Russell Tovey tells us about his new BBC3 ‘bedsitcom’ Him & Her, screening on Mondays on BBC3... Russell Tovey’s latest role sees him swapping the two-up-two-down he shared with a ghost and a vampire in Being Human for a messy bedsit in suburbia. In the BBC3 comedy Him & Her, he plays one half of a layabout couple – actress Sarah Solemani co-stars as the ‘Her’ – who spend most of their time having sex, playing on their Xbox and generally lazing about. TV&Satellite Week magazine caught up with him to find out more… Him & Her is a modern-day love story... It’s a bit like The Royle Family, in that the characters never go outside. It’s also reminiscent of Shameless, in that it pushes the boundaries. But, for all that, it feels completely fresh. It’s quite a rude show... But then, it reflects how young people actually talk. That will either be the secret of its success, or its downfall. I play Steve... He’s a cheeky chappie and a total wind-up merchant. He’s also very content doing nothing, and completely in love with his ladette girlfriend, Becky. Steve and Becky aren’t slobs... They might not change their underwear for days, but they do keep up their personal hygiene. They’re unemployed, but not worried about it. A lot of actresses were worried about playing Becky... She has to do things like going to the loo on camera, and they didn’t want to be seen doing that. I don’t just want to play nice guys... Sometimes it’s good to play someone who’s a bit of a twat. If that comes as a shock, then great. Filming the show meant spending a lot of time in bed... Most of the time we were only wearing socks and underwear. But in Being Human I’m normally naked anyway, so it wasn’t a big shock for me. There were rumours about my Doctor Who character Midshipman Frame joining Torchwood... But I’ve heard nothing more about it. I think that role has been and gone, and that’s fine by me.
