I think it’s nice to be – but I’m pleased to say it doesn’t really happen to me ...
In the comedy Surviving Christmas With The Relatives, two sisters and their families endure the fesive period at their late parents’ dilapidated country house. Star Gemma Whelan discusses shooting a festive flick, taking her baby on set and how things are
GAME Of Thrones actress Gemma Whelan’s latest role couldn’t be further from her part as Yara Greyjoy in Sky Atlantic and HBO’s hit fantasy series.
Described as a “heartwarming, riotous take on the traditional festive family get-together”, Surviving Christmas With The Relatives sees two sisters and their families reunited at Christmas time at their recently deceased parents’ dilapidated country home.
Sisters Miranda (played by Gemma) and Lyla (Joely Richardson) are forced to confront old sibling rivalries that threaten to derail the festive season.
The film, which is the latest project for British director James Dearden – the brains behind the screenplay of acclaimed 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction – also stars Sally Phillips and Scottish actress Ronni Ancona.
Signing up to the film was a no-brainer for Gemma.
The 37-year-old, who also gained critical acclaim for her 2017 role as Karen Matthews in BBC drama The Moorside, explains: “Well, what excited me about the part was that it was... James Dearden of Fatal Attraction fame, writing a comedy and directing it.
“I thought, ‘That sounds juicy’. And then the other people who were on board with the project, and the script, I really thought it was great fun, a slightly different take on the disastrous Christmas movie”.
Gemma says the film, which was shot in locations including Hertfordshire and Greenwich, has a “sort of sizzling drama at the heart of it”.
“The house (left to the sisters by their parents) is barely liveable because it’s really, sort of, descended into wreck and ruins. There’s no oven, no plumbing, everything’s cold. “So they are all just trying to do their best in this chaotic environment and have a nice Christmas.” She adds: “Basically, (it is) any family Christmas, but with the volume on all the difficulties turned up”. Currently filming alongside Doctor Foster’s Suranne Jones in upcoming BBC1 drama series Gentleman Jack, Gemma will also be seen on screen next year in ITV’s six-part drama, the White House Farm Murders, based on the grisly family killings by Jeremy Bamber, that gripped the nation in the mid-1980s. “It’s always nice to do lots of diverse things I suppose. I’m very, very fortunate to play a nice light-hearted comedy role, and lovely, serious gritty dramatic roles as well, and fancy roles and everything in between,” she says.
Gemma had her six-month old baby with her on set and credits the people around her for their support.
“I had my, what was she then, six-month-old in tow, so I had a baby with me as well, I still breastfed – so I had her with me the whole time,” she says.
“It was fine. With the right support, it is all possible, isn’t it? It always sounds much scarier than it actually is – popping off to feed your baby now and again, as long as everyone’s willing to allow that to happen, which invariably they have been.”
“I think Claire Foy did a lot for it (working mums on set), Sally Phillips, who was on this film, she took her babies to work with her, a lot of mums do,” Gemma muses, “so I think the more we do it, the more normal it can become.”
Something she doesn’t take home from set is her characters.
Explaining she is not a method actor, she says: “Now I find it very easy to come home and shake the day off.
“One of the jobs I did tend to come home (with) a little bit was when I did The Moorside.
“That was quite a heavy, heavy role, but nothing too difficult to shake off, have a bath, have a cup of tea.”
The Leeds-born star is happy to fly under the radar as far as being recognised in public goes too.
“Some people can’t place me, and I don’t ever disclose ‘the TV darling’, I just say I’ve got one of those faces.
“So it doesn’t really happen, I’m very pleased to say – not that there’s anything wrong with being recognised, I think it’s a nice thing to be recognised for your work.”
Having done her fair share of comedy work, including stand-up and roles in BBC sitcom Upstart Crow, her humorous streak creeps in mid-chat.
“I think it might be a different thing if you are hounded, you can’t go out,” she says laughing.
“I mean I’m out, pushing my buggy around at the moment, and truly, I look like a bag lady.”
Expanding on this – in a way many parents will relate to – she says it’s “because we leave in such a hurry in the morning”.
“I can’t describe what I put on in the morning, but nothing goes. I get to walk around my home area dressed as a bag lady and it’s fine.”
Asked about there being more roles of substance for woman of late, Gemma says: “In writers’ minds as they write now that stuff is more likely to be made if they’ve got a strong... I mean, I hate using the word ‘strong, female character’ because by default women are strong.”
So, are women feeling more empowered at the moment?
“Yes, the movement is happening, isn’t it? We are doing very well.”
■ Surviving Christmas With The Relatives is in cinemas from today.