Mathew Baynton, Larry Rickard, Martha Howe-Douglas and Ben Willbond chat to Female First in a new and exclusive interview all about the second series of Yonderland.
How does it feel to be back for a second series of Yonderland?
Mat: It feels great! As we've got a later time slot we have been able to be a little bit cheekier with our material.
Larry: We love that we have been able to introduce new characters, more new settings and adventures, but also bring back the familiar loved faces from the first series.
For those who may not be familiar with the show, can you explain what it's all about?
Larry: An everyday mum from Birmingham 'Debbie Maddox' discovers a new world inside her kitchen cupboard. With the help of a friends elf and a very grumpy talking stick she soon discovers that she is the chosen one and is the only person that can save the people of Yonderland!
What should fans expect from this second series?
Mat: Fans can expect a little bit more adult humour as we think it's important to not alienate adults who don't have kids. It's promoted as a family show the first time round and it is something that we're very proud of in fact we watch it together! but if you're an adult and something is being promoted, and adult without kids I mean, and something is being promoted as a family thing you're instinctively not going to think it's for you and tune in necessarily, so our hope is that this time round a few more of those people will watch it.
You write as well as star in the show, can you tell us a little bit about the creative process you go through?
Larry: Some episodes are written in pairs or sometimes solo but they all start with us sat round the table discussing anything from a gem of an idea onwards and we try and get all the way up to individual jokes. From there, those are taken away and divvied up into writing pairs or individual scripts. Once a few drafts have gone round, they come back to the table again and we all have our final input.
Martha: Larry is the boss!
Larry: We all have a very similar sense of humour. It is only ever about refinement and also making sure everything is consistent across the series. If something happens in episode 2 you have to make sure that it is consistent with what happens in episode 8. There is never a huge amount of disagreement.
And you've all worked together for quite some time now, so the chemistry on set must be incredible?
Mat: We are really lucky as we all have great chemistry and love working together. One of the things we found with the first series is that it seemed to work best when the group was on the screen together as much as possible. There were certain episodes that were slightly more self contained to one or two guest characters where you felt like you missed the anarchy that comes with having all of us on screen.
Are there any upcoming projects you're involved with you can share some details about?
Ben: We have all just finished filming Bill, which was very different to shooting an episode of Yonderland because of the speed I suppose, as it was nice and measured compared to Yonderland!
What's the experience like of working with puppets as well as actors?
Larry: It feels far more natural than you might expect. Before we made the first series, I wondered if I'd find myself talking to the puppeteers rather than the puppets. But our puppeteers absolutely bring these characters to life - they suddenly look and feel like living creatures, and your brain just accepts them as such. You start conversing and interacting with them just like you would with other actors.
Though puppets are much less demanding than actors. They're happy just to stuck on a stick and shut in a drawer, which most actors get really funny about.
Are there challenges that come with that?
Larry: Once you accept a puppet as a living thing, you then tend to forget about the actual living thing that's on the floor underneath it. Our puppeteers are normally contorted into a human knot right by our feet, so they get kicked, kneed and trodden on a lot more than anyone should have to put up with. Thankfully they're really forgiving about it... Or maybe they complain endlessly and word has just never got back to us. I should probably check that.
It's a bizarre sight though - especially if you have multiple puppets on set. If the camera were to tilt down, you'd see what appears to be a bizarre game of twister, played exclusively by people with bruised legs and sprained wrists. They're definitely Yonderland's unsung heroes.
What have been some of your favourite moments while filming the series?
Larry: The joy of making a show like this, is that there's just so many. I really enjoyed Debbie being in disguise (she has to go undercover in this series). There's just something very funny about watching her trying to take control of a situation while looking so utterly ridiculous. And Negatus is a perennial favourite. There's an episode where he has to think his way out of a problem (of his own making), which culminates in the puppets becoming the puppeteers. It's the sort of thing you can only do in a show like this.
As a special effects geek though, one of my favourite things was the old-school film-making technique we got to use in the final episode. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's a wonderfully lo-fi way of bringing a fantastical creation to life.
Yonderland starts at 8pm on Monday 13 July on Sky1.