The Henpocalypse! Interviews: Elizabeth Berrington

In new BBC Two comedy Henpocalypse! Zara and her bridesmaids travel from their Birmingham council estate to a remote Welsh cottage for a rowdy bachelorette party. But the end of the world puts a damper on things. How will the women fare against Armageddon with only their plastic hen do tat, a rapidly depleting supply of novelty chocolate penises, and no survival skills to rely on?

Elizabeth Berrington plays Bernadette and here tells us about the series and whether she would survive an apocalypse.

Henpocalyspe! is clearly a lot of fun; what drew you to the part?

I was attracted to the writing, it’s such a preposterous premise and the situations the characters find themselves in are so comical, the jokes and punchlines are absolute comedy classics.

Can you give us some background on Bernadette, the character you play?

She’s a survivor, a very dominant force of nature. You absolutely want Bern on your team at all times, she’s the Mick Lynch of the post-apocalypse she’ll put up with absolutely no BS at the end of the world. ‘All opinions expressed are my own’!

It turns out that Bernadette, the show’s matriarch, is also a bit of a businesswoman, and she’s taking the helm in the group’s struggle for survival. Can you identify with any of her characteristics?

I think Bern has nerves of steel and stupendous confidence and is absolutely nothing like me at all. I’m not sure I’d defend anyone or anything in her situation, I’d just crumple & weep.

Tell us about Bernadette and her daughter Zara’s relationship.

Zara is the best thing that’s ever happened to Bern. She is Bernadette’s pet project; she has lavished all her time, money, energy & looks on bringing up Zara, and Zara must BEND TO HER MOTHER’S WILL OR ELSE!

Is this your first time working with any of the other amazing actresses in the cast, or have you worked with them before?

I had never met any of the cast before and I now intend to have all their names branded on to my body as I refuse to work without them.

What can you tell us about the Core Strength Bitches, your formidable foes on the show?

The Core Strength Bitches are as good as AI – they are so perfect, they completely have their shit together. They look nice, feel nice and definitely smell nice. We however, are the opposite.

Do you believe you could survive an apocalypse? How would you approach this situation?

There is absolutely no way I could survive or want to survive in their situation. My plan would be to give up ASAP.

What would you say the overall mood of this show is?

The show has elements of Blair Witch Project/Bridesmaids (in Llandudno) and Road – ‘are they going to get eaten? Will they eat each other?’ with glorious gags! As for tone, its ring tone is just very funny.

Do you have any amusing stories to share from your time on set?

There is a scatological tale that must not be repeated to protect individuals involved (obvs). What happened in Pensby stays in Pensby.

Henpocalypse! starts on Tuesday 15 August at 10pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. The whole series will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

Image Credit: BBC

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