Michelle Keegan reprises her role as single mum, Erin, as Sky One's hit comedy drama Brassic, returns for a second series....
Last year saw Our Girl and former Coronation Street star, Michelle Keegan, embark on her first ever TV comedy with Brassic. She loved the experience so much she was delighted to be re-united with her co-stars including Damien Molony, (The Split, Ripper Street) and Joe Gilgun (Emmerdale, This Is England) for a second series.
As the Lancashire-based six-part comedy drama, created by Gilgun returns, the madcap money-making scams carried out by a tight-knit group of working-class mates, have got even wilder.
‘I have honestly never laughed so much. This series is even crazier than the last one. We all get on so brilliantly and we’ve become great mates off-screen. A lot of the laughs you see on screen are for real’, says Michelle who plays feisty, single mum Erin.
Here Michelle Keegan, 32, tells us which traits she shares with Erin, why a prison scene was the hardest thing she’s ever had to film and why she’d love to do more comedy….
Michelle Keegan on Brassic season two...
How did you feel about the great response to series one and why do you think it went down so well with viewers?
Michelle Keegan: "I feel very positive about the feedback, very happy! I think there was a gap in the market. A lot of working class shows can be negative, dull and grey, with people fighting to get out. Brassic flips the narrative. These characters are happy doing what they’re doing, they’re relatable, they’ve got a good group of mates and it’s hilarious."
Are the antics even wilder this time in Brassic season 2?
MK: "Yes, they’re even bigger and better and Erin is a lot more involved this time with all the petty crimes. I think she missed the gang and all the excitement. In the first episode she volunteers to be part of a circus act when the lads want to rob from a travelling circus. You see her in a cage with this lion. Luckily the actual lion was filmed on a separate day on a green screen so it wasn’t too scary!"
How much of you is in Erin?
MK: "I definitely see traits of myself in her. She’s fiercely loyal, she's one of the lads which I am too, she doesn’t take herself too seriously but she does when it matters. That's very much like me. She’s the mother hen of the group and I suppose I'm quite sensible when it comes to my friends."
You told us last time you had so much fun making series one it was hard to stop laughing on set. Was it the same this time round?
MK: "I watched the out-takes video the other day. I think I corpsed in every single scene this season. The hardest one for me was when Erin went to go and visit her brother Ronnie in prison because Carl Rice who plays him is hilarious. A lot of the actors ad-lib on set and Carl just kept adding things in I wasn't expecting. I was biting my cheek thinking, ‘Please don’t laugh, please don't laugh’. Trying to keep a straight face in that prison was the most difficult scene I’ve ever had to film!"
MORE: Michelle Keegan teases her final Our Girl series might not be her last!
Would you like to do more comedy roles in the future? And which ones do you enjoy watching on TV?
MK: "Absolutely! I’d love to do to more. I feel like there’s more freedom with a comedy than there is in a drama. I like watching Fleabag, and I binge-watched Intelligence with David Schwimmer which was hilarious. I also love Sex Education, anything with dry humour and truth in there."
What’s next for you after Brassic when things return to normal after lockdown?
MK: "There is something in the pipeline. I can’t say too much about it and because of what’s going on at the minute we don’t know when it’s going to start, but watch this space!"
Brassic Series Two begins on Thursday May 7 on Sky One, 10pm and all episodes will be available on Sky Box Sets and NOW TV
