The cast of There She Goes share their experiences of making a new special.
Based on the real-life experiences of writers Shaun Pye and Sarah Crawford, whose daughter was born with an extremely rare chromosomal disorder, There She Goes follows the day-to-day life of Rosie Yates (Miley Locke), a severely learning-disabled girl and her family, dad Simon (David Tennant), mum Emily (Jessica Hynes) and older brother Ben (Edan Hayhurst).
Rosie Yates is now 13 and is starting to display increasingly challenging, emotional and physical behaviour. Veering wildly from joyous obsessions with her letter X, tigers with X’s on their nose, ticket barriers and FedEx lorries to sudden violent outbursts both directed at her parents and herself. The family realise that Rosie is simply struggling to cope with the onset of puberty, just like any other teenage girl. Whilst the family deal with a teenage Rosie, their geneticist calls with news of Rosie’s condition. In the earlier timeline, Emily starts thinking about whether she and Si should have another baby after a chance meeting with a mother of a child with a chromosomal disorder.
David Tennant
David plays Simon in There She Goes
The debate over what the correct plural for Batman is has stayed with me and is something I often find myself pondering.
Can you tell us what’s in store for the Yates family in this special?
They get some long-awaited information on Rosie’s condition, but getting some answers doesn’t necessarily give them the closure they imagined it might.
What was it like working with the cast again?
A real pleasure.
We see Simon practically having to wrestle Rosie back into the house. What was it like filming those scenes with Miley?
Miley continues to be incredible as Rosie. She has been right at the heart of this story from our first day on set and we wouldn’t have been able to tell this story without her.
Simon and Emily make a number of cult references throughout the two series and the special, are there any that are particularly memorable?
The debate over what the correct plural for Batman is has stayed with me and is something I often find myself pondering.
Have you received messages from parents in similar situations to Simon and Emily?
I know that There She Goes has connected with a lot of families who see their own situation reflected on screen in a way they’ve never seen before.
What is it about Shaun and Sarah’s writing that makes this show appeal to you?
Their honesty. They tell their story with absolute candidness and humility and humanity.
What do you think viewers will take away from the special?
Telling Rosie’s story has been a labour of love for everyone who has worked on it but particularly, of course, for Shaun, Sarah, Frank and Joey. I’m very proud to have been part of it and I hope as many people as possible will see it, and perhaps go back and discover series one and two if they haven’t already. It’s been a truly special project.
Jessica Hynes
Jessica plays Emily in There She Goes
Miley and Edan are still a complete delight – growing into fine accomplished young actors, it was wonderful to see them again.
Can you tell us what’s in store for the Yates family in There She Goes?
Big changes for everyone as Ben and Rosie are growing up and Simon and Emily are coming to terms with what that might mean for them all. Dealing in real time with finally getting a definitive diagnosis of Rosie’s condition and the rollercoaster of emotions it brings.
Flash backs to the moment Emily and Simon considered having a third – how the pros and cons were not what they expected and how ultimately making that decision together brought them closer.
What was it like working with the cast again?
Miley and Edan are still a complete delight – growing into fine accomplished young actors, it was wonderful to see them again. David Tennant was as always brilliant, effortless and joyful to work with.
Simon and Emily make a number of cult references throughout the two series and the special, are there any that are particularly memorable?
I can’t remember any which proves I am a fraudulent nerd.
Have you received messages from parents in similar situations to Simon and Emily?
I’m not on any social media, so no, but I have had letters of congratulations and requests to be part of Learning-Disabled charities which is a great honour.
Did you bring any of your own parenting experiences to the role?
Instinctively yes, I think so. Rosie bashes a soup spoon out of my hand in the scene and I picked it up, put it in my mouth to clean it quickly and then offered her the soup again (which she doesn’t take) – that is a reflex from being a mum and spoon feeding toddlers.
What is it about Shaun and Sarah’s writing that makes this show appeal to you?
To work with artists like Shaun and Sarah has been one of the privileges of my career. I am in in awe of their bravery, honesty, humour and skill in creating this important family story with flawed, funny, truthful characters. Also, they give me lots of lines, which I like.
What do you think viewers will take away from the special?
That life is a crazy, amazing, random gift that will only ever make sense if you always lead with love.
Miley Locke
Miley plays Rosie in There She Goes
I hope viewers enjoy seeing the next chapter in Rosie’s life and take away the love, laughter and tears we all share in the Yates family.
What was it like becoming Rosie again?
Becoming Rosie again was so lovely. I have played her from a very young age and being able to play her again was fun, emotional but overall, the most incredible experience and I’m so grateful I got to do this again.
What was it like working with the cast again?
It was great being with the cast again as we all get along so well and have so much fun together, it’s like being with family. They are so easy to work with, so it was a pleasure to be able to see them all again and play our characters together.
What reaction have you had to the series?
The reaction to the series has been so positive, a lot of families have reached out to me and said this is very similar to their family life, and that they haven’t seen anything like this before on TV, and that makes me very proud to part of the show.
Do you have a favourite scene you enjoyed filming?
There’s a scene where I kick tomato soup over Jessica and David which was great fun to film, the soup landed everywhere it wasn’t meant to. There were a lot of laughs in between takes.
What research did you do to prepare for the role?
I’ve meet Joey, who Rosie is based on, lots of times. Shaun sends me lots of videos of her and he gives me lots of advice on how Joey would be in each scene, we work on it together. Sarah (Joey’s mum) also helps give me direction along the way.
What do you think viewers will take away from the special?
I hope viewers enjoy seeing the next chapter in Rosie’s life and take away the love, laughter and tears we all share in the Yates family.
Edan Hayhurst
Edan plays Ben in There She Goes
I am proud of the project and proud to be a part of something so poignant and inspiring in its topic.
What was it like working with the cast again?
It was lovely to see everyone again, they are a talented crew and very funny! I enjoyed catching up after what feels to me like ages and I felt I had a lot to learn from them, especially this time round.
What reaction have you had to the series?
I am proud of the project and proud to be a part of something so poignant and inspiring in its topic. The script was very compelling and sometimes quite dark but the series carries it well with its humour. I enjoyed seeing it come together, in the end it felt like a heart-warming show and something I felt very grateful to be a part of.
Ben has some pretty tense moments with his father Simon, played by David Tennant. What was it like filming those scenes?
It was quite tense, the atmosphere on set definitely changes relative to the scene and it’s all supported very nicely by the cast and crew. David is very easy to work with- he’s effortlessly funny and you can’t help but get on with the guy and that comfortable space is needed to really delve into the emotional parts of acting. It’s hard to find that when you don’t feel so at ease in your work. I found him easy to act off of and that’s all you can really want.