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Jen Mason is a true force of nature – witty, mischievous and seemingly young for her age. So it's a real blow for her – and for her daughter, Laurie (Suranne Jones) – that Jen is beginning to show signs of dementia.

Their mother/daughter relationship forms the heart of the series, as Laurie is forced to return home to take care of her mother. But, caught on that fateful train, Jen's life is about to be propelled on an unexpected course. New relationships will challenge everything she'd imagined for her future – and, what's more, they'll surprise Laurie, too.

Five Days, a new Cole Porter musical, Cemetery Junction, Ladies Of Letters and a role in the forthcoming new series of New Tricks – fans of veteran actress Anne Reid will be delighted that one of British television's most versatile performers remains as busy as ever. And Anne wouldn't have it any other way.

"Over the past 10 years, the best thing that has happened to me is that I get a wide variety of offers, which is lovely, because I like doing different things," says the star of Coronation Street, Dinnerladies and Bleak House.

Born in Newcastle Upon Tyne, the RADA-trained actress, who is equally at home in theatre, TV and film, has played a wide range of roles over the years. One particular stand-out performance, for which she received a BAFTA nomination, was her role in The Mother, in which she starred alongside Daniel Craig, as a woman who becomes intimately involved with her daughter's partner.

In the new series of Five Days, Anne plays a mother again but, this time, one who is struggling with the realisation that her health is slipping away but doesn't want to admit to it.

"I play a woman who is at the very early stages of Alzheimer's," says Anne. "My character, Jen, is behaving fairly normally except, occasionally, she does something odd. It has just been diagnosed and she's on some sort of medication now which has helped her, but Suranne's character, Laurie, is worried about her.

"A relative of mine has Alzheimer's so I didn't need to do any research. I've also played a woman in an Alan Bennett play that had it pretty badly, but my character in Five Days doesn't."

As Jen and her daughter, Laurie, adjust to the challenges ahead, the mother/daughter relationship soon becomes strained when Jen forges a relationship with a man she meets on a train.

"Jen meets a man named Gerard, played by Bernard Hill, on the train, who becomes her boyfriend. He had a wife who died of the disease and he feels he didn't treat her very well, so he takes me on to make up for it and really looks after me," says the London-based actress, who believes when it comes to love age should not present a barrier.

"Finding love at an older age is absolutely fine," Anne continues. "It doesn't matter what age you are. If you're attracted to someone, you are, it just depends on the person. If you want to move on and live with somebody, that's also fine, but I just wouldn't now. Some people need that, but I don't. I am a very independent person."

And what does she think of Suranne as a surrogate daughter? "She is lovely and a very good actress and I enjoyed working with her," says the mother-of-one. "I went up to Manchester to see her in Blithe Spirit recently and she was amazing – an absolute knock-out.

"She still calls me mummy when I meet her," Anne says with noticeable warmth and admiration in her voice.

Although not a reality TV show fan, Anne confesses she might have considered taking part if she were a few years younger.

"I don't watch reality shows. I tend to watch dramas and documentaries, but if I was younger I would be in them," laughs Anne. "My mother wanted me to be an ice skater and she loved ballroom dancing."