Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
OUR SAUCY NEW CHEF DRAMA? IT’S Delicious!
about her TV roles, preferring to concentrate on writing novels and doing stand-up. She signed on for Delicious after creator Dan Sefton, who wrote The Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, and producer Phillippa Giles agreed she’d be perfect for Gina. Dawn was reluctant to commit at first but admits she couldn’t say no after meeting them and being bowled over by the way Dan ‘writes women so well’. To convince her, the pair agreed to set Delicious in Cornwall so Dawn could stay in her own home after months of touring her one- woman show, One Million Minutes. But it’s not all rugged cliffs and blue seas – instead viewers are treated to a backdrop of rolling hills and meandering rivers. ‘Originally it was set by the sea, but that’s been done by Poldark and Doc Martin so we did it inland,’ explains Dawn. ‘We’re showing another side of Cornwall.’
Next came the casting of Sam. When Emilia’s name was suggested, Dawn was quick to agree, having briefly worked with the Silent Witness actress on Sky 1 drama The Wrong Mans. ‘We only had a couple of days working together in The Wrong Mans, but I found her fascinating,’ says Dawn. ‘She’s a substantial actress, and a worthy opponent. I don’t meant that in a precious way, but I wanted someone who wouldn’t be bamboozled by my massive bosoms. I can fill up a character and overwhelm people. I’m so used to working with Jennifer Saunders, who responds to that. The moment Emilia’s name came up, it was right. She is utterly beautiful, and much younger than me, very opposite to me.’
Emilia, who coincidentally was in a relationship with fiery chef Marco
Pierre White until recently, was equally delighted to work with Dawn again. ‘On Delicious we had a lot more time to natter in the make-up chairs at 5.30 in the morning,’ she says.
As well as the glorious Cornwall landscapes, Delicious is full of scenes of tables groaning with food. To add to the authenticity, the extras in Leo’s restaurant kitchen are played by reallife chefs, and the actors were taught how to cook professionally. As Gina’s half-Italian, many of the dishes are steaming bowls of pasta, crisp biscotti and delicate little pastries, while in one banquet scene there’s an entire stuffed piglet. ‘It was very meat-and-two-veg when I was growing up, so I don’t have a history of learning to cook well,’ says Dawn. ‘They had to teach me to cook for the cameras so it would look right. It all had to look luscious, but artisan and peasanty at the same time.’
For self-confessed foodie Iain Glen, the job was a dream come true. And the highlight of his experience? A discreetly lit love scene with Dawn in which the couple are naked while feeding each other morsels of heavenly food, indulging in their two favourite hobbies at the same time. ‘Eating and sex are the basics of life,’ laughs Iain. ‘We all need to eat to survive and we all need to procreate. They’re both quite base urges. And often dating and love and sex and affection revolve around eating and drinking and dining. I’m a massive foodie, so it was heaven. In the scene where I was making love surrounded by the most delicious morsels I really did think, “Am I actually being paid to do this?”’
For Dawn, the sex scene marked the most serious departure from her usual silliness. ‘Iain’s terrific and he just made it as easy as possible,’ she says. ‘He’s much more experienced at doing that stuff than me, I’d only done comedy sex before. But I can’t pretend I didn’t enjoy it. It felt a bit naughty. I love a snog – Jennifer Saunders was always pretty good – and I enjoyed doing it in Delicious. I knew the scene was going to be saucy so I was ready for it. I thought, “Bring it on!”’
‘Gina’s relationship with food is sensuous – and so is she’
Delicious begins on Friday 30 December at 9pm on Sky 1.