21 November 2023
Who is Becka? And what's she like?
She is a yoga fitness instructor who's married to Danny, a traffic police officer. We live in a beautiful suburb of Leeds, and while everything looks picture-perfect, there's something about them as a couple that feels, particularly for Becka, that they don't fit. They're always wanting to break out of that space and carve a path for themselves that is unique. She's someone who is incredibly upfront and incredibly comfortable with who she is. I thought it was interesting, seeing her push these boundaries and break free of that space, but also within herself having a really strong sense of her identity.
We pick up from episode one that she has had quite a wild life. How did she get there?
I wish there was more time in the episodes to explore that side of Becka, but she broke with convention, had a lot of freedom as a kid and experienced the world in a very different way. She's the one who feels most uncomfortable in the space that we find them in. She's the instigator of dabbling in the alternative relationship lifestyles. She's always lived a very different life to the sort of scripted, monogamous lifestyle or relationship. Unfortunately, this time there's some complications that come up.
Becka seems in control of her situation. Does she ever lose control of herself?
This is something that we discussed throughout the show was that Becka is very consistent, she stands by her morals and this code that she lives her life by. Evie is trying to find herself, and I think in the process loses herself, but Becka is quite consistent. In a certain way she's a bit of a moral compass for the show, even though the life that she's living may not be morally aligned with a lot of what our audience is used to.
You grew up in a suburb of Perth and we've all watched Neighbours – how does this compare with Australian suburbia?
Our show can feel a little bit Desperate Housewives in that it's very self-aware, and there’s very tongue-in-cheek moments, particularly in the first three episodes. But then it's also got a Twin Peak vibe, where everything's a little unsettling and unnerving. I grew up in a semi-rural area, pretty close to what Becka experienced I imagine.
How does the Hugh Dennis peeping tom pressure affect her?
The creepy neighbour situation is this growing danger for Becka. It starts out as something that's uneasy and then it threatens both her safe home space and her business. I think it says something about the way that women are looked at, objectified or fetishized. Becka is probably quite used to being objectified and underestimated. She's got an extraordinary inner strength and resolve, and she has a very interesting response to it. I think it comments on the fragility of masculinity, but also the complexities of it - that we are a product of where we come from and who raises us and who supports us and who surrounds us.
How did you find the rest of the cast?
Eleanor and I worked very hard to build the relationship between Becka and Evie. It was important to us that you feel the strength of the female friendship. With Sam, we did a chemistry read over Zoom, I was in Sydney, and he was in Scotland, it was a stormy night in Sydney but as soon as I heard him read the scene I was like, oh god, I would be very, very lucky to work with this man. I would very happily work with Sam forever. With Alfie, Pete and Becka have some lovely scenes together. Not all together easy scenes in terms of what their characters are going through, but Alfie is an extraordinary actor, he is so talented, he has such a beautiful mind, he's a real intellectual. Whenever you do a scene with Alfie, you've got to step up your game. I think the chemistry between the four cast is wonderful. Those intimate scenes and the relationship scenes, watching the sparks and the chemistry, those are my favourites.
What's Dries like to work with?
The sets feel quite Australian really, they're very playful. His crew is so incredibly skilled, a small crew and Dries has incredibly talented women in every department. Funnily enough I see that a lot more in Australia, but I think it's only just happening in the UK. Dries is just the perfect captain to that ship. They're just a family, and we as a cast were welcomed into the family. Dries is a team player, a collaborator, he values everybody's opinion and everybody's expertise. He has given the show this quirky edge, that tonally feels very unusual and very new.
By the way, how good is your yoga? Is it good enough?
I am not good at yoga! We had a lovely yoga instructor come in to help me, not only with positions but with the language. I've done a lot of yoga in my life, but I hadn't done it for a long time, I'm a runner normally. So, the running was very, very easy, but the yoga was a stretch – pardon the pun.