INTERVIEW WITH STEPHANIE COLE
Can you tell me a little bit about your character and what role she plays in the series?
The character Catherine plays, I’m her mother and she’s a widow. She’s kind of, not grumpy, but can be quite cutting. She loves her telly and Catherine’s character deals with her extremely well. During the course of the show she becomes great friends with her next door neighbour because there’s been a burglary, and we go on from there...
What attracted you to the role and the show?
Derren sent me the script, and I’ve rarely read a first script which introduced all the characters without you being aware that they were being introduced. Very often it can be a bit plonky but this, it’s beautifully written, beautifully constructed and a really lovely story that you can be drawn into but you can also laugh. It was the sort of thing that there is a market for.
Tell me a bit about your co-stars and what it’s been like working with them?
It’s been an absolute joy, a real joy. We get on incredibly well together, there’s a lot of laughter and the whole cast and the whole crew are extraordinary, everybody has gelled beautifully and although time is of the essence and we have to press on, nevertheless we do and it’s a lovely atmosphere on set which is great.
What can people expect from the series?
What is really lovely is that it’s like a really well baked cake because there is a lot of laughter in it and there are also a couple of fascinating stories. One is a love affair and one is something slightly darker so you’re actually engrossed because there are several strands you’re following through, which is extremely entertaining.
INTERVIEW WITH MAGGIE OLLERENSHAW
Tell me a bit about your character?
Her name is Geraldine, she’s been running a hair dressing salon in Scarborough for 35 years. It’s one of those places that’s rather old fashioned so the cliental is mostly, as said in the show, ‘between 75 and death’. It’s a great asset to the community, people feel like it’s a home. They all like going there and being there, it’s kind of traditional in every sense of the word.
What attracted you to the role?
It was a no brainer because I love the character and the writing. You might have heard it before but it’s true, you very rarely read scripts and laugh out loud. I think it’s amazing the way Derren manages to combine everything, and he’s in it as well! The writing is superb and what really impresses me is his demeanor on set.
Sometimes you work on stuff and it’s very serious, but this is serious in a sense that everyone’s doing their job and it all comes from him. He manages to maintain a really light touch all-round.
Can you tell us a bit about your co-stars and what’s it like working with them?
I love them all! I’ve worked with Stephanie before but everybody else is new to me, especially the youngies who are fab as well – we had a ball.
What should people expect from the series?
It’s funny but there’s lots of quite moving bits in it too. It’s full of humanity as well as comedy and I think Derren’s done a great job and hopefully we can pull it off.
INTERVIEW WITH STEVE EDGE
Can you tell me a bit about your character?
I play Barry Dickson, Bigsy, he’s Mike’s best mate, played by Jason. Jason is my best mate in real life so it’s not a massive stretch! Bigsy is his mate, he lives with him and is his rock but not a very good rock! He looks out for him and is family to him, Bigsy needs Mike more than Mike needs him. He also sort of falls in love during the show...
What attracted you to the role?
I’d worked with Derren before on three series of Benidorm. I love Derren’s writing, it’s brilliant, and this is so different. It’s more subtle and has got a bit more pathos which is what I think he’s always written really brilliantly. Jason and I have been mates for about 20 years but we’ve never worked together. He’s got a radio show and I do that with him now and again, I’ve directed him in something but we’ve never acted together so it’s quite nice to have a legitimate excuse to spend time with him.
What can people expect from the series?
There are a lot of laughs, there’s a really good plot that runs through. It’s not like a standard sitcom that starts and ends at the same place, there’s a lovely plot running through about this gang of misfits getting together and battling whatever life throws at them.
Tell us a bit about your co-stars and what it’s been like working with them?
It was lovely to meet Stephanie, I’ve always been a big fan growing up, watching Tenko. Catherine I’ve worked with before, we did a sketch show together called Scallywag for BBC Three so I’ve known her for about 10 years as well. Harriet Webb, who plays Bigsy’s squeeze, is hilarious. I’d never met her before but we’ve bonded straight away which is just as well because we had to do a really massive snogging scene! Everybody in it is brilliant; it’s just a lovely bunch, a really happy job.
INTERVIEW WITH CLAIRE SWEENEY
Can you introduce us to your character and what role she has in the series?
My character is called Hayley Cox and I think she’s quite fabulous, even the outfits alone are so empowering. The minute I get va va voomed up, I get the shoes on, the leather pants, the hair, I feel like ‘This is it, this is Hayley Cox’. She thinks she’s above everyone else. She doesn’t really care about anyone, she doesn’t care what they all think. She’s got her life with Tony Peroni and when he was in jail she did what she had to do to get by, whether that be a bit of Mike or a bit of whatever! She knows where the bodies are buried with Tony, they’re the type of people who are old school gangsters, the loyalty they have to each other just goes way back, they know too much about each other and they have each other’s backs.
What attracted you to the role?
Anything Derren does is just genius. I did Benidorm for Derren and he writes these wonderful characters. I was so flattered to be asked to be involved. Derren makes me feel safe, I know I’m in good hands and I feel very comfortable being directed by him, he knows what he’s doing and he gives great notes.
Tell us a bit about your co-stars and what it’s been like working with them?
I knew Jake (Canuso) from Benidorm, he is wonderful and he’s so different to his character, he’s brilliant. He really thinks about his character, about the past, about the history, he’s very thorough. Jason I’ve worked with before, we did Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and we’re really good mates. Steve I worked with in Benidorm, Catherine I’ve just done a workshop with for a Jim Cartwright play. For me it was a bit nerve-wracking but there was the comfort of the feeling of working with your mates.
What can people expect from the series?
There’s a lot of laughs but there’s a lot of pathos. Derren’s written some scenes that when we we’re doing the read-through, actually made me cry they were so beautiful. Plus the fact they were acted out by Stephanie Cole and Kenneth Cranham, two legends. The people he’s got in Scarborough, I just feel honored to be on a show with them. It’s not just broad laughter, it’s subtle, it’s clever, it’s funny, it’s poignant and it’s beautiful.
INTERVIEW WITH JAKE CANUSO
Can you introduce us to your character and what role he plays in series?
I play Tony Peroni, he thinks he is head of the Scarborough Mafia but of course there isn’t one, he’s just a small time business man who came over from Italy when he was 16 to run his uncle’s failing ice cream parlour - he just never went back home.
Have you visited Scarborough before?
I’d never visited Scarborough before and I genuinely wasn’t prepared for how beautiful a place it is. It is so quaint with lots of independent shops and cafes, I absolutely loved my time there and I can’t wait to go back.
Tell us a bit about your co-stars and what it’s been like working with them?
I loved working with all of the cast, they are amazing. Claire Sweeney I knew from Benidorm so it was great to hear she was playing my girlfriend. Jason Manford and Catherine Tyldesley are lovely, we all had a great night out during the last week of filming and enjoyed everything Scarborough has to offer from great night life to my favourite, scampi and chips! My only regret was having no scenes with Stephanie Cole, she is a legend!
Do you have any stand out moments from filming?
I loved my scenes with Jason in the ice cream parlour and the amusement arcade, I think those scenes are not only funny but give the show a real flavour of Scarborough. I think my favourite scene was a business dinner ‘date’ with Maggie Ollerenshaw’s character, Geraldine; I can’t remember when I laughed so much, she is a comedy genius!
What can people expect from the series?
I think they can expect another genuinely funny show with instantly classic characters like Derren’s last show Benidorm, except this time he has given this new series a completely different feel and pace, I genuinely think it’s some of his best work to date.
Interviews supplied by BBC.
