His Dark Materials has found its Lyra Belacqua: young British and Spanish actress Dafne Keen.

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The teenager will play the famous orphan and hero of Philip Pullman's novels, which follow her adventures as she grows up in a parallel universe and discovers that there's more to the world around her than she originally thought.

Pullman’s fantastical tale is told in three parts – Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. The first instalment has already been adapted for cinemas as The Golden Compass. But while the 2007 film boasted an impressive cast, including Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Dakota Blue Richards, it failed to impress with critics or at the box office and no further movies were made.

The BBC is hoping to have better luck with Kiri, National Treasure, and Harry Potter and The Cursed Child writer Jack Thorne taking care of the script.

But who is Dafne Keen? Where might you have spotted the young actress before? And who is her famous father?

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Watch the video above to find out more about the BBC's new star, and check out Keen's impressive audition tape for Wolverine movie Logan below.

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