Please tell us about your character.
Greg is Adam’s best friend from school/university time. And he’s constantly being let down by having a best friend who works in the NHS.
What attracted you to the role? Did you relate to your character at all?
It was a lovely role to play. I spent a long time trying not to relate to the character, but I did relate to the character, just because he’s, you know, somebody who’s got friends who are working in stressful jobs. And it’s very easy to forget how difficult it is to maintain a relationship like that.
Tell us about your character’s relationship with Adam.
Greg’s role is effectively Adam’s best friend. And I think in the show, it sort of represents a life that Adam could have had if he hadn’t gone down his route in medicine. And to him, everything about Greg is easy. He’s got this sort of perfect life on paper. And everything looks very straightforward and easy for him. But from Greg’s perspective, things are as complicated as they are for anyone in normal life, and he’s wanting a lot from Adam, throughout this show, as a friend, because he’s about to get married. He’s got a pregnant girlfriend. And he feels that Adam on a personal level is falling short, without really realising the pressures he’s under at work.
The series is an adaptation of Adam Kay’s multi-million copy bestselling book. How closely have you worked with him in your time on the project? Had you read the book before reading the script/auditioning?
I’d read This Is Going To Hurt maybe two years before, and I was excited at the idea that this might get turned into a TV show at some point. I auditioned for it once, and did an awful, awful audition. Then we went into lockdown, and everything got pushed back. So I think the producers and casting director forgot that I’d auditioned for it. And luckily, I was allowed back in the room again, and could do it completely differently to the first time. So yeah, I knew the book inside out, I’d sent it to all my family as Christmas presents the year before. I’d never met Adam before, so I had a lot of chats with him via zoom about the character and all that kind of stuff. He was a presence throughout the shooting too, so it was nice to constantly be able to refer back to him about things.
In what ways do you think the series might resonate with audiences, especially today? What do you think are the main elements/themes of the series that audiences will be able to relate to?
I think people are going to respond to this incredibly, on such a personal level. I mean, it’s effectively a love letter to the NHS. And at this particular time, it couldn’t be more personal. With everything that’s been going on, the huge pressure that all health workers have been under, and anybody who works in social care, teachers and the rest of it, it’s just really nice to sort of shine a light on how something that we celebrate so much was already under such pressure prior to a pandemic.
Any kind of environment that has that kind of intensity as a work environment, creates funny stories on a regular basis, and there’s something so wonderful about it being shown in this way. I’m really looking forward to people seeing it. I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t been affected or had some kind of direct access with the NHS. I lost my mum a few years ago, and the NHS was incredible with everything that they did for her, through all the caring, all the treatments, and the level of dignity and respect that they managed to give all their patients whilst being horrifically underpaid and overworked and stretched to their absolute limits is incredible.
What sets this series apart from other hospital-set dramas/comedies?
The thing that American TV shows did with hospital dramas was that everything seemed very realistic. Everything was very fast paced and moving at such a rate. And I think what this show does, is that it injects that dark humour that is so typically British. That in the worst-case scenarios, there’s always humour to be found. And I think what Adam does is, he takes something that could be really dark, and quite a heavy subject matter, and injects it with humanity and pathos, and a lot of humour – I think that’s why this works really well.
The series (much as with Adam’s book) perfectly balances the comedic moments of everyday life, with the truly heartbreaking and emotional reality. Tell us a bit about how these two elements work side by side.
Well, I think comedy and heavy subject matter have always worked very well hand in hand. And on a personal level, I’ve always enjoyed when humour is used to really emphasise the importance of a point. So, you look back at Blackadder, for example, looking at war. And there’s something there about making it humorous so that when you finally get to the point of what the subject matter is about, it seems that much more intense, because it’s unexpected. I think that’s the essence of it.
Were there any memorable highlights during filming?
There were endless humorous moments! I was very lucky that my character doesn’t enter the hospital, so I was kind of used as light relief. So, for me, I had a great time. All the cast members that I got to work with were wonderful. But one thing I can really remember is on the first day of filming, it must have been about minus three degrees, and because things had been pushed back, in the scene it was supposed to be a balmy evening – and it was a night shoot. So, I was stood outside, trying to get Adam into my flat, and it was minus three and I was just in a T-shirt.
And just before we started filming, Adam very nicely decided to write to me a monologue and give me about 20 seconds to learn it. And so I knew, from day one, that it was going to be an uphill struggle. But everything was like that, things were changing the whole time. I think he was treating the script like another standard day working in the NHS really!
What was it like to work with the rest of the cast, and Ben?
Well, I mean, Ben is just the most incredible actor. He’s wonderful! I’ve watched him for years. And I’ve always been incredibly impressed with all the work that he makes. There’s a sort of honesty and vulnerability and playfulness that he possesses, that is just wonderful to watch. And then, on top of that, as a person, he is just charming, humble, and a real treat to be around. And when you have somebody like that at the head of a project, it feeds all the way down. So it makes the whole show a wonderful thing to be part of, because you’ve got somebody at the helm, like Ben, who treats everybody with such kindness. And yeah, I couldn’t say much more about him apart from I think he’s the most wonderful person in the world really.
Do you have a favourite moment that you are excited for audiences to see?
To be honest with you, I’m looking forward to audiences seeing the whole thing. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to, and I seldom look forward to being in things that people are going to watch. Every cast member who I got to interact with were right at the top of their game, they were truly brilliant. And Lucy Forbes was a wonderful director, and then when Tom came in, the whole thing just ran really nicely. But there is one scene I’m looking forward to people seeing, and that is a dinner scene with Adam and Harry and my character Greg, and my fiancée – and the tension between the four characters is palpable. And it all takes place over some soggy fajitas in Adam’s flat, so I’m looking forward to people seeing that.
