TILL THE BITTER END
AS NEW NIGHT MANAGER LOU STARTS WORK AT VALCO, SALLY PHILLIPS AND JASON WATKINS REVEAL WHAT’S IN STORE…
Last week it seemed as if Gavin had stumbled on the perfect scheme to ensure that Valco’s plans for 24-hour opening would fail – by hiring Lou, easily the most shambolic of all the night manager candidates. When Lou turns up for training at the supermarket with Katie this week, she’s every bit as disastrous as expected – but might Gavin’s plan end up backfiring on him? We caught up with Jason Watkins (Gavin) and Sally Phillips (Lou) to see if Valco will ever be the same again…
Why was Gavin so keen to hire Lou in the first place?
Jason Valco 24 is sort of forced upon Gavin, and he’s not sure about it because he’s a bit of a retail purist. He’s got his ways – “What’s wrong with three for two?”. Everything’s pretty straightforward with him. He doesn’t want the idea to succeed, so he picks Lou. She’s eccentric, and she has her own ways. Is she the best night manager in the history of supermarkets? I’m not sure… Sally I’ve really, really loved playing her. She’s very different – I think something just went a bit wrong for her at some point. She doesn’t function all that well, but she’s very amiable and nice! The thing that’s sweet about her is that she’s never had a job before, or hasn’t for years – she’s been for loads of interviews and never got anything. And she gets this job because Gavin decides to hire the worst possible night manager, for his own personal reasons.
What’s the dynamic like between Gavin and Lou once she gets to work?
Sally She really likes everybody, and he does like her in the end, but she’s your nightmare employee. She doesn’t know anything at all about supermarkets!
Jason They have a great journey together – there’s Sally’s character with her eccentricities that clash with Gavin’s sensibilities, so she’s a great addition to the series. We’re very lucky and privileged to have Sally.
What kind of management style does Lou have?
Sally It’s terrible! She flits between doing impressions of people from films and completely losing interest. She’s one of those people who you’re not quite sure who she is – she does a lot of silly voices to say things she thinks are difficult to say. I think she’s quite a complex character! Do you think Gavin might come to regret unleashing Lou on his store?
Jason Well, he’s appointed her, and then he’s let her go like a sort of whirling dervish, and he always comes in the next morning to see what the damage is – it’s like, “Whatever did she do last night?”. Sally, did you have to do much preparation for the part? Did you pop into Tesco at 2am to see what was happening? Sally Well, that’s the brilliant thing – you go shopping every week don’t you, so I’m very familiar with shopping! My kids came to visit the set and they absolutely loved it. They went crazy because normally we play shops on a bench with a few cans, but this was the whole thing!