't happen."

So what makes Hapgood different to any other generic spy thriller?
Lawrence said: "The central character who I play is a single mum and she has to juggle her private life with being head of this agency, so there's a lovely duality going on there.

"She's a great character because she's fiercely intelligent. Even better is that she's a woman in a prominent position, which was still quite unusual when the play was written.

"She gets to boss all these men around and is great at her job. But then you see her struggle with other aspects of her life which makes it very intriging.

"But there's also quite a few light moments in there, there's some quite fun sections of comedy, people say it's a classic Stoppard work."
So what next for Lawrence?

"Who knows." she said. "I don't have anything lined up yet but that's just the way it is for any jobbing actor."

Hapgood is at West Yorkshire Playhouse from May 1 to 24. Call the box office on 0113 2137700 or visit www.wyp.org.uk