Fans of the show know that The Other One season 1 ended on a huge cliffhanger when sisters Catherine ‘Cathy' Walcott and Catherine ‘Cat' Walcott unwittingly met their long-lost brother — with Cathy snogging him!
As the comedy returns this week for The Other One season 2, the fun picks up the morning after the night before, with Cat (Misfits’ Lauren Socha) reminding Cathy (The Windsors’ Ellie White) about the existence of their brother Callum (Bridgerton’s Christopher Jeffers) — and that kiss!
Also back for this series are The Stranger’s Siobhan Finneran as Cat’s mum Marilyn, Doctor Thorne’s Rebecca Front as Cathy’s mum Tess alongside new arrival This Is Going to Hurt's Michele Austin as Callum’s mum Angela. Fan favorite Caroline Quentin also returns later in the series as Auntie Dawn.
Here, Ellie and Lauren tell us more…
How do Cat and Cathy feel about discovering their long-lost brother, Callum?
Ellie: "While Cat's over the moon to learn about Callum, Cathy's terrified because she’s just snogged her own brother! The arrival of Callum creates a buffer between Cathy and Cat and allows for new friction between them."
Lauren: "I was very happy that we had some fresh meat to get our claws into! Callum’s arrival brings about a new dynamic between Cat and Cathy, which was amazing."
Ellie, Cathy is as neurotic as ever this series - does she wish she could be more laid back like her sister, Cat?
Ellie: "Cathy’s a stereotypical middle-class, repressed girl who loves netball and who’s never been taught to be open about her feelings. I don’t find her dissimilar to me. She’s like: ‘I can't tell people how I feel because it will mess up the situation, everything must be in order all of the time and I need to be in control.’ I feel like that’s what makes Cathy so neurotic. Cathy had no idea what fun was until she met Cat. She’s really helped Cathy bring out that side of herself and we see Cathy enjoying life a bit more this series, going out a bit more and exploring her femininity."
Lauren, how much do you enjoy playing Cat? Are you ever shocked by what Cat says or does?
Lauren: "Not really because I do the same stuff as her to be honest, though obviously I’m not a driver for Deliveroo! Cat’s just a flamboyant, fun, happy character to play — she’s completely different to prostitutes and drug addicts, that’s for sure!"
Do you like Cat’s dress sense?
Lauren: "NO! She's very out there, which makes the character even more funny, because she looks like a clown most of the time. Cat's like the female version of CBeebies' Mr Tumble!"
Aside from Cathy snogging Callum, after being jilted by fiancé Marcus (The Witcher’s Amit Shah) last series, is there any love on the horizon for Cathy or Cat?
Ellie: "Well, let’s just say Marcus is still loitering around while Cathy’s battling with the fact she’s kissed her brother and has a crush on him, which is horrendous."
Lauren: "Cat’s just desperate to find love, isn’t she? But it never goes that way. I do have some experience of dating app Tinder - but it’s not worked out."
Do you think the fact that Cat and Cathy are so different is what makes this show work?
Lauren: "Me and Ellie are complete opposites as people. I’ve never met anyone like her and she’s never met anyone like me; if we were at the same school growing up we really wouldn't have knocked about together. But we have exactly the same sense of humour and that's what makes this such a brilliant show. Because we bounce off each other and it's very natural. Chris, bless him, he’s come into the thick of it but he just fitted right in and we all have a laugh."
Ellie: "Also, Siobhan Finneran and Rebecca Front, who play our mums, are an absolute dream. They feel like our sisters, too!"
The Other One starts on Friday, May 6 at 9 pm on BBC One (all episodes are also available as a box set on BBC iPlayer).
