"I've never claimed to be a hard man"
Danny Dyer plays Freddie Jones
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- Caroline Frost
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Tech millionaire Freddie Jones is a lot softer than the “hard” men you usually play?
I don’t know where that comes from. I know I’m a working-class actor, I swear a bit and walk like a duck with a swagger, but I’ve never claimed to be a hard man. When I was in EastEnders, I wore a pink dressing gown. But this is something different and, for me as an actor, I needed an opportunity to look different. I don’t get many opportunities to do that. Even my biggest haters through their gritted teeth might have to accept that Freddie is a nice, watchable character.
Was that your real hair?
I wish. I had it all clipped on. What a bouffant it is! I’ll cling on to what I have for dear life, but I accept it. I’m a grandfather now, I’m allowed to go bald.
Freddie is the richest of all the characters, but an outsider in Rutshire. Is he the real top dog?
There’s a kindness behind the eyes of Freddie, but he’s a teddy bear with a bite. He has no desire to be top dog, but when he needs to put his foot down, he does. I fell in love with him when I read the script.
One scene, where Freddie and his wife are mocked by the Rutshire set, makes for uncomfortable viewing...
There’s an element of classism and other -isms in the show. As much as they want Freddie and his money around, they also look down their noses at him.
In 2018, you accused David Cameron of “putting his trotters up” instead of working hard. How did it feel going to Gloucestershire, the stomping ground of Cameron and his pals?
It’s not the world I come from. But this is set in the 1980s, we’re in a different era and environment now, but we’re true to how it was.
Freddie also develops a slowburn, hard-earned romance with Lizzie Vereker…
They’re both in marriages where they feel suppressed and don’t feel seen. Hopefully, the audience will root for us to have an affair, which is a strange thing as it sounds awful.
Do Freddie and Lizzie get a suitably Cooper-esque sex scene?
You’ll have to keep watching. Things take a surreal turn.
What was the best aspect of the 1980s? Anything you miss?
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I think we have far too much technology now. I have children who can’t understand how we survived without mobile phones. I feel it was slightly less complicated in the way we engaged with each other: sitting down, making eye contact.
Authors
Caroline Frost
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