“Celia’s worried that Alan might be bored with her...”
DEREK JACOBI AND ANNE REID RETURN AS ALAN AND CELIA EMBRACE NEW HORIZONS – AND A NEW KITCHEN…
There was a sense of finality to the two-part
Last Tango In Halifax special that aired in 2016, which made us think that might be the last we saw of reunited sweethearts Alan and Celia. So we were thrilled when super-busy writer Sally Wainwright confirmed that she’d found time to script a new four-part series – and even more so when we were invited on set to chat with the cast! Inside TV settled down with Anne Reid and Derek Jacobi to find out what their alter egos have been up to in the past three years…
Alan and Celia got married in 2013… is the seven-year itch hitting them now? Both Yes!
Derek That’s the point that we’ve come to in this series.
Anne We’ve evolved since the last series, like people do. But I’ll tell you what’s interesting is that, in the beginning, Celia very much had the upper hand in the relationship, and Alan absolutely adored her. Now she’s worried that actually he might be bored with her, and that he will go off and leave.
Derek He goes and gets a job!
Why does he get a job?
Anne Because he’s bored with me!
Derek Celia thinks that, but Alan reckons he needs more in his life. She goes for retail therapy all the time, and he needs to fill his days.
Alan’s brother Ted, who lives in New Zealand, is also coming over to visit…
Derek We have different reactions to him. I get annoyed and have a very short fuse where he’s concerned, because I think he’s totally irresponsible. He has hooked up with this woman called Angelina, and she’s taken of all his money, and he always assumes that someone is going to get him out of the holes that he digs for himself.
Anne Celia feels sorry for him, then he decides he’s going to live with us – and there’s shock and horror because Celia doesn’t like that!
Derek Poor Celia gets the rough side of it, really, because Alan has got this job now, so she has to look after Ted.
So there’s a lot going on for them, then?
Anne It’s interesting as it’s a drama, but it’s always got comedy in it – life has, hasn’t it? I think that’s one of the reasons it’s popular, because it has both things. Celia is a real snob. I had lunch with Sally a few months before we did this, and she said she had a story for Alan where he goes to work in a supermarket. I went [gapes], and she said, “Yes, that’s Celia’s reaction!” And it is.
Has she not become less pretentious over time?
Anne No, I don’t think she
has. She says very clearly in one scene, “I like nice things.
Nice things make me happy.” We have a new kitchen fitted that goes disastrously wrong, but it’s something that is, of course, terribly important to her!
Derek We have a lovely scene where we both analyse where we’ve got to. I’m obsessing about finding a job, and she’s obsessing about finding a new kitchen. And both things become matters of contention between us…