TIME TO SPLIT
BBC’S THE SPLIT IS ENDING. ANNABEL SCHOLEY, WHO PLAYS NINA, REVEALS WHAT TO EXPECT. BY RACHEL CORCORAN
At the end of series two Nina was pregnant and having an affair with Tyler, who’s gay…
Yes! She now has a three-month-old girl and she’s back at work in her high-power job, trying to cling on to her identity as if nothing’s happened. I have a three-year-old daughter myself and you can’t pretend that you’re a different person. But Nina’s still in her heels with designer baby gear and very little confidence in being a parent but is actually much better at it than she thinks. It’s nice to play that working mother balance because you don’t see that a lot on screen. I went back at three months to do series two so I was able to really use my experience. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves.
What is it about Nina that appealed to you?
I looked at auditioning for Rose but I’m just not her. I’m Nina, for my sins. I love how broken she is but is trying to be a better human.
She makes huge mistakes but desperately tries to correct them. I was a head girl so I’m a bit more sensible than Nina but I can definitely be the whirlwind part of her. Abi [Morgan, creator] created four strong women of different generations and they’re all completely flawed and a little bit selfish but have big hearts, and I think people like to see that.
How emotional was it filming the final scenes?
I actually cried. It wasn’t the last shot of the series because we don’t film in order. It was me, Nicola [Walker], Deborah [Findlay], Chukwudi [Iwuji] and Damien [Molony] all getting into a lift. I had the last line and just as I said it, the lift said, ‘door closing’, then the door closed. And Nicola and I just sobbed, holding each other, in the lift. It was very emotional. It’s so sad that we’re all unlikely to work together again but we’ll stay in touch.
Would you like to do more?
We knew the plan was to do three if it was a success so I never thought it would go beyond that. I’d definitely do more because I’m so happy on that job and I always feel challenged playing Nina. But I understand why Abi doesn’t want it to become a soap. Three is probably enough to leave people wanting more rather than it petering out and becoming diluted.
Maybe revisit them in ten years to see where they all are…
That would be good. Any excuse to go back and hang out with everyone again. But I got to keep her incredible Burberry pea coat. I’ve never cleared up so many clothes from a job before. My entire wardrobe is Nina.
The Split series three is on BBC1 at 9pm on Monday