Second season of drama filmed in town premieres
THE creator of an acclaimed BBC drama filmed in Helensburgh has explained why she decided to bring the series back for a second season.
Season two of Float, telling the story of a romance between two girls, Jade and Collette, premiered on the BBC iPlayer on Friday, March 29.
The show is set in a Scottish seaside town, and was entirely filmed on the west coast of Scotland with key locations including Helensburgh, Gourock, Greenock, and Inverkip.
The demolition of the former Helensburgh leisure centre featured in the second series.
Writer Stef Smith felt the story had room to continue and wanted to further explore Jade and Collette as well as the people around them.
She said: “It was important for me to take the story on because so many people warmed to Jade and Collette, and we knew people wanted to see what happened in their lives.
“I wanted to see what happened to them.
“It was important to have them at the centre of a terrific ensemble cast, to see them with their friends, to have the input of their families and especially their mothers and to see this love story in the context of the wider community in a small town.
“Hannah and Jessica mesmerise as Jade and Collette but the dynamic for the whole cast is amazing and newcomer Isla Campbell is terrific. It is their first TV role, and they are brilliant.”
Float first appeared on the iPlayer in 2021 and went on to win awards as well as attracting international attention.
The first series received critical praise and multiple industry awards on the festival circuit, including Best Short Form Series at Series Mania 2022 and Best Writer for Stef Smith at Series Fest 2022 and at the 2022 RTS Scotland Awards.
Hannah, who plays Jade, said: “It’s great being back to play Jade again. I hold her very dear to my heart and I’ve a lot of friends who can identify with our journey.
“We’ve got some new characters as well and to see how she’s reacted to all these new, different people in her life, it’s amazing.”
Jessica, who plays Collette, said: “A lot of series two is set around families and our relationship with our parents and then sees how they Jade and Collette - find each other some months on.
“This time around we’ve got the mothers involved as well, it’s not just the two girls, it’s about families as well and I think it will hopefully resonate with a lot of families across Scotland.”
Series one and two of Float are both available to stream now on the BBC iPlayer.