FUN ON THE FRONTLINE
SAMSON KAYO AND JANE HORROCKS are chalk-andcheese paramedics in new ambulance comedy Bloods
NEW COMEDY Bloods Wednesday, Sky One HD, 10pm
WITH CREDITS INCLUDING Amazon Prime Video’s Truth Seekers with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, as well as a BAFTA nomination for BBC3 sketch show Famalam, Samson Kayo has carved out a successful career in comedy. But had he stuck with his original plan, things could have turned out very differently…
‘I was going to be a paramedic before I started acting,’ reveals Kayo. ‘I applied to be an ambulance support driver – you could do that back then; now you have to train! But then acting started to move more to the forefront.’
However, when a production company approached Kayo about ideas for new comedy shows, he found himself thinking about the alternative life he might have led as a paramedic – and from that,
Sky One comedy Bloods was born.
Kayo stars as Maleek, a headstrong London paramedic whose overenthusiasm for the job causes his partner, Kevin (Ghosts’
Kiell Smith-bynoe) to end up on the wrong end of a defibrillator. This leads to Maleek being assigned a new partner – cheery divorcee Wendy (Jane Horrocks), newly arrived from Nottingham.
DIFFERENT PEOPLE
‘I like that they are a very unlikely pairing,’ says Horrocks, 57. ‘Wendy’s an eternal optimist, and sees the best in people. Optimistic characters like that can sometimes bring people out in hives, and I think that’s interesting. What is it with us humans – or maybe the British – that we don’t sit comfortably with people who have positivity?’
Wendy’s sunny outlook grates on Maleek throughout their first shift, but he discovers that she’s more streetwise than she appears – while Wendy learns that Maleek isn’t the big shot he pretends to be.
‘We thought it’d be interesting to have characters from completely different parts of England,’ says Kayo, 29. ‘We started having conversations on set, and realised that we’ve got a lot in common even though we’re from different walks of life. We appreciated each other’s stories and cultures, and that was a great foundation for the two characters.’
Bloods was filmed on location in South London last autumn, and Kayo admits he was worried about whether the show’s bigger setpieces, such as a major traffic accident in episode one, could go ahead during the pandemic.
MAKING IT WORK
‘You’re so limited to the amount of people you’re allowed on set, because of insurance,’ he explains. ‘I was like, “Are we going to be able to do that? You can’t just have one car and one extra with a neck brace!” But the production team wanted to go as big as possible, so we took lots of precautions and ensured everyone was tested, so we were able to get things done.’
With NHS staff under more pressure than ever during the last year, the stars hope that the series will be a reminder of the human side of the medical frontline.
‘It’s great to bring paramedics to the screen, giving a nod to unsung heroes,’ says Horrocks. ‘I have huge respect for them whenever I’ve been in an ambulance – which is not many times, thank goodness. But I remember when I had my first child, I was taken to hospital in an ambulance and it was great!’
‘Optimistic characters can sometimes bring people out
in hives’
JANE HORROCKS