It’s almost impossible to believe, but Jameela Jamil had never acted before being cast as Tahani al-Jamil in Mike Schur’s The Good Place. In fact, most Brits will know her from her TV presenting days (T4 and Freshly Squeezed, anyone?).

Yet, despite this lack of experience, Jamil has proven herself to be a seriously adept and intuitive comic actress – and fans all over the world have fallen in love with her character in the hit Netflix show.

Now, the actress has revealed that she was “actively discouraged” from moving to Hollywood by some in the UK.

Recalling how she packed up and flew to Los Angeles without a job or even a plan, she told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Anna Foster: “I was literally starting again and I was actively discouraged by everyone in England.

“Everyone said I was being mad, throwing away an eight-year career, and that I was too old – I was only 29 – too ethnic, and too fat to come over to Los Angeles.”

Someone dared tell Jameela Jamil she was “too old” to make it in Hollywood