Jameela Jamil had just $17 in her bank account when she was cast in 'The Good Place'

She joined her then-musician-partner on tour, but soon found herself struggling.

Appearing on 'David Tennant Does a Podcast With...', she said: " I ran out of money and so I said, 'Please can I have a job, any job, I will do anything.'

"I was so desperate for money at that point. I had $17 left in my bank account. I was real keen.

"But instead I was handed a bunch of auditions."

Among those opportunities was a Las Vegas magic show, and what became her role in 'The Good Place'.

However, she had "never acted before", and was still focused on being a writer, with one of her pitches persuading ex ecutives to ask her to audition for the show.

She added: "They were the ones who said, 'We want you to go to this audition for Mike Schur. You'll have more power as a writer if you have a name for yourself, or you can just meet him and maybe he'll put you in the writer's room'...

"So I went to the audition, just very much so not thinking anything was going to come of it.

"I got both the magic show and Mike Schur and I had to make a choice. You weren't allowed to do both."

Jameela insisted she has "been in exactly the right time at the right place" in her career, which has helped her stay humble thanks to the highs and lows in her life.

She said: "It's ridiculous and it's good because it means I've never disappeared out my arsehole because I'm well aware that I don't belong here.

"But I'm having a lovely time and I'm working very hard because I care deeply about not letting down the people who've taken a stupid chance on me."