tammyy2j
15-08-2012, 12:38
Family sitcom In with the Flynns was a solid performer for BBC One last year - the comedy struck a chord with audiences, attracting a peak of 4.09m viewers - so it's no surprise that a second series is about to hit our screens!
Digital Spy caught up with star Will Mellor - who plays Liam Flynn - to talk about the show's return, his working-class roots and how cast changes have altered the show's dynamic...
When did you find out that In with the Flynns would be coming back?
"It was quite late last year that they said it was coming back. They got commissioned for the scripts, so then they had to write the episodes - we got [Men Behaving Badly creator] Simon Nye on board to write them, which is great."
How did you feel when you found out about series two?
"I was chuffed, yeah mate. I think this show's got great potential and it's so difficult with comedy nowadays. You can hit everything... like [Mellor's BBC Three comedy] White Van Man - that was the highest-rated comedy on BBC Three ever and then it got dropped after the second series.
"It's so difficult to judge what they're going to do, so you don't know whether a show's going to go again - you can tick all the boxes and it gets axed, or it could tick none of them and it goes again. So it's just hoping, because In with the Flynns was a great show to work on and there's a fantastic cast - Niky Wardley, Warren Clarke...
"We're representing a working-class family which is close to my heart, cos that's where I'm from. I just thought that if we could get this going, it'll be a great show, so we're glad for the second series."
What do you think it was about In with the Flynns that appealed to people?
"I don't know - I think it is because we are representing a place in society now where there are a lot of young parents, who have children that are 18 years old, and that life isn't easy, but it doesn't have to be miserable. That's what our show is sort of representing - we love each other in the family, but it is a bit of struggle.
"My character's got a job, his wife's got a job, we've got a teenager daughter and two sons... we're struggling to make ends meet, but the be-all and end-all is that we get through it as a family and we stay together.
"We deal with issues together - as a family - and at the end of it, we all end up getting together on the couch and having a good laugh. It's a positive look at a working class family, which is good."
Do you think the show is quite unique, because there aren't as many family sitcoms around these days?
"Yeah, I think so. Especially because it's not a middle-class comedy - we are representing a part of society that's not represented by a lot of people [on television]. There was only The Royle Family who did it, and they did it fantastically well.
"When we were talking about doing In with the Flynns - cos it was based on an American show [Fox's Grounded for Life] - we were talking about setting it over here, and it made sense to set it in a working-class area of Manchester where the back door's always open. The house is always open and anyone could walk in - my brother might be sleeping on the couch one morning when I wake up, that sort of thing. We're an open family.
"It just appealed to me, because I remember when I was a young lad, we always had a houseful of people. My sisters, my dad... and there was always someone popping their head in. I liked that, it was a busy house. We had nothing but we had each other - I just thought I'd represent that."
So what's coming up for Liam and the rest of the Flynns in series two?
"Liam tries to rekindle his youth. His brother (Craig Parkinson) comes to stay with him because he's split up from his missus and he's living the single life, going out with his mates. Liam tries to show his brother that he can still do it too by going out and getting drunk, and realises that he's a bit past his best days! Hangover's don't last for an hour - they last for two days now!
"There's another one where he's asked by a girl at work to do some personal training with her - Caroline obviously has a woman's eye on it and knows she just fancies Liam. He thinks, 'No she doesn't, she wants me because I know my way around a gym' - so Liam tries to create a gym in his garage... and obviously his wife is right."
"There's loads of stuff - in the first episode, we come home from a night out, all lovey-dovey, and there's a bloke in our lounge robbing my laptop with a Barbara Windsor mask on! It sounds like quite a dark start to the series, but the way it's done is funny!"
The role of Chloe has been recast for series two - with Nadine Rose Mulkerrin replacing Orla Poole. How did that change things on set?
"It didn't change things that much. The thing is, it's always difficult when the BBC want to replace somebody - it's so hard because we all got on so well. You feel sorry for anybody who's being replaced, cos it could be something very little - she could look a bit too young or the dynamics might not be right... I just hope [Orla] took it well, because the main thing is that you don't want to knock someone's confidence as an actress at that young age.
"But the new girl Nadine was great. We just thought that it wasn't really fair on the girl coming in for us to be downbeat because of the other girl leaving, so were just positive. Nadine's a lovely girl - she's been given a chance and she's very good in the series. I just wish Orla all the best. As long as the series works, I'm happy."
In with the Flynns series two begins on Friday, August 17 at 9.30pm on BBC One.
Digital Spy caught up with star Will Mellor - who plays Liam Flynn - to talk about the show's return, his working-class roots and how cast changes have altered the show's dynamic...
When did you find out that In with the Flynns would be coming back?
"It was quite late last year that they said it was coming back. They got commissioned for the scripts, so then they had to write the episodes - we got [Men Behaving Badly creator] Simon Nye on board to write them, which is great."
How did you feel when you found out about series two?
"I was chuffed, yeah mate. I think this show's got great potential and it's so difficult with comedy nowadays. You can hit everything... like [Mellor's BBC Three comedy] White Van Man - that was the highest-rated comedy on BBC Three ever and then it got dropped after the second series.
"It's so difficult to judge what they're going to do, so you don't know whether a show's going to go again - you can tick all the boxes and it gets axed, or it could tick none of them and it goes again. So it's just hoping, because In with the Flynns was a great show to work on and there's a fantastic cast - Niky Wardley, Warren Clarke...
"We're representing a working-class family which is close to my heart, cos that's where I'm from. I just thought that if we could get this going, it'll be a great show, so we're glad for the second series."
What do you think it was about In with the Flynns that appealed to people?
"I don't know - I think it is because we are representing a place in society now where there are a lot of young parents, who have children that are 18 years old, and that life isn't easy, but it doesn't have to be miserable. That's what our show is sort of representing - we love each other in the family, but it is a bit of struggle.
"My character's got a job, his wife's got a job, we've got a teenager daughter and two sons... we're struggling to make ends meet, but the be-all and end-all is that we get through it as a family and we stay together.
"We deal with issues together - as a family - and at the end of it, we all end up getting together on the couch and having a good laugh. It's a positive look at a working class family, which is good."
Do you think the show is quite unique, because there aren't as many family sitcoms around these days?
"Yeah, I think so. Especially because it's not a middle-class comedy - we are representing a part of society that's not represented by a lot of people [on television]. There was only The Royle Family who did it, and they did it fantastically well.
"When we were talking about doing In with the Flynns - cos it was based on an American show [Fox's Grounded for Life] - we were talking about setting it over here, and it made sense to set it in a working-class area of Manchester where the back door's always open. The house is always open and anyone could walk in - my brother might be sleeping on the couch one morning when I wake up, that sort of thing. We're an open family.
"It just appealed to me, because I remember when I was a young lad, we always had a houseful of people. My sisters, my dad... and there was always someone popping their head in. I liked that, it was a busy house. We had nothing but we had each other - I just thought I'd represent that."
So what's coming up for Liam and the rest of the Flynns in series two?
"Liam tries to rekindle his youth. His brother (Craig Parkinson) comes to stay with him because he's split up from his missus and he's living the single life, going out with his mates. Liam tries to show his brother that he can still do it too by going out and getting drunk, and realises that he's a bit past his best days! Hangover's don't last for an hour - they last for two days now!
"There's another one where he's asked by a girl at work to do some personal training with her - Caroline obviously has a woman's eye on it and knows she just fancies Liam. He thinks, 'No she doesn't, she wants me because I know my way around a gym' - so Liam tries to create a gym in his garage... and obviously his wife is right."
"There's loads of stuff - in the first episode, we come home from a night out, all lovey-dovey, and there's a bloke in our lounge robbing my laptop with a Barbara Windsor mask on! It sounds like quite a dark start to the series, but the way it's done is funny!"
The role of Chloe has been recast for series two - with Nadine Rose Mulkerrin replacing Orla Poole. How did that change things on set?
"It didn't change things that much. The thing is, it's always difficult when the BBC want to replace somebody - it's so hard because we all got on so well. You feel sorry for anybody who's being replaced, cos it could be something very little - she could look a bit too young or the dynamics might not be right... I just hope [Orla] took it well, because the main thing is that you don't want to knock someone's confidence as an actress at that young age.
"But the new girl Nadine was great. We just thought that it wasn't really fair on the girl coming in for us to be downbeat because of the other girl leaving, so were just positive. Nadine's a lovely girl - she's been given a chance and she's very good in the series. I just wish Orla all the best. As long as the series works, I'm happy."
In with the Flynns series two begins on Friday, August 17 at 9.30pm on BBC One.