Jodie Whittaker explains why she's 'lucky' to star in Dear England
Jodie Whittaker has opened up about her experience of shooting Dear England.
Jodie Whittaker feels "really lucky" to star in Dear England.
The 43-year-old actress stars alongside Joseph Fiennes in Dear England, the new four-part TV drama series based on the stage play of the same name by James Graham, and Jodie has revealed that she relished the experience of shooting the show.
The actress - who also stars alongside Jason Watkins and John Hodgkinson in Dear England - said on the Dish podcast: "I was in a really lucky position where there'd been about three years of a hugely successful play.
"I was really lucky when I was offered it. I hadn't seen it. But it was at the National for one more week. So, I went and saw it with Gwilym. I didn't actually get to see Joe [Joseph Fiennes] play Gareth [Southgate] until I was on set with him, and I saw an amazing actor called Gwilym Lee playing him on stage, and I was completely blown away."
Jodie insisted that viewers don't need to be football fans to enjoy the show.
The actress also heaped praise on Joseph.
Jodie - who is best known for starring in Doctor Who - explained: "When you see Joe as [former England manager] Gareth Southgate, it is unbelievable.
"I mean, obviously, he'd done it on stage, but still, that's a completely different medium. You know, you play, especially if you're, the National and the West End, you play into a back row. You're not playing to a close-up camera. And it just walking on set ... it's so weird because you're like, 'F****** hell, it looks like him.' You know?
"But it's also just the ... I, you know, you don't need to be into football ... to be completely, joyously transported on this journey.
"I honestly, I'm ... it's brilliant when you're in something you can be excited about. And I'm so excited about people seeing it because it'll be one of the first things I'm in where I'm literally, like, I'm not crying. And I think that's like the first time I like did message my dad and went, 'Oh my God, you're gonna love it, Dad!' You're gonna love it."
Dish from Waitrose is available on all podcast providers.
