Jodie Comer on reprising her role as TV's most ruthless assassin Villanelle as Killing Eve returns for its hotly-anticipated third series...
Prepare to be scared… cold-blooded killer Villanelle is back causing more chaos as cat-and-mouse thriller Killing Eve returns for its long-awaited third series.
The Emmy, BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning, smash hit show landed on BBC iPlayer on Monday April 13 and debuts on BBC1 this Sunday. And it can’t come soon enough for loyal fans of the show after series two ended on that shock cliffhanger as vicious Villanelle (Jodie Comer) shot Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) in the back after the former MI6 agent rejected Villanelle’s offer to run away with her.
Series three begins six months on from that intense stand-off in Rome with both women – yes, Eve IS alive! – trying to get their lives back on track.
Villanelle is now living in the Spanish city of Barcelona and, as far as she’s concerned, Eve is dead. Eve, however, is back in England hoping Villanelle will never find her. All seems fine, until a shock death sets them on a journey back to each other once again…
While Fiona Shaw is also back as MI6 boss Carolyn Martens, there are lots of new faces this series. Belgravia’s Dame Harriet Walter joins as Villanelle’s new handler Dasha, Inside No.9’s Steve Pemberton plays Paul, who’s set to ruffle Carolyn’s feathers at MI6, and Game of Thrones actress Gemma Whelan plays Geraldine, an old acquaintance of Villanelle’s former handler Konstantin (Kim Bodnia).
Here Jodie, 27, spills the beans on what’s in store Killing Eve season three…
Where do we find Villanelle at the start of series three?
"Series three picks up six months later and it seems that Villanelle is trying to lead a somewhat normal life and move forward. She’s trying to convince herself that she is feeling things that everyday people feel. In the opening of the first episode, she’s at an event and gets an unexpected visit from someone in her past who shakes things up within her world."
Villanelle has a new handler in the shape of her former Russian gymnastics teacher Dasha (Belgravia’s Dame Harriet Walter). But Villanelle makes it clear she wants to call the shots in Killing Eve…
"A big theme for Villanelle this series is her trying to gauge some sense of control. She is a very free spirit, and she always seems to be under the thumb of this higher entity, whoever that may be. She's really trying to shake that off."
We love Villanelle’s costumes and they seem even wackier this series with her dressing up as a clown to ‘entertain’ at a kid’s party…
"She’s trying to find her own way and be in charge and make her own rules and she finds herself having to prove that she's ready and she's capable. It just so happens this is her disguise this time."
What more can you tell us about how Villanelle’s story develops this series?
"In this series we delve into Villanelle’s past, the loneliness she feels and what family actually means to her. Who are her family – blood and not blood? Villanelle doesn’t love Konstantin (Kim Bodnia) so much at the minute but she always finds herself drawn to him because he’s the closest thing she has to family. There’s a really interesting dynamic between the two of them this series, in a way that we haven’t seen before.
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Did you enjoy exploring the more vulnerable side to Villanelle?
"With Villanelle going into her past it’s like seeing her in a whole different world, with a new insight, which is really exciting. Everyone’s being tested in different ways and it feels like a couple of the characters come to a point of realisation at the end. They’re all on their own trajectories but somehow their worlds collide in this series. I have a scene with Fiona Shaw! At last! You should stick around for that alone. I’ve been fighting to get a scene with Fiona since day one so it was a glorious day to shoot."
As the series progresses, Villanelle soon finds out Eve is alive. What’s the dynamic like between them this series…
"That relationship gets more complicated. How do you come back from what happened? How does that change the relationship you once had? Does it? Is there a chance or is there a need to finish what you did? That’s probably going to be the biggest thing for Villanelle."
This first episode of Killing Eve is currently available on BBC iPlayer and debuts on BBC1 on Sunday April 19 at 9.15pm.
