Brenda’s full of tea and sympathy
In Kate & Koji, she stars as the feisty owner of an Essex seaside café alongside Holby City’s Jimmy Akingbola, who plays asylum seeker Koji. He was a doctor back in Nigeria and ends up running an unofficial surgery to take the strain off the NHS – in return for tea and buns.
Brenda said: “Kate is one of those hardworking people who’s had barely any help from anyone. She just gets on with it.
“I grew up at the seaside, in Ramsgate, and used to work in the cafés washing up as a kid. So this brings back memories.”
She and Jimmy hit it off immediately. And it was quite an adrenaline rush filming in front of a live audience with co-stars Blake Harrison – best known for playing Neil in The Inbetweeners – and Barbara Flynn (Open All Hours).
Jimmy said: “The nerves definitely get to you but you can’t beat an instant reaction to a line. The audience loves it when we mess up, so we try and style it out, like we’re doing it on purpose.”
It’s clear they’ve become a tight little team. Blake plays Kate’s nephew, while Barbara is Councillor Bone, Kate’s rival since their school days.
Brenda added: “Councillor Bone’s the one who stirs things up. She has some great lines and I just can’t look at Barbara, because I know I’m going to laugh.”
Café owner Kate and her best customer Koji find an understanding.
He said: “They would never admit it to each other but there is mutual respect. They really care for each other, but then they’ll be at each other’s throats.”
Each episode was filmed on a Friday night, and Jimmy admits the Akingbola clan turned out in force.
He said: “They’d all say, ‘Can I meet Brenda?’ I’d be like, ‘Brenda, meet my family’, and she’d say, ‘Jimmy, there are 20 of them!’ And I’m thinking, ‘She’s going to kill me on Monday’.”