We like a lotta laughs, here at heat. So this is pant-wetting news. In the very best way.
Daisy May Cooper, creator and star, has teased a This Country Christmas special and OMGEeeeeee.
Daisy broke the exciting news during a chat with Jonathan Ross (on his show, we weren't enjoying a cosy lunch with the two of them, although if they'd like to set that up, we're THERE).
Daisy said of a festive episode: “I just needed a bit of a break. We’ll have to go back. Maybe a Christmas special or something. Why not? Make a bit of money.”
Ah, sweet, sweet, cash, It's what the festive season is all about really. To be clear, we are JOKING. Just like Daisy. Pass the eggnog *hic*.
Here's what happened when heat sat down with Daisy in Charlie in 2020, ahead of what we then thought was the last ever episode of This Country...
While we may have done a lot of these interviews, every so often one comes along that makes us jittery with anticipation. We tell everyone who we’re interviewing, and we try really hard to make them our best friends within the space of our half hour chat. This couldn’t have been truer for Daisy May and Charlie Cooper of BBC Three’s This Country. At heat we are unashamed super fans of the mockumentary sitcom, which has gone from cult classic to stone-cold hit in three series (and they have the BAFTAs to prove it). With the final ever episode airing this week – and to try and prolong the inevitable sadness when we have to face a world without new episodes of This Country in it – we sat down with the sibling creators and stars of the show.
While it would be naïve to think the siblings are exactly like their characters, they’re not not like them. Daisy is as much a word wizard as Kerry Mucklowe, while Charlie has the same thoughtfulness as Kurtan – and both constantly surprise us with the unique and offbeat wit we’re also treated to in the show. It’s no wonder the same minds that referenced Bodger and Badger and, “the spoilt pug in Pocahontas”, in their comedy would end up chatting to us about The Wurzels, pig actors and how the National Trust is a rip off. Daisy, Charlie, can we be best friends now?
How do you both feel now the show is coming to an end?
Daisy: Relieved! It’s been an incredible journey but what people forget is that we’ve been working on this since 2010. We’re just tired and so desperate to move on to new worlds and find new characters.
Charlie: It’s a weird one because I always thought, “God, we’re going to be so upset”, but in a way it feels like a natural end. It’s quite nice actually.
Does it feel like you’re going out on a high?
C: Definitely. I think we really felt the pressure writing this last series. You get less time writing each series and you’re so conscious of keeping the standard up. Writing the first series, no one had even heard of us…
D: And the first series was five years of material that we’d had, so by the time the third series came around, we were running on fumes! There were times when we’d be like, “Oh my god, wouldn’t this be a great storyline? And then we’d think, “Oh wait we’ve done that in series two.” You forget!
It must be hard to pick up stories from locals now that you’re so recognisable…
C: I live in Cirencester where we grew up and Daisy lives down the road, but we’ve lost our anonymity and that is tough. I can’t go to the local pub anymore.
D: Living here makes me think, “F--k, I now know what The Wurzels must have gone through.”
Do you feel a bit like local heroes now?
C: The mayor sent me a Christmas card! The thing is, when you grow up in a place where pretty much f--k all happens, it doesn’t take much for people to know who you are. But it is really nice. I think people just feel part of the show. It’s representing the area – and you just don’t see it normally on TV. They feel like it’s their show as well.
Can you remember the moment you were told it was going to happen?
D: I was in a caravan park in Cornwall and mum and Charlie turned up after I got the news, and I said, “We’ve just been commissioned for a series”, and mum said, “Oh! Well can I have a cup of tea first?” And I just remember thinking, “That was not how I imagined this would go.”
Who laughs the most on set?
D: I really struggled with Big Mandy [Ashley McGuire] at book club. There was a scene that didn’t make the show but she was getting cross with Kayleigh’s opinions on The Jungle Book because she says that she was raised by dogs. And she just kind of went off lines a bit and I… I mean maybe it got cut because I couldn’t get through it.
C: Oh yeah, she did a whole monologue about how she was raised by wild dogs. But she was basically improvising – it was very funny. Me and the vicar [Paul Chahidi] always struggle. We set each other off. I think there’s going to be a blooper reel coming out with the last episode.
Were there any storylines that didn’t make the cut?
D: We had one completely mental one about a pig that had escaped, and Kurtan was trying to track down this pig. But obviously pigs can’t really act, and there was a lot of demanding acting in the role. So that didn’t work. There was another one about them all going on holiday to Weston-super-Mare but we ended up cutting it because it didn’t work with them being outside the village. And we had one about Kurtan having a dream that there was going to be a terrorist attack on the village church.
C: I mean they’re all pretty s--t.
D: I don’t know, the pig one for me – I quite enjoyed that. If we could have found the right pig…
If people could learn something from Kerry and Kurtan, what would it be?
D: Don’t trust the National Trust. You’ll sign up for a membership which will be about £100 a year but you’ll probably only go once.
C: There’s a line in the first series, I think it’s the last episode – the one when Kurtan’s going to college – and to make him stay [Kerry] says, “What’s the point in doing anything anyway ‘cause we’re all going to die?” [Laughs] – and that is the most profound thing. It’s stayed with me because sometimes you’ll think, “F--k, I should have done this or done that”, or, “I’m embarrassed about this” and then I think actually, well, what’s the point because we’re all going to die! It’s the most nihilist attitude but it’s actually quite comforting!
Where do you both keep your BAFTAs?
D: Um, where’s yours? Yours is in the toilet isn’t it?
C: No, mine’s in my room. Where’s yours?
D: It’s downstairs hidden behind some really bad drawings my daughter did.