Sister ACT
IT’S THE MORNING AFTER THE LIFETIME BEFORE AS THIS ALL-STAR COMEDY RETURNS…
Cat and Cathy – the sisters who’d no clue the other existed until their adulterous dad Colin dropped dead – are hungover as we meet them after a night celebrating Cathy’s ‘honeymoon’, her hapless fiancé having abandoned her at the altar.
And while Cat proceeds to break the very unexpected news to Cathy that they also have a brother – and there’s a chance he could be Callum, the chap Cathy snogged the night before – it turns out Cathy’s shambles of a life can get worse after all…
“She has the hangover to end all hangovers and on top of that, she may have just kissed her brother – appalling and shocking to anyone, let alone to Cathy, who’s one of the most neurotic people in the world,” wails Ellie White, who plays her. “This is the biggest, wildest and also most horrific thing she’s ever done in her life!”
“For Cat, though, to have a brother is everything that she’s dreamed of,” adds Lauren Socha, who plays the character. “She loves her sister, and having a brother tops it off for her. She’s buzzing for the both of them.”
For Cat’s mum Marilyn (Siobhan Finneran) and Cathy’s mum Tess (Rebecca Front), meanwhile, this extra revelation concerning the late Colin’s already flimsy fidelity has left Tess determined on a glamorous spend-up courtesy of the pay-out of her cheating hubby’s will – while original ‘other woman’ Marilyn proceeds to seethe with uncharacteristic vengeance against Callum’s mother Angela, played by This Is Going To Hurt and The Bill star Michele Austin.
Fortunately, Michele and Christopher Jeffers, who stars as Callum, received a warmer welcome courtesy of their new co-stars (who also include Caroline Quentin as Cathy’s batty Auntie Dawn)…
“I’ve loved playing Angela because I’ve spent an awful lot of my career in nursing scrubs and uniforms and in sensible suits – so it’s been joyous to be able to put on Angela’s gaudy clothes and wear lot of amazing wigs!” reveals Michele. “I was really nervous about joining the cast because I think they’re brilliant, but I hit them with my best jokes and it was okay in the end, you know?”
“Michele is wicked – and it just wouldn’t be the same without Caroline, she’s amazing!” concurs Lauren. “We all just gelled. It must be intimidating to come on set for the second series when we’ve all built relationships in the first. But immediately we felt a natural connection.”