Set in Stockport the new series will see Gemma (Aimee Lou Wood) coming to terms with life as a mum while Malcolm (David Morrissey) is just thrilled to be a grandad. But wherever Malcolm is, Derek (David Fynn) is never too far behind. Good job Gemma can turn to best friend Cherry (Taj Atwal) for advice as well as sister Catherine (Sharon Rooney) and boss Rita (Sarah Hadland). However, a surprise visitor forces Malcolm to confront his past, and Gemma to face her future.
From dating disasters and failed romances through to toxic friendships and messy family dynamics, the show is a big-hearted story about a father and daughter, and the reality of facing up to parenthood – at any stage of life.
Daddy Issues series 2 will be available from Friday 21 November on BBC One, BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
Interview with Aimee Lou Wood
Gemma
Aimee, where do we find Gemma in the new series?
At the end of the last series, Gemma had a pretty big life moment when she gave birth to her daughter Sadie. There was a scary moment for Gemma during the birth where her father Malcolm thought they might not make it, and that brought them even closer together. They’d been working and building on their bond the whole way through the series then at Sadie’s birth he really shows up for her at a time where she needs him and it felt like the start of Gemma and Malcolm being indestructible as a pair.
At the start of the new series Gemma and Malcolm are slightly disconnected thanks to Gemma’s mum Davina. She’s come back and pushed Malcolm out, so he’s back living at Derek’s whilst Gemma is adjusting to her new life as a mum.
How do you think Gemma is adapting to motherhood?
She is missing the old Gemma, but at the same time loving being a mum and loving Sadie. She’s still a young woman who wants to go out and see her friends, so she’s working out how to be herself in this new role. I think a lot of mums will relate to how Gemma’s feeling, it’s like she’s on Groundhog Day. Gemma finds living with her mum Davina difficult and challenging because Gemma’s at her most exhausted, most vulnerable, most overwhelmed after having the baby. She’s struggling with how to diplomatically get her mum to leave so that her dad Malcolm can come back, which is so funny, because at the start of series one, Gemma would have never imagined that she would want her dad back in that flat.
What’s the family dynamics like in the new series?
What I love about this new series is that it’s a lot about generational inherited cycles and patterns. We get to know Gemma’s mum Davina and that’s adds a whole new layer of understanding why Gemma is the way she is and why her sister Catherine is the way she is. We also meet Gemma’s granddad and Malcolm’s dad, and that adds another layer. Once you meet Grandad, you start to see why Malcolm is the way he is. Malcolm wants to break his generational family curse of being the dad that can’t show up.
How would you best describe Gemma?
She’s doesn’t aspire to be a CEO, she’s just pretty content with who she is and where she’s at. But having Sadie and loving her daughter so much ignites this ambition in Gemma that we haven’t really seen in series one.
Do you have a favourite scene or moment from filming?
I loved any scene with Sarah Hadland, because she makes me laugh to the point of delirium. Any scene with her character Rita is always just an absolute ride, and I love it. Also anything that’s set in the flat and any dysfunctional family stuff, and when I say family, that includes Gemma’s best friend Cherry, Derek and Rita, because they are all this one big, dysfunctional, mad family. Whenever we’re all together, they are my favourite scenes.
What is it about the writing of Daddy Issues that appeals to you?
Danielle (Ward) writes with such good rhythm, so true to life, these characters are not neat. We’ve got people just talking at each other, missing each other, not properly listening to what the person just said, so many misunderstandings, it feels like family. Danielle is also really good at infusing our characters with things that she noticed us doing. In series one, a lot of David’s ad libs and little Malcolm-isms have made their way into the script. She’s also so great at writing from her own experience and she’s just been really honest about what it is like in that adjustment period from being just yourself and then being mum so it feels personal, but in a very lovely way.
What was it like being back on set with the cast?
It’s so nice being back with this cast, it’s my favourite job in the world. Genuinely, it’s the job where I feel energized when we wrap, and better than I did when I started it and I’m in my hometown too. Every single person who works on the show even if they are only working for a day leave saying that’s my favourite job. That’s due to the atmosphere created by Damon, which is just so kind, gentle and fun. Also, nobody in this cast takes themselves seriously, and being in that green room when everyone’s in and singing non-stop, making up bits are some of the best times I’ve had.
What’s your biggest challenge working on Daddy Issues?
The biggest challenge I find on Daddy Issues consistently is just not laughing when these people, who I think are the funniest people in the world, are doing something ridiculous. I have to try not to break character and laugh. When I’m doing an emotional scene where I need to cry or breakdown, that’s fine, it’s the trying not to laugh at David Fynn or David Morrissey who would just pull a face and I would break down laughing. In series one, I couldn’t get through a scene with Sharon Rooney without just cracking up. Some days I just cannot keep a straight face, so that’s always my biggest challenge on this job, is trying to be grounded and the anchor and not just crack up laughing.
What’s it like working with a baby?
Filming with a baby has been the best thing. It’s made me broody. And I don’t like it when the babies go away. When the producers say we’re taking the baby now, I feel the separation anxiety from the babies, because I feel like we have a bond. One day on set Taj told me that the baby was watching the monitors and she was putting her hand out to touch the monitors. The casting of baby Sadie has been incredible, like six-month-old Sadie looks like 12-month-old Sadie so it feels like you’re watching her grow up over the series. One of the babies did accidently call me mama once. Her real mum was like no, that’s your screen mummy not real mummy. I felt quite honoured.
What else can you tease about the new series?
We go to a caravan park in Wales. That was a fun adventure, not quite the holiday that Gemma’s been dreaming of when she’s been sat exhausted with baby Sadie. She has dreams of a spa and total relaxation, but instead she’s in a very tiny caravan in Rhyl with her granddad, sticky tables and plums used as garnishes on fish and chips. Not really living the luxury or pampering that she needs but Malcolm is trying his best which is sweet, she loves his efforts but it’s not holi-bobs that she wants. We also go to the library, which doesn’t sound very interesting, but Gemma attends a baby class that has a heartthrob teacher who all the mums are obsessed with. There’s also a musical number with David Morrissey doing some fantastic dancing.
Interview with David Morrissey
Malcolm
Where do we find Malcolm at the start of series two?
At the end of the last series, Gemma had just had her baby, and it was a very difficult birth, but her dad was there for her, then just at the last minute, her mum turns up at the hospital so the family were reunited at the end of the series. This series it’s the baby’s first year and how they cope with the various adventures and the challenges that life throws at them. Malcolm is coming to terms with being a grandfather and the responsibilities, he wants to atone for some of the mistakes he made as a father with Gemma and Catherine. He’s very protective of Sadie, the baby, and he’s desperate to make amends. The other thing that happens this series is my own father turns up, played by Phil Jackson. You can see in that relationship where some of the damage Malcolm carries comes from. It’s funny but also quite brutal at times as well.
With Gemma’s mum back, how does that affect Malcolm’s relationship with his daughter?
Gemma can see that Malcolm is really trying to make amends for the things he got wrong, even though a lot of the time she’s trying to tell him that he didn’t get those things wrong. She sees him as a real companion and a real stability in her life. She’s a single mother, and she needs help, and he’s offering – sometimes,not very well – but he is offering help. He is there to babysit, to help her out, to be some sort of rock for her and she appreciates that.
We meet Malcolm’s father for the first time this series, what’s their relationship like?
When Malcolm’s dad turns up it’s a real surprise for him. Malcolm hasn’t seen him for many, many years, and his dad has controlling issues, he’s a bit of a bully, but Malcolm wants to please him. He wants his dad to be proud of him, and he struggles with the fact that his dad is very controlling and domineering.
How did it feel being back with the cast again?
I can honestly say I love working on Daddy Issues. I love working with Aimee and David Fynn, who plays my best mate Derek, we all get on really well. It’s a wonderful cast, we’ve had a real, real laugh. We’ve been joined by a few new actors this year, but the nucleus of the cast is all the same. And what’s brilliant is, so is the crew. It’s predominantly the same crew as we had last time. It does feel like a real family spirit.
What’s it like having a baby on set?
Working with a young baby can be challenging and through the series we go through the first year of Sadie’s’ life so we have newborns, three months, six months and a year, that’s a lot of babies on set and lots of parents. That has a logistical challenge to it, but the storyline is so wonderful and heartwarming and the babies we’ve had on set have been so wonderful.
What’s been your funniest moment on set?
We had such a laugh working on this series that picking out one moment is really difficult. Phil and I did some kayaking on a very, very cold lake in the Peak District. That was quite interesting.
Interview with David Fynn
Derek
I can tell you that it’s even bigger and better than series one. We get into just as many japes, but the heart is all still there, and the characters are bound together because they all love each other really.
I think Derek, deep down, is broken and vulnerable, but it’s difficult for him to show that. So he masks it with faux cockiness and bravado that is all completely unearned. He really loves Malcolm and Gemma and really needs them, but he will never be able to say that.
100% and it will all be terrible advice and maybe some of it will even be self-serving.
I think it’s the fact that pretty much every department are some of the best people at what they do in the industry. The writing, the producing, the directing, the design, the costumes, everything is brilliant. And everyone works really well together. It’s a really harmonious set. And every day coming to work is a joy. And on a personal level, in terms of the acting, we are encouraged to really play with it and to find new beats and to find new things and to really explore the characters. It’s never prescriptive in terms of you must do this; you must do that. It’s, they really trust us and that makes for happy actors. So on a personal level, that’s fantastic.
I think it’s more of a favourite episode. There’s an episode where myself, David Morrissey, and there’s a new character played by Phil Jackson, we kind of get lost in the wilderness. And it was so fun running around the countryside, getting muddy and getting wet. That whole episode was just the most fun to work on.
It was like coming home.
