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US actress Anne Hathaway has said she turned to TV soap Emmerdale in an attempt to master a Yorkshire accent for her new film One Day.

New York-born Hathaway plays Leeds girl Emma in the adaptation of David Nicholls' best-selling novel. But her accent has not escaped criticism.

"It was really hard," she admitted. "I worked with a dialect coach and in the evenings I watched Emmerdale a lot.

"It was certainly helpful with the accent, that's for sure."

The long-running Yorkshire-set ITV soap, was "quite exotic" for a US viewer, added Hathaway, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2009 and co-hosted this year's Academy Awards.

Newspaper columnist Suzanne Moore, reviewing the film on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4's Front Row on Monday, said the accents were "all over the shop".

"Sometimes she's from Scotland, sometimes she's from New York, you just can't tell," Moore said.

At the film's UK premiere on Tuesday, director Lone Scherfig admitted that the accent was "a concern", adding: "But they're actors and actors always play things that they are not, that's part of their job."

Nicholls, who adapted his novel for the screenplay, said it was not an issue.

"I understand the trepidation but British actors are constantly playing American roles and it's always seen as a rather good thing, and I see no reason why it shouldn't be a good thing working the other way."

The film follows the fortunes of two university friends, Hathaway's Emma and Dexter, played by British actor Jim Sturgess.

The story revisits the pair on the same day every year over the course of two decades.