This Way Up
‘I was knocked off my bike the day we won aBAFT A !’
Aisling Bea’s hit comedy series, co-starring Sharon Horgan, returns. In the forthcoming series, viewers can expect more bittersweet, sister-related shenanigans, including illadvised trips to infra-red saunas, and possibly another duet… to give the people what they want! Here, Irish beauty Aisling, 37, tells us why series two is the tonic we need right now…
Congratulations on the success of series one and your breakthrough talent BAFTA win in 2020! How did it feel, and did you expect This Way Up to resonate with viewers the way it did?
Thank you! It felt like a very amazing moment. On the morning of the BAFTAs, I had been knocked off my bike and felt lucky to be alive, so it definitely put the BAFTA into perspective. The awards were virtual due to lockdown, so I won watching it in my sling and flip-flops, in the garden with a few pals, and it ended up feeling far more special as a result.
Describe your character Áine in three words…
Funny, dreamy, speedy.
There are some joyful and simultaneously thoughtprovoking moments. What is your favourite memory, on or off-screen?
Truthfully, shooting the show in the Winter during a national lockdown was incredibly difficult on many levels, but one moment I remember laughing my head off was with my brilliant make-up designer Lisa Kennedy, who also did series one. She kept me sane during the shoot.
There’s a karaoke scene in one episode, what’s your go-to song?
Well, even though
I wrote it in, I strongly believe that professional performers should not do karaoke and that it should be left to terrible singers, to have their one night in the spotlight. But needless to say, since series one aired, I do not mind throwing out a bit of Zombie [by The Cranberries] when pushed.
What do you hope viewers will take away from series two?
Truthfully, I hope if you have had a rough lockdown or year, I hope you feel seen, I hope you feel hopeful and like it is worth battling through and giving it a go.