WHY THE WRONG GIRL IS STILL RIGHT FOR JESS
Season two of Ten’s ‘dramedy’ The Wrong Girl introduces Nat Bass as the ‘other woman’ who stirs up Lily’s self-doubt, writes
LILY Woodward may have chosen her man, but life is about to get even more complicated for The Wrong Girl.
Jessica Marais is back as the whip smart, if slightly awkward, breakfast TV producer in season two of Ten’s romantic ‘dramedy’.
“I was really proud of season one. Usually I find it much more difficult to say with my whole heart that I’m really proud of something, so that’s a good reaction,” Jessica Marais tells The Guide. “I wanted more and I wanted to see more of the world, which is why I’m so glad we’re back for season two.”
After six months away in New Zealand with celebrity chef and boyfriend Jack (Logie winner Rob Collins), Lily has returned home to Melbourne to find her TV show in crisis and her best friend Pete hurt by her rejection of his declaration of love for her.
“She buried that when she went away with Jack without taking into consideration how real it was for him and the effect on his feelings she may be having,” Jessica says.
“That’s where a lot of the problems for the characters within the storylines come about – it’s a lack of proper communication. That’s when life goes wrong for people.”
Jack flies over from New Zealand to be with Lily and suggests they stay in Melbourne so she can return to her career. After navigating Erika’s contentious farewell episode on The Breakfast Bar, much to the relief of network programming boss Sasha, Lily seems to be settling back into her old life.
But she’ll be thrown a curve ball when she meets Jack’s ex-girlfriend Jillian.
In an upcoming episode, Natalie Bassingthwaighte joins the cast as the effervescent Gillian – also a celebrity chef.
“I really love how they’ve written Gillian. She’s really sassy but she’s really practical. She’s very different to Izzy (my character from Neighbours) and other roles I’ve played in the past,” Natalie says. “Gillian hasn’t come in to stir the pot and steal the man.”
Despite the best of intentions, Gillian stirs up a lot of self-doubt in Lily.
“She represents the glittering world that Lily’s very much on the outer of as a producer,” Jessica says. “Lily’s also confronted by the fact that Gillian is so nice.”
In the season premiere, Lily also found herself playing peacemaker between her parents. After her father announced his engagement to his new girlfriend Lily had only just met, it was up to her to break the news to her mother.
“It’s a tough position but she loves both her parents,” she says. “In a sense Lily is confronted by the fact that all these worlds are happening without her being able to manage them, which is difficult for someone who is that controlling. I empathise with that.”