It’s very British, it’s not glossy, it’s not chic ...it’s real
Three female leads and plenty of drama – new ITV series Girlfriends has all the makings of a hit. Stars Phyllis Logan, Zoe Wanamaker and Miranda Richardson tell GEORGIA HUMPHREYS why they were so keen to get onboard
WHEN Kay Mellor realised there was a lack of women taking centre stage in drama, she decided to do something about it.
“I went to a seminar, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse actually, many years ago, and a lot of women were saying, ‘We only ever play the nana or the mum, and nobody speaks for us’,” the Fat Friends writer explains.
“There was a need, I felt, to give women – and women of a certain age – a voice.”
Enter her new, six-part drama Girlfriends, which focuses on the lives of a group of women who are over 50.
The ITV series stars Phyllis Logan, Miranda Richardson and Zoe Wanamaker as lifelong friends Linda, Sue and Gail, who rally together when Linda’s husband Micky vanishes from a cruise ship.
We hear more from the trio who bring the story to life.
THE APPEAL
GLAMOROUS magazine editor Sue, ditzy stay-at-home mum Linda and loyal and dependable Gail might not be the most predictable gaggle of mates.
They’ve led very different lives but have remained best friends for more than 30 years.
While we also learn about their families, Girlfriends is mainly about the women themselves and the problems they face – from age discrimination, to caring for grandchildren and ageing parents.
It’s something Downton Abbey actress Phyllis, who plays Linda, relished.
“It’s nice to be at the foreground of it all, and the men are add-ons, as it were,” the 61-year-old says with a laugh.
“There are great parts for men in it too, of course, because Kay’s written it. But it’s lovely to have three women protagonists.”
Oscar-nominated actress Miranda, who has also starred in TV series such as Blackadder, agrees that Kay’s scripts were a big attraction.
“She’s got such a fab track record and she writes for women,” says the 59-yearold, who plays Sue. “She likes to see things from the women’s point of view.”
Meanwhile, expect the feel of the drama to be a little different.
Zoe, perhaps most recognisable from BBC sitcom My Family, plays Gail and says: “I think, because it’s very British. It’s not glossy, it’s not chic – it’s very real.”
COMPLEX CHARACTERS
THE starting point of the show is the very real tragedy that Linda is going through – the disappearance of her husband. The situation gets even worse when, back home, she realises the state of the family’s finances. “What attracted me to Linda was the fact she’s quite straightforward and ordinary, but with these hidden depths, which we slowly begin to find out about,” says Phyllis. Linda turns to her two closest friends for support, but they have their own problems – take Gail, whose son is just out of prison. “Gail puts herself furthest down the list, for looking after people,” 68-year-old Zoe explains. “She has very little self-esteem.” Miranda, meanwhile, gets to play the “poshest of the three”. But while it may seem as though, on paper, her character has everything – the career, the long-term partner, the successful lawyer son – it becomes apparent Sue is in denial. “People will enjoy watching Girlfriends because it’s about three very different – but connected – characters, who all have rather interesting journeys and complicated lives,” says Miranda. “There will be something that everybody can relate to in at least one of those characters. “I think it’s smart to write for this generation, or this age, generally. “Women of middle years and upwards have an accumulation of experience and stuff going on – connections, responsibilities, things they want to do in life.”
FOREVER FRIENDS
THE show’s central theme – the importance of having long-standing female friendships – is something all three actresses say they can identify with in their personal lives.
It’s Zoe who perhaps best sums it up best, though.
“You share emotions and secrets and frailties with each other that you wouldn’t normally do with a stranger,” she says.
“In this series, we find these three women in a state of crisis, and that’s what brings them together.”
“It’s the people that you feel, if you had to, you could ring up in the middle of the night and say, ‘What do I do? I have no idea. Help’,” says Miranda of her own friends.
And Phyllis recalls the various holidays, heartbreaks and weddings she and her real-life pals have gone through, adding: “Our friends are very much part of who we are.”