We thought he might get better, so filming without Michael was tough

Georgia Humphreys talks to the co-writers and leads of This Country, Daisy and Charlie Cooper about its appeal and the death of their co-star

MANY of the laughs in This Country come from the mundane bits of life.

The ‘mockumentary’ sitcom, which launched on BBC Three in 2017, follows cousins Kurtan and Kerry Mucklowe, who live in an isolated village in the Cotswolds.

Written by Cirencesterborn siblings Daisy May and Charlie Cooper – who also play the two lead characters – the series explores everyday problems, like jobs and complicated family dynamics.

This Country came about because Daisy May,

34, and Charlie, 30, were both living at home in Gloucestershire, frustrated and not really knowing what to do with themselves. A few years later, they’re Bafta winners.

Although they want to keep working together, the Coopers say they are running out of ideas for This Country, and are ready to do something new. As Charlie puts it: “The whole point of the show is that nothing happens in this village, but it just feels like we wanted to go out with the standard as high as possible.” “The first series was about Kurtan and him kind of looking for the horizon; could he get out of the village?” continues the actor, who also starred in ITV drama A Confession last year.

“The second series was really Kerry’s series because it was about her and her dad and broken family relationships.

“And, in lots of ways, the third series is the vicar’s series. It’s his story that comes to the fore.”

The death of their co-star, and long-time friend, Michael Sleggs was another reason why the pair felt this was the right time to end the show.

“We felt his absence during the filming of the last series,” says Charlie.

Sleggs died in July last year, aged 33, after announcing he had been placed on palliative care due to heart failure.

In This Country, he played

Michael “Slugs” Slugette, an annoying neighbour of Kerry and Kurtan, who had terminal cancer.

The first episode of the new series largely revolves around Slugs’ death. It’s done in a beautiful way.

Daisy May recalls: “It was really difficult, obviously, because Michael was a close friend of ours and he was ill right up to before we started filming, and we thought he might get better, he might get another wind.”

“He also wanted to be included whether he was here or not. Michael being

Michael had the best sense of humour, so he wanted to be involved whatever really,” adds Charlie.

Starting to choke up, Daisy adds: “He was so funny, and it was such a difficult episode to write because how Kerry and Kurtan feel about Slugs is so different to how Daisy and Charlie feel about him.

“It was really tough, but we wanted to make it as funny as we could because he was so funny.”

The second episode sees Kurtan learning how to drive – something he has looked to the village vicar,

Reverend Francis Sutton, who’s somewhat of a pushover, for help with.

Some scenes show off just how funny Paul Chahidi is as the vicar.

The actor reveals that he has had some lovely feedback from a couple of real-life vicars who have watched previous series.

“One is Kate Bottley, who presents on Radio 2, and the other one is Richard Coles, who does a show called Saturday Live on Radio 4. They were really positive and complimentary.

“I think for all his faffing, he’s a lovely character. I think you see the best of the church in him.”

The siblings often get approached in public now by This Country fans.

“It always surprises us who likes it and who comes up to us and tells us they like the show – and what they quote,” enthuses Charlie.

“I don’t think there’s a specific group or age group, it’s just loads of people, which is great.”

■ This Country starts Monday on BBC1 at 10.35pm and is available on iPlayer from 7pm

This Country’s creators Charlie and Daisy Cooper and, inset, their late series co-star Michael Sleggs