‘I don’t know how I kept a straight face during filming’
The legend that is Alison Steadman teams up with Katherine Parkinson and Jim Howick for a full series of the fab mockumentary following the Jessop family…
Tell us about your characters. ALISON STEADMAN OBE, 75: Sue is a nutter and it’s fun to play nutters! I just loved the script, and as soon as I knew Katherine and Jim were going to be in it, I thought, “Yeah, I’ve got to do this!”.
KATHERINE PARKINSON, 44: The scripts were some of the best I’ve ever read! Rachel is more stoic and lustier than me, but I share her rage.
JIM HOWICK, 42: Paul made the Olympic archery team, and I had to wear Lycra all the time. He’s a tangled mess of a man, essentially just a man baby...
Did you have a chuckle on set? ALISON: We had a good laugh, and I don’t know how I kept a straight face with Jim because he is absolutely hilarious. It was quite tough getting through some days without ruining the shot by corpsing; there were times when I was almost on the floor laughing.
Favourite scenes to shoot? ALISON: It was a hoot when we were all in the tub in the garden. I had this bathing hat on, fully made up to go in the pool. It was great fun! Every day, I would look forward to going in and I was really quite sad when it finished – although I was glad of the rest, I’m getting a bit old now! KATHERINE: The paddling pool day was lovely because production kept the water nice and warm, and the sun was out. I’m also grateful to Jim for making us all laugh.
JIM: I think everyone was a bit giddy with the group swimming pool scene, and it was the closest thing I’d had to a holiday in two years...
What was it like working with Lord Sugar [the dog]?
ALISON: I love dogs and I had one myself for 15 years, but it’s quite hard when you’ve got two of them in a car dribbling pints of saliva. I had a waterproof cover across my lap!
Ew! And playing a Liverpudlian? ALISON: I’m from Liverpool originally and I love my home city, but I haven’t had many Liverpudlian roles. Sue is one of those women who doesn’t hold back – she has no filter! And, like Sue, I love my family and my two boys and I’m happiest when we’re all together.
Did it feel strange to interact with the camera?
ALISON: That took a bit of getting used to. My whole career I’ve been told, “Do not look into the lens!” and then suddenly, that’s what we’re doing! It did take time before I got comfortable with that.
Jim, you had to learn archery ? JIM: Yeah, I had a lesson with [comic] Tim Key [who becomes his sporting rival later on in the series], which was like an alternative comedy fever dream. But it was the best date I’ve ever had – I wiped the floor with him. Which character in the show would you most like to go for a drink with?
JIM: I have a real soft spot for Tom [Basden’s] character Robin, he’s just such a sweet guy. We’d hunker down and while away the hours talking about Warhammer and
Acid Jazz…