Jessica Knappett / Photographer: Ray Burmiston
Jessica Knappett is the writer and star of hit new comedy series 'Drifters', which has just finished airing on E4.
We caught up with Jessica to chat all about the show, whether or not we can expect a second series and how 'Drifters' has brought a trio of women to the forefront of comedy sitcoms.
What inspired you to write the show?
Well, it was all from my real life back in... Well, two things inspired me to write it. One was all that stuff was happening to me and I wanted to seek my revenge in the way I best knew how - which is to write it all down until the pain went away - and the other thing was really out of necessity because I was broke and needed a job. So, both of those things really - so, skint desperation and revenge.
When you're creating the characters, do you base them off people you do know in the real world?
Yeah, well Meg's kinda like a version of me 'back then', so I'm slightly less idiotic I like to think in real life, now that I'm slightly more grown-up - not that much more, but slightly.
Obviously that's part of the fun of writing something is kind of creating and imagining new characters, so my parents are not really like my real parents, and Laura and Bunny don't really exist although Lauren and Lydia took to those characters like ducks to water because they have quite similar personality traits in real life (laughs) not that they like to admit that themselves.
We've never really seen a trio of women in a comedy show like this - was that a factor in you wanting to create the show?
Yeah, I think - I mean I didn't really think about it. I knew that I wasn't going up for that many female parts as an actress - there just weren't that many lead roles in sitcom - and so that wasn't the reason why I wrote it, but I remember thinking 'Oh, this is such a s**t situation, I'm just not getting the auditions' - even after The Inbetweeners Movie - but then I was watching telly and thinking 'Well no, it's not like I'm watching it and thinking, I could have done this, I could have done that', because there just weren't that many roles - there just not really out there.
So, not to sound like I'm moaning about it (laughs) I totally am! It wasn't like I was trying to rectify the situation and now I've fixed the problem! (laughs) I had a realisation that there weren't that many parts out there so it was nice to be able to write myself a part that I wanted to play, I suppose. So yeah, that did have something to do with it.
But also, I think it's just writing about what you know, and what you're familiar with, and I'm familiar with the way that girls hang out in their 20s, because that's what I do! So, it wasn't really that calculated a move.
How was the experience of seeing your work come to life?
Lauren O'Rourke, Jessica Knappett and Lydia Rose BewleyTerrifying, really. I'm really pleased with it - I'm satisfied now - but obviously, you're really putting yourself out there (laughs) so, yeah I suppose you do end up feeling quite vulnerable for a time until - 'am I gonna stay on Twitter?' - and all of that. 'How am I gonna cope with the trolls?', but the people that I care about have been really nice about it, so I've actually kind of enjoyed the whole process, it's been quite gruelling - it's heavy-going because I sort of did it all myself - obviously I have a massive team of people supporting me - but to lock yourself away and write something for well, six months really, it was quite heavy-going - and then to film it.
Then, I sort of thought once we'd filmed it, that would be it, I've been trying to go on holiday for about two, three months! (laughs) It's like no! That just carries on going - then you've got to edit it - then you've got to release it - it's sort of been like a never-ending but amazing process.
Well the first series is now wrapped up on E4...
Yeah now everyone's asking if it's gonna go again!
...Yeah! Can we expect a second series?
(laughs) It's like 'Oh God!' Obviously that is what I want, but we don't know yet, unfortunately.
Have you started writing it yet or will you wait for the go-ahead?
I mean - yeah I have because even if - at the moment we're kind of like winding down for Christmas - I'm willing to write one so I'm sort of willing it to happen by thinking of some ideas in the hopes that they will commission a second series - which is definitely tempting fate! But, I'd rather do that than not tempt fate, to be honest!
Two or three series down the line, would you ever consider going down the movie route?
Oh yeah! Definitely - why not? If people will watch it. I think we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it - we're sort of getting a bit ahead of ourselves (laughs). But yes I would!
When you're on-set filming do you ever have moments where you lose character?
Yeah, I mean we do get the giggles - it's really bad. There's so much to film and you never have enough time, and it's the worst, sort-of most unprofessional thing you can do really. I do always feel really guilty about it and also it's like - it's my show, I'm the one that's supposed to be setting a good impression (laughs) and I'm also making people stay late because I can't get through my lines because I'm laughing too much. Also, it's like - how arrogant is it? I'm basically just laughing at my own jokes. So, I try not to do it but the others are just so funny, it's impossible not to - it's their faces.
So is the chemistry on-set between everybody really good?
Yeah, especially when - like we didn't find it bad when we were filming in a shopping centre or we're out and about, in sort of Leeds High Street. When we got into set, which was in a studio - like Meg and Mark's flat - we're all really close to each other and you can see every kind of flicker of someone's face when they're about to crack up - that's when it gets bad! The closer you get to each other's faces, the funnier it becomes.
Do you have any other projects in the pipeline, besides 'Drifters'?
I'm always working on lots of different things - fingers in pies and all that! I've just got a couple of possible acting jobs next year - everything's kind of dependant on a second series, and this and that - so there's not really much that I can talk about yet, because I just don't know.
Is there anybody you'd really like to work with that you haven't had the chance to yet?
Louis C.K. - he's my hero!
Drifters Season 1 is available on DVD now.