Comedy News: Interview with Lucia Keskin
Tell us about your new series and what audiences can expect from the show?
It’s a mental show about a girl who has to try and cope with life now her parents are dead and can’t do everything for her, she desperately leans on the family she has left and sort of forces her way into people’s lives.
How would you best describe your character Chi?
She definitely see’s the best in everyone, no one can ever really offend or annoy her. Mainly because she’s unintentionally annoying others.
How much of the series is based on your real life experiences?
I’d like to say it’s nothing like my real life, but of course there are some elements that are similar, for example I also have zero GCSE’s like Chi in the show! But it’s 98% fictional.
What inspired you to write the show?
Two years ago I lost my Grandad who was my best friend and like a father to me. He got me into my love of comedy in the first place. It was the first time I’d ever properly experienced grieving and how awful it really is. Humour was sort of the only thing that helped me through
it, so when I met with Steve Monger (Exec Producer) I said that I wanted to write something that touched on grief and the surreal side of it.
Tell us about the writing process?
It was hard! Steve basically taught me everything in terms of the process and breaking
everything down. I thought you just picked up a pen and wrote a whole show but turns out
it’s a lot better when you plan it first! Thank God for Steve.
Tell us why you chose to base the show in Ramsgate? Why was that important to
you?
I grew up in Thanet so it just seemed right to do it there.
What’s been your favourite part of the process?
Honestly just learning so much at every stage. I think getting to work with such a great team
has been the best. Roughcut have done so much for me and I’m very grateful for the support
they give.
Do you have any favourite memories from filming?
It’s so hard to pick a favourite but I think a definite favourite was when me and Jamie Bisping
(Lucas) were filming a scene for episode 4 where we were watching the bananas and
waiting for them to go ripe; we started improvising and could not get through it without
making each other laugh.
You have some great talent involved, when you wrote it did you have the casting in
mind?
It’s so weird I did have cast in mind that I was so sure on and then things change, you see
other people for roles and it ended up completely different to how I had imagined it in my
head but in the best way, they are all really great.
How was filming with your fellow cast mates? Have you worked with any of them
before?
I’d not worked with any of them before but it was a dream working with such talented and
funny people. I think I’ve definitely made friends for life (they better have said the same!)
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What were your first impressions of the script?
I loved how the script was so real and relatable but also had these surreal heightened moments in it too. It was so refreshing to get a completely different perspective on how this family, who have had this sudden tragedy happen to them, navigate life and each other. I think grief and humour tread a very fine line next to each other and I felt that the script captured that really well.
Tell us about your character Karen.
In many ways Karen very much does live up to her name! She’s definitely not someone who
you would want to be stuck on the other end of a customer service line with… But really, she feels stuck in a bit of a rut and has a bad habit of blaming other people for that – mainly Chi.
Deep down she’s struggling a bit and throughout the series I think she comes to realise that it’s ok not to be completely perfect all the time.
Do you have any similarities to your character?
I probably have a few more similarities than I’d like to admit…but I definitely can relate to Karen feeling like she has to be everything all at once. She feels this pressure to achieve all
of these milestones in life and have everything under control, and she can’t always see that the people in her life just want the best for her.
Were there any funny moments from filming?
Practically every scene I had with Dan (Fearne, who plays her on-screen husband Dave) had me in bits. He’s so naturally funny and plays Dave so brilliantly that it was so difficult to be angry with him (which Karen is most of the time) so I would inevitably just get the giggles.
What’s your most memorable scene?
There’s one scene towards the end of the series where I think we get to see who Karen really is and what she’s actually been going through. I won’t say too much about what happens, but it’s a scene where she’s on her own at Chi’s house and she finally allows
herself to be vulnerable and it’s one that has definitely stayed with me.
What can you tell us about your on screen relationship with Chi?
Karen and Chi are way more similar than I think she’d like to admit. Chi is a constant thorn in Karen’s side but, actually Chi is exactly the kind of presence Karen needs in her life.
Working with Chi, I was always so impressed with how much she’s achieved at such a young age and how she handled it all. She was always so supportive of all the actors and was so excited for us to bring our own thoughts and ideas to the amazing characters she’d created.
How does the show compare to anything else you have starred in?
This show was such a unique experience for me. We had a really great rehearsal period where we were all encouraged to improvise a lot and have fun with our characters, which you don’t always get. That carried on through to the filming process too, so each scene was exciting to film as you had that freedom to play around with different ideas.