Things You Should Have Done is an offbeat sitcom from the comedy mind of Lucia Keskin. Self-confessed stay-at-home-daughter, Chi (Lucia), is suddenly forced to fend for herself when her parents die. Chi will inherit the house on condition she completes a list of 'Things You Should Have Done’ left by her parents (everything from ‘Pet a dog’ to ‘Get a job’). Meanwhile Chi’s highly strung Auntie Karen (Selin Hizli) wants nothing to do with her dependent pest of a niece, but very much wants the house she feels is rightfully hers! In each episode, Chi tackles something from the list and is unleashed on the locals of Ramsgate, who bring something new to Chi’s understanding of life but leave wishing they’d never met her.

Things You Should Have Done airs on Thursday 29 February on BBC Three and all episodes will be available on iPlayer.

Lucia Keskin (Chi)

Tell us about your new series and what audiences can expect from the show?

It’s a mental show about a girl who has to try and cope with life now her parents are dead and can’t do everything for her, she desperately leans on the family she has left and sort of forces her way into people’s lives.

How would you best describe your character Chi?

She definitely see’s the best in everyone, no one can ever really offend or annoy her. Mainly because she’s unintentionally annoying others.

How much of the series is based on your real life experiences?

I’d like to say it’s nothing like my real life, but of course there are some elements that are similar, for example I also have zero GCSE’s like Chi in the show! But it’s 98% fictional.

What inspired you to write the show?

Two years ago I lost my Grandad who was my best friend and like a father to me. He got me into my love of comedy in the first place. It was the first time I’d ever properly experienced grieving and how awful it really is. Humour was sort of the only thing that helped me through it, so when I met with Steve Monger (Exec Producer) I said that I wanted to write something that touched on grief and the surreal side of it.

Tell us about the writing process?

It was hard! Steve basically taught me everything in terms of the process and breaking everything down. I thought you just picked up a pen and wrote a whole show but turns out it’s a lot better when you plan it first! Thank God for Steve.

Tell us why you chose to base the show in Ramsgate? Why was that important to you?

I grew up in Thanet so it just seemed right to do it there.

What’s been your favourite part of the process?

Honestly just learning so much at every stage. I think getting to work with such a great team has been the best. Roughcut have done so much for me and I’m very grateful for the support they give.

Do you have any favourite memories from filming?

It’s so hard to pick a favourite but I think a definite favourite was when me and Jamie Bisping (Lucas) were filming a scene for episode 4 where we were watching the bananas and waiting for them to go ripe; we started improvising and could not get through it without making each other laugh.

You have some great talent involved, when you wrote it did you have the casting in mind?

It’s so weird I did have cast in mind that I was so sure on and then things change, you see other people for roles and it ended up completely different to how I had imagined it in my head but in the best way, they are all really great.

How was filming with your fellow cast mates? Have you worked with any of them before?

I’d not worked with any of them before but it was a dream working with such talented and funny people. I think I’ve definitely made friends for life (they better have said the same!)

Selin Hizli (Karen)

What were your first impressions of the script?

I loved how the script was so real and relatable but also had these surreal heightened moments in it too. It was so refreshing to get a completely different perspective on how this family, who have had this sudden tragedy happen to them, navigate life and each other. I think grief and humour tread a very fine line next to each other and I felt that the script captured that really well.

Tell us about your character Karen.

In many ways Karen very much does live up to her name! She’s definitely not someone who you would want to be stuck on the other end of a customer service line with… But really, she feels stuck in a bit of a rut and has a bad habit of blaming other people for that - mainly Chi. Deep down she’s struggling a bit and throughout the series I think she comes to realise that it’s ok not to be completely perfect all the time.

Do you have any similarities to your character?

I probably have a few more similarities than I’d like to admit…but I definitely can relate to Karen feeling like she has to be everything all at once. She feels this pressure to achieve all of these milestones in life and have everything under control, and she can’t always see that the people in her life just want the best for her.

Were there any funny moments from filming?

Practically every scene I had with Dan (Fearn, who plays her on-screen husband Dave) had me in bits. He’s so naturally funny and plays Dave so brilliantly that it was so difficult to be angry with him (which Karen is most of the time) so I would inevitably just get the giggles.

What’s your most memorable scene?

There’s one scene towards the end of the series where I think we get to see who Karen really is and what she’s actually been going through. I won’t say too much about what happens, but it’s a scene where she’s on her own at Chi’s house and she finally allows herself to be vulnerable and it’s one that has definitely stayed with me.

What can you tell us about your on screen relationship with Chi?

Karen and Chi are way more similar than I think she’d like to admit. Chi is a constant thorn in Karen’s side but, actually Chi is exactly the kind of presence Karen needs in her life. Working with Chi, I was always so impressed with how much she’s achieved at such a young age and how she handled it all. She was always so supportive of all the actors and was so excited for us to bring our own thoughts and ideas to the amazing characters she’d created.

How does the show compare to anything else you have starred in?

This show was such a unique experience for me. We had a really great rehearsal period where we were all encouraged to improvise a lot and have fun with our characters, which you don’t always get. That carried on through to the filming process too, so each scene was exciting to film as you had that freedom to play around with different ideas.

Jamie Bisping (Lucas)

What were your first impressions of the script?

I immediately knew that Chi was deranged but talented. The script felt heightened but in an understated way. That is to say, the characters are bizarre but well observed enough to feel like actual people. I was fizzing when I read the script because I had such a clear idea of who Lucas was and how he sounded - but, to be fair, I might have totally missed the mark and no one had the heart to tell me.

Tell us about your character Lucas.

Lucas is a concerningly immature 20-something who’s probably never left Kent. To be fair, I don’t think he knows there’s life outside of Kent. He’s Chi’s step-cousin, and is very sweet and ultimately well-meaning but doesn’t really know how an adult human is meant to behave in the world. His inability to read a room keeps him afloat because if he actually processed the things people say about him he’d be so depressed.

Do you have any similarities to your character?

Not particularly. I mean, I obviously want this to be true seeing as Lucas is a special breed of unintelligent and pathetic, and I say that with all the love in the world. I’m more of a sceptic; Lucas embraces most people, even if he doesn’t understand them - in fact, probably because he literally doesn’t understand them. Where we are most similar is our mutual wanting to be involved. Neither of us are ever really alone, we go along for the ride for one reason (fun) or another (the anecdote).

Were there any funny moments from filming?

It was an incredibly serious environment. Imagine the set of ‘Sophie’s Choice’ - I can only imagine it was similar. No, there were many funny moments - almost too many. I corpsed a lot. Dan, Selin, Sinéad, everyone is so funny. So as to not ruin the take when laughing, sometimes I would drop down out of shot so it could maybe still be used. The main issue was Chi. Both because she’s incredibly funny as the character but also, in some masochistic way, she would try and make us laugh. She would pull stupid faces off-camera at deeply inappropriate moments but, then again, she’d also do this whilst the cameras were on her. She was pulling out my leg hairs in one shot. It was genuinely quite stressful sometimes.

What’s your most memorable scene?

Every time we visited Solicitor Adam’s (Sunil Patel) office. Lucas and Chi are at their worst when they outnumber the person they are with, a sort of mob mentality takes over. Maybe because they communicate in a way that only they understand or because they refuse to really listen to anyone, but the sort of nonsensical interactions we would have with Adam were always perfectly awkward. They are so convinced he is the stupid one whilst saying things that are just totally incoherent.

What can you tell us about your on screen relationship with Chi?

Not much as it’s a secret. But I’d say it’s similar to our off-screen relationship: tactile but platonic.

How does the show compare to anything else you have starred in?

I’d be clutching to find something else I’ve ‘starred’ in. Could you call performing as a Sammy (the generously named cashier) in one scene of ‘Dreamland’ a starring role? Lily Allen used the scene as promo on her Instagram, which made many acquaintances think I was the co-lead of the show. I was not quick to correct anyone. It’s nice to know that random people from my primary school think I’m more successful than I am.

There was similar camaraderie on the show ‘Rivals’ I shot last year but that was a much bigger machine. Similarly, I had small roles on a couple of Amazon fantasy shows, which were worlds away from this. Those were filmed on big studios and I had long hair. In this, we filmed in local buildings that may or may not have asbestos and my hair was short. Do you see the difference?

I don’t think I quite realized how much freedom we had to improvise on this. Not that her script needed any amendments, but our amazing director Jack and Chi would encourage us to go off-piste in case we found something new, which would more often than not result in Jack begging us to return to the scripted dialogue.

Daniel Fearn (Dave)

What were your first impressions of the script?

I was completely blown away by the script. I read the first scene to prepare for the audition and was so hooked I read the whole episode. I thought the characters were so clear and grounded in reality yet they had an almost cartoon-like quality to them. I must have read the episode about three times over the weekend.

Tell us about your character Dave.

Dave is a fantastic character. One of the most hilarious characters I have ever played. He's Karen's partner and Dad to Lucas. I think he would like to be Chi's Dad too and probably thinks he is after her parents pass away. Dave loves conspiracy theories and always has an answer for a solution, it would probably be the worst solution in the world but his heart is in the right place. He knows that Karen is uptight but wants to make things better for her.

Do you have any similarities to your character?

I didn't think I did until halfway through filming. Every morning my friends and I like to send each other funny videos on Instagram but I became increasingly aware that a lot of the videos I was sharing were conspiracy ones: aliens, pyramids etc. I searched a lot of conspiracy theories on Instagram during prep for the audition and now I've completely ruined my algorithm..

Were there any funny moments from filming?

There were so many funny moments during filming. I'd like to share a moment when we were filming at the campsite. Sinead (who plays Michelle) and I were shooting a scene where our characters are reminiscing about when they were in a relationship. Sinead thought it would be a good idea for Michelle to try and rekindle that magic and jump on my lap and kiss me. The only problem was the chairs we had were those awful flimsy plastic garden chairs which were about 30 years old and left out in the rain. As soon as she leapt on though the chair collapsed but in the most graceful way ever lowering both of us onto the ground like a concertina. It was embarrassing but so hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing.

What’s your most memorable scene?

There are quite a few, to be honest. The doctor scenes I did with Ed (McArthur) were really funny and I love the scene I did with Jamie when Dave tells Lucas about his cancer scare. I think my most memorable scene though which came completely left field was the one I did with Selin in Ramsgate town centre. Whilst we were getting ready for the scene we were trying to think of funny things to do but Jack (the director) said that this scene was actually quite poignant and to just play the truth in it. What we ended up with was a beautiful scene about two people in a relationship beginning to listen to each other again.

What can you tell us about your on-screen relationships with Lucas and Karen?

Lucas is Dave's son and I think it's fair to say that the apple hasn't fallen too far from the tree. Lucas wears his heart on his sleeve but when it comes to family he's a bit more switched on to what a loving, supporting family should be. The pair of them encourage each other no matter how ludicrous the plan is. They bumble through life together regardless of what is thrown at them but at least they do it together.

Dave is in a relationship with Karen and the best way I can describe it is opposites attract and that's putting it kindly. I think that the relationship broke down long ago but Dave will always support Karen, I think the pair of them are completely flawed but they need each other.

How does the show compare to anything else you have starred in?

I would say that the fun atmosphere on this job was like nothing else I have ever experienced. I'm not sure if it was down to the location but it felt like I was on holiday.

I think the level of detail in the acting reminded me of when I shot two series of Peaky Blinders. With that show, we were constantly reminded about the world our characters inhabited and with this show, Chi's world is almost as terrifying ha! It's funny though because I've recently realised that comedy and drama aren't such different beasts.

Picture/interviews supplied by BBC