Hugh Skinner plays Wills in the forthcoming Coronation Special of The Windsors which airs on C4 on Sunday, April 30 at 9pm. He talks about the show below and is pictured with Amit Shah who plays Rishi Sunak.
Is The Windsors as much fun to be in as it is to watch?
It’s been going for a relatively long time now, and I’m not sure any of us thought when we did the first series that we’d still be doing it seven years later. But it's a stunning group of people, and yes we have a great time!
What are Wills and Kate (Louise Ford) up to for the Coronation Special?
They are trying to bring the budget down for the coronation, and as the Prince of Wales Wills has started a new out-and-about scheme, which he’s really excited about. And he's a bit upset that managing the coronation’s budget takes him away from that. Unfortunately he can't really say “out and about”, so Kate spends a lot of time helping him.
Wills and Kate are obviously very loved-up in real life. How do you and Louise create that chemistry together?
What can I say Louise is fantastic.
Is his own coronation in the back of his mind?
Oh, definitely. He wants to be a man of the people, so a budget coronation on the side of the A24 or wherever it is, is a really good idea as far as he’s concerned. Kate is less up for it, though…
Can you see both sides of the argument on the show between Charles wanting a huge coronation and Wills wanting to save money?
Totally. On one hand, he's obviously been waiting his entire life to do this thing. On the other hand, Wills can see that 10,000 massed pipers and 1,000 choristers is a bit expensive.
While a lot of it is obviously rooted in truth, it’s still only one side of the story isn’t it?
Yes, and Bert wrote both sides brilliantly where you see both sides of the story. Wills and Harry (Richard Goulding) both imagine a fight they had in very different ways. One’s a bit Merchant Ivory and the other one is more Raging Bull.
Will you be watching the coronation?
I’d love to but my nephew’s second birthday party is that day which is a big clash. I might watch it on my phone.
Have you ever met any of the royal family?
I once danced in front of Sophie Wessex when I was a teenager in a youth theatre group and then told her I had smelly feet which I regret.
Do we have a slightly different relationship to the monarch and the royal family now?
Yes, and they’ve got so many shows about them now.
Was there a highlight from filming the Coronation Special?
I enjoyed doing the fight with Prince Harry. Although it's always quite awkward when there's someone much fitter than you trying to teach you how to fight. It was fine when we were doing the crap version of the fight, but when it got a bit more Raging Bull I retreated into myself.
What else is coming up?
I’ve got a part in The Witcher, which is exciting.
Pictured: Amit Shah as Rishi Sunak & Hugh Skinner as Wills.
Picture and interview supplied by C4
