Significant Other, starring Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour, is an unconventional love story told through a comedic lens, which explores the depths of love, disappointment, and the surprises that life still has to offer.
Sam(Youssef Kerkour) is waiting to die, after swallowing a cabinet full of pills, when he’s interrupted by his neighbour, Anna (Katherine Parkinson) - she’s having a heart attack and needs to wait with him until help arrives. From this ill-fated first encounter, these two lonely neighbours, who have lost all faith in love, embark on a hilarious, obstacle filled relationship, and on the way discover that even when life seems to have passed them by, there are still surprises to be had…
Other cast members include actor and musician Kelle Bryan (Me and Mrs Jones) as Sam’s wife Shelley, Mark Heap (Friday Night Dinner, Spaced) as Ray; Ben Bailey Smith (Andor, The Split) as Damien; Sue Vincent (Alma’s Not Normal, Mount Pleasant) as Gina; Shaun Williamson(EastEnders, Extras) as Johnny; Olivia Poulet (Doc Martin, The Thick of It) as Cathy and Will Ash (Death in Paradise, The Rising) as Paul.
Significant Other, all episodes available on ITVX from Thursday 8th June
Read an interview with Katherine Parkinson below.
What is Significant Other? Give us a quick summary of the premise and story, it’s tone and main characters.
Significant Other is a comedy-drama. It's based on an Israeli show and it's essentially about two very lonely people who have had quite fractured and difficult love lives. They live in separate flats in the same block, and they are thrown together by unusual circumstances. It's essentially a ‘will they, won't they?’ But it's quite bleakly funny and it feels to me like a very original show, it feels very truthful. In the read-through, the laughs we got felt they were laughs of recognising truths and being surprised at how truthful it was. The original setup at the beginning is that Sam (Youssef Kerkour) is in a bad place, takes lots of paracetamol and lies down to die. Then there's a knock at the door and it's his neighbour and she's having a heart attack and has been told by the ambulance services that she can't be on her own. It's not exactly Richard Curtis, but I find it very thrilling because it just feels as romantic and moving as those traditional romantic comedies with much more attractive and nubile people in it. But it feels like it's telling the truth of mid-life and when you've been bashed around a bit but find something in another person that makes you feel like a better person yourself.
Who do you play? Tell us about Anna and how she fits into the story?
Anna lives in a flat that she's made quite beautiful. She's got eclectic tastes and likes art deco lamps, much like me. Her job is writing the subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, she works at home and lives quite a solitary life. She's been involved with a married man for about five years. Then three years ago she ended it and walked away. She lost both parents quite young, so she's somebody who has found herself a bit adrift and more alone than perhaps she expected to be in life. But she's got a lot going for her - she likes her job, and she likes her own company.
What made you want to be a part of the series?
It feels very modern. It’s set in Manchester, but we were encouraged to use our own accents, which I think is great because often, in cities like Manchester, London and Liverpool, there are loads of people from all different sorts of places. Often, if you've gone to university there - which I think in Anna's case is what's happened - you stay. Also, Manchester looks beautiful in some of the shots that I've seen and very modern with its cool graffiti. We filmed around the Northern Quarter. I also wanted to be a part of the show because of the casting. They have cast people from different backgrounds without having a conversation about it and making it part of the story - which I think is great.
Tell us about your co-stars and what they are like to work with…
I love working with Youssef. You don't always know whether you are going to have the required chemistry - you get cast and you just hope for the best. But I knew as soon as I met him that this was going to work. We didn't get tested together. I think it was just the producers and David Sant's great instinct. I had seen Youssef in Home, which I loved. And then we met for lunch, and I thought, “this is, going to be easy.” Youssef and I share a love of coffee, food, and he's interesting on all subjects. Sometimes there's a bit of sitting around when you're filming, but he is so interesting that time goes by quickly when you’re talking to him. He's very generous - I can tell he is looking out for other people, checking that they've got what they need. I'm not like that at all, but I admire it in others!
What can audiences look forward to from Significant Other?
This feels like an original love story. Everybody loves a love story, but this feels like one that hasn't been told. It's also very good to see older love. Obviously, I'm not that old… but people who are in their mid forties, often come with damage. But there's a different type of love that can happen at that age and one that's very interesting and more interesting than the young stuff.
Interview/picture supplied by ITV
