British actress Florence Pugh has said she had a “beautiful time” making East Of Eden.

The 30-year-old will play Cathy Ames in the Netflix mini-series adaptation of John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel, which tells the story of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons.

Speaking about playing Cathy in the series at a special screening in London, Pugh told the Press Association: “As complicated and as complex as she is, I really did have a beautiful time shooting it.

“I think it required for me to really show up as a performer, and also just for myself as a person, and required for me to grow up a lot in terms of my process, and making sure that what I’m putting down, I’m completely in control of, and I’ve studied.

“So even though the process was hard and arduous, I feel like it was a massive labour of love, and the reason why we’ve all loved talking about it for the last two weeks is because we’ve put so much time and effort and energy into it.”

She added: “I feel like when you have the right people around you, and you have the right support system, it’s not only wanted but it’s needed.

“And I feel like my relationship with Zoe (Kazan, writer) and my creative process with her has really allowed for me to grow in confidence in all of those ways that you were just asking about.”

East Of Eden will also star Mike Faist, Christopher Abbott and Joe Anders, who is the son of actress Kate Winslet and director Sam Mendes.

The series will launch on Netflix on October 1.