Michelle Keegan discusses her new role in Brassic

21 August 2019

Michelle Keegan returns to our screens in Sky One's hilarious new comedy/drama Brassic on Thursday and she sat down with Female First to give us an exclusive insight into a show devised by This Is England star Joe Gilgun.

Michelle Keegan in Brassic

The show follows a gang of inseparable mates that thieve, bribe and joyride their way through life, but their criminal antics inevitably catch up with them in a Sky original production that has already received hugely positive reviews from critics.

Our Girl and Coronation Street star Keegan is taking her first step into comedy acting and she told Female First why she signed up for a show that looks set to be a huge hit.

WHAT CONVINCED YOU TO TAKE THE ROLE OF ERIN IN BRASSIC?

I have always wanted to do a comedy and have turned down a few scripts down the years because I didn't feel they were right for me, but working with Joe Gilgun and everything around Brassic felt right. Thankfully I made the right decision to jump at this one.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER ERIN

Often, when you see a programme on the working classes, it is negative and the mother is cast in a bad light, but this is very different. My character Erin, he is portrayed as a good mother, a strong woman who is driven to do well for herself and give her son the kind of upbringing she never had. That's really positive and one of the reasons why I wanted this role so much.

Erin has her life in line, she wants the best for her family and as we go on in the series, we also see that she is vulnerable, and that was an interesting side of her character to explore.

YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL CHEMISTRY WITH ON-SCREEN HUSBAND DYLON (Damion Malony of GameFace fame). DID YOU KNOW EACH OTHER BEFORE WORKING TOGETHER?

Not at all! The first time I met Damo, we were doing a sex scene a few minutes later. To be fair, it breaks the ice pretty quickly with someone you don't know! It was a case of...'nice to meet you, let's get our clothes off an go!'. It is embarrassing, but that's part of the job and you have to just get on with it.

HAS BRASSIC TURNED OUT THE WAY YOU EXPECTED IT WOULD WHEN YOU FIRST READ THE SCRIPT?

This show has turned out actually how I envisaged it would be, but it might even be a bit funnier than I hoped. To be art of something like this, I feel very, very lucky. The fact that it takes place in my part of the world and focused on the working classes meant I had to do this. I had been away filming for eight months before this and it was fantastic to come home and film something local to me.

HOW HARD IS IT TO DEAL WITH YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE WITH PAPARAZZI FOLLOWING YOUR EVERY MOVE?

It can be off-putting, especially when they are trying to get on set and are potentially getting in the way of what we are trying to do. They were hiding in the bushes taking photos when we were filming Brassic, which was not ideal. When you hear the click, click, click of these cameras when we are doing a scene, that is not ideal, but I think Joe had a word with them and that made it easier for us. It's not normal and it can never be. You are having a conversation with someone, look around and there is someone over your shoulder trying to take photos of you. You get zoned out by it and at a moment when you are trying to live a normal life, it sucks you away from that. It can be hard sometimes.

CAN YOU BELIEVE HOW YOUR CAREER HAS TAKEN OFF SINCE MAKING THE DECISION TO LEAVE CORONATION STREET?

The doors are open more now for women to take leading roles in big TV shows than when I started out, there is no doubt about that. We see it more and more now and that is one of the reasons why I decided to make the break from Coronation Street when I did. I saw the female actresses who left before me going on to do so well and that's what gave me the push. They inspired me to leave.

WOULD YOU EVER GO BACK TO CORONATION STREET?

It's not something I'm thinking about at the moment, but I loved my time on the Street. That show is the best training you can ever have as a young actress. You can't get any better. In one day, you might work with three different directors on different storylines and you don't have any time to get it wrong. One minute you could be having an affair, the next minute you are doing a bit of comedy, then you are giving birth. As a grounding for acting, there can be nothing better than being in that environment with some many amazing actors and learning from them.

In terms of learning lines, the pace of it all, Corrie was just the best for me and it means that everything I've done since has felt a little easier. You have more time to work on dramas that are filmed a little more slowly and this comedy also ticks another box for me.