Big School Series 2 Press Pack
It may be start of a new year at Greybridge School, but the teaching staff are as dysfunctional as ever as Big School returns to BBC One for a brand-new term.
This year the teachers are joined by a host of guest stars, including Morgana Robinson as children’s author Fenella Forbes, Jimmy Akingbola as the dashing new geography teacher Dr Dalton, Jack Caroll as new pupil Dean, Sylvestra le Touzel as a School Inspector, Michele Dotrice as the mother of Mr Gunn and Karen Taylor as a parent of one of the Greybridge pupils.
In the opening episode, Miss Postern (Catherine Tate) and Mr Church’s (David Walliams) relationship has taken a downward turn after a misunderstanding over a date and the woefully underqualified Mr Gunn (Philip Glenister) is now teaching geography as Mr Barber’s (Steve Spiers) got a new job as the school caretaker.
When Miss Postern sets up a careers workshop, it seems her slogan ‘Which way now?’ applies as much to her as it does her pupils, not least because the guest speaker is her old teacher training colleague (and now best-selling children’s author) Fenella Forbes.
But at least things are looking up for one member of staff, as it seems Mr Martin (Daniel Rigby) is about to launch a successful pop career...
Interview with Philip Glenister
Are you pleased to be back at Greybridge once again?
I like the chance to do comedy and mix it all up and Big School is a lovely ensemble piece.
At the start of the new series, we learn that Mr Gunn is trying his hand at becoming the new geography teacher. Does this mean he has put his old ways behind him and is becoming more responsible and grown up?
I think the whole thing about Mr Gunn is that he is all mouth and terrible tracksuit trousers! I think for that reason I couldn’t imagine he has had a woman in his entire life! There is one storyline coming up in which he may have to show signs of maturity but this is the world of comedy, so his actions are not baited in any kind of reality. Playing him is a nice bit of fun really.
There are loads of great guest stars this series and we even get to meet Mr Gunn’s mum, played by Michele Dotrice. What was it like working with her?
I’ve worked with Michele before years ago when we did a TV mini-series called Vanity Fair, that is going back a few years now. In fact another of the guests in Big School, Sylvestra Le Touzel, was also in that series too. The casting for Big School is really fun though. Michele is something of a legend in the world of comedy as she was part of one of the all-time great sitcoms in Some Mothers Do Have ‘Em so it was a nice touch to get her in. It was great to have someone of her standing to be in the show.
Mr Gunn tries hard to assert himself in the staff room. Do you think the other teachers actually respect him?
I don’t think the other teachers even notice him half the time. Being a PE Teacher in a school is like being the drummer in a band, I think that is very much Mr Gunn. In fact I am playing him and I don’t take him seriously, so I am pretty sure that nobody else would.
Do you have a favourite character that you like playing opposite?
We had good fun filming the scenes with Steve Spiers and Michele Dotrice who play Mr Barber and my mum. I won’t spoil it but in one episode Barber moves into the Gunn household with me basically. We had a couple of days doing all of our stuff and we had a very funny scene where we couldn’t keep it together at all and all we could do was laugh. It’s great to have days like that.
Does working on a series like Big School bring back memories of your own schooldays? Did you ever encounter anyone like Mr Gunn at your own school?
I used to have quite nice PE teachers at school so the character is definitely not based on any of them. If they confiscated our cigarettes they would at least give us money for them! I suppose everyone has a story of their PE teacher and I seem to remember we had about three - they were all fine.
And finally, has Mr Gunn moved out of home and got his own bachelor pad yet?
I don’t think Mr Gunn would be capable of moving out of home. I think he is the epitome of the stay-at-home son. He’s horrible! He is just a bit of a saddo really.
Interview with David Walliams
Are you pleased to be back in Mr Church’s lab coat at Greybridge once again?
It is great to be doing the series again, particularly getting everyone back together as it is such a brilliant cast. It is great to be back and it is wonderful to see the actors bring the characters to life so brilliantly once again.
Where do we pick up the story following the school trip to France at the end of the first series?
We pick up the story at the start of the new term after Mr Church and Miss Postern have a disastrous date over the summer holidays. Mr Church and Miss Postern had made an arrangement to go for a meal but unfortunately turned up in two different branches of Bella Italia so they get off to a frosty start! Therefore at the beginning of the series Mr Church has a lot of ground to make up to try to get back into Miss Postern’s good books. Meanwhile, Miss Postern herself is trying to work out what she wants to do with her life, either carry on being a teacher or have a baby.
Mr Church is at heart a conscientious character and does take his responsibility as Deputy Head of Science very seriously. Do you think he needs to perhaps loosen up a little in order to woo Miss Postern?
Mr Church is very uptight! I think that is why he has probably never had any success with the opposite sex his entire life. He is very set in his ways and he is someone who has never had a partner before. If you’ve never shared a house with anybody and if you have never been married I think there is a danger that you will get set in your ways. Mr Church would probably find it really difficult to adapt to being with someone. I also don’t think you actually really want them to get together as it would spoil the tension between them.
Tell us about what is happening with Mr Barber - he wasn’t in a very happy place throughout the last series! Do things continue to get worse this time round or is there light at the end of the tunnel for him?
Mr Barber was the geography teacher that was down on his luck and struggling throughout the last series. Over the summer holidays he has had something of a nervous episode and has been demoted to caretaker. But like Peggy in Hi-De-Hi who always wanted to be a yellow coat, he wants to get back to being a geography teacher. So we follow his story over the series of his struggle to get his life back on track.
There are some great guest stars appearing this series, can you tell us a little about them?
Jack Carroll, the brilliant comedian who came second on Britain’s Got Talent last year was perfect to play a kid in this series and he was really funny. Myself and the Dawson Brothers wrote the part with him in mind and we had a lot of fun writing material for him. Jack will appear a little later in the series and I don’t want to give too much away as he plays quite a surprising part! I’ve stayed in touch with Jack and his mum ever since Britain’s Got Talent and I am delighted that he wanted to be part of the series.
Also, a childhood hero of mine, Michele Dotrice, who played Betty in Some Mothers Do Have ‘Em, plays Mr Gunn’s mum and she was absolutely brilliant. Everyone on set was so excited we had someone so legendary with us.
We were also very lucky to have Morgana Robinson playing the part of a visitor who comes to Greybridge to give some careers advice to the pupils in the first episode. Morgana is a fantastic comedienne who had her own series on Channel 4 and she has a big scene with Catherine – it was brilliant to see them together.
Is it important to you to film in a real school?
It is really important to film in a real school because when we were thinking about the series first time round we had a big question as to whether we would film in a studio in front of an audience or whether we would do it on location. I personally felt that we wouldn’t be able to convincingly portray a school in a studio, plus the audience are so familiar with the classroom situation that it would immediately look unrealistic, so we decided to film at a real life school.
Brilliantly, the real life school that we filmed in was able to provide us with around 200 child actors which is usually pretty hard to come by. It gave a real reality to the series and I think it really helps the cast too as addressing all of the children during the big assembly scenes in a real school hall makes you feel more like an actual teacher.
A lot of the characters you have played in the past involve lots of extravagant costumes and sometimes prosthetics, meaning long periods in hair and make-up before getting on set. Is it refreshing to play one character for an entire series?
Little Britain was such a big hit and it is always tricky to know how to follow something like that so the most sensible thing to do was something completely different. I wanted this series to reveal a bit more of myself as an actor with perhaps not so many layers of glasses and prosthetics, so for Big School I didn’t want to be hidden under all that.
I also wanted to write a more grown up story, a love story in fact, and to be a little more empathetic with characters that people will hopefully really care about that and the audience will want to see do well.
Have you got a favourite character that you enjoyed writing for or playing opposite?
I love writing for Miss Postern. Catherine’s performance is so perfect and so funny that I have to stop myself from laughing when she is doing it. The joy of writing for someone like that is knowing that she is going to do something amazing. A good example was writing a scene that required her to speak Chinese. I knew when it was being written that she was going to be brilliant at it. It is a joy writing for her especially.
I also love writing for Ms Baron as there is such a brilliant music to Frances de la Tour’s voice. In fact, it is simply incredible just working with someone like Frances as I can’t believe I have even met her let alone being able to work with her.
Interview with Catherine Tate
Are you pleased to be back at Greybridge once again?
Miss Postern is a lot of fun to play, I love playing such a delusional character. It is lovely to be back as we had such a good time last year making the show.
How would you describe Miss Postern to those that haven’t seen Big School before?
If I was using just one word to describe her I would probably say she is delusional! Miss Postern thinks she is a better catch than she is and she certainly thinks she is a better teacher than she actually is. Overall she thinks she is more talented than she actually is, but it really is fun to play the part.
Where do we pick up the story at the beginning of the new series?
There was a date between Mr Church and Miss Postern during the summer holidays but it all went terribly wrong, so at the start of the series we see Mr Church making excuses and trying to claw back. Basically the pair of them made a plan to go for a meal but he went to the wrong Bella Italia… he really pushed out the boat for her didn’t he!
In the opening episode of the new series, Miss Postern seems as enthusiastic as ever – arranging a careers day for the children. How do you think she keeps her spirits up when everything around her tends to descend into chaos?
Miss Postern is one of those eternally optimistic and cheerful people who is under the belief that she can make a difference. I guess if you are constantly surrounded by negativity it is almost like a survivor’s instinct that you have to be cheerful, so that is what she does.
Miss Postern always tries her best for the kids, despite their obvious ambivalence about having to learn French. Do you think she genuinely likes her job or yearns for something else?
I think she has found her calling. Although I think she is easily flattered and is probably easily led too so could very well have her head turned. Goodness knows what type of job she could end up doing if someone told her something she wanted to hear!
Miss Postern is quite flirty with Mr Church but has never actually admitted that she wants anything more than friendship. Do you think she just flirts with him to get her own way?
I don’t think that Miss Postern is a big flirt and to be honest I don’t think there is a huge amount of flirting in the new series. I think she is frustrated with Mr Church as she doesn’t actually know whether he likes her or not. I think she finds Mr Church a difficult person to find a way into; so I am not so sure she holds out much hope. Mr Church and Miss Postern are both a couple of oddities and I don’t quite know if they would know what to do with each other so I guess it remains to be seen whether anything will happen between them.
Do you think Miss Postern is genuinely unlucky in love? Or perhaps too picky?
I think she could be one of those women that has looked around but has never found the one. I am pretty sure the person she thinks she should be with would be in keeping with her delusional self! But Mr Church might be her last chance saloon as it were. In fact at one point in the new series she does address that and asks him if they have left it too late with the subtext being should the two of them have a baby together, but I can’t help but think that wouldn’t happen.
Does filming a series like Big School bring back memories of your own schooldays?
I didn’t really pay much attention at school in all honesty so I don’t think I am a very good poster person, I just got incredibly lucky. I wasn’t an extrovert when I was a child either. My teachers played a big part in my growing up and I do remember having a fantastic teacher called Mrs Thompson. She used to call me ‘flibbertigibbet’ because I would never sit still which was sweet. She told me that I absolutely had to go to university, she was really adamant about it. I didn’t… but there we go!
And finally, has headmistress Ms Baron finally learnt Miss Postern’s name yet?
No, not even close. In fact this time she manages to call me Miss Chakrabarti, I think Ms Baron definitely does it on purpose to assert herself as the alpha female of Greybridge.
Interview with Francis de la Tour
Are you glad to be back filming Big School once again?
I am extremely glad to be back. I loved watching the first series and I think a lot of young people liked it first time round too which is really nice. It is very interesting when you make a show like this as sometimes it takes more than one series for people to get to know who the characters are but I think with Big School they are all instantly recognisable.
For those that might have missed the first series, how would you describe Ms Baron?
Ms Baron is the headmistress of Greybridge School and I would say she is authoritative, naughty, outrageous and despicable. She would be very happy to smoke a joint or drink a bottle of wine whilst in her office. Ms Baron isn’t depressed but she is reckless and she gets pissed off. I don’t think she drinks out of depression but I do think she is naughty though, that’s the main word I would use to describe her.
Do you enjoy playing Ms Baron?
Ms Baron is the most outrageous woman I have ever played. I definitely enjoy playing her and I am pleased we are back and hopefully Big School will become an ongoing thing so we will see much more of her. Very often you have to say goodbye to a character very quickly but this has become more of a theatre piece which I am used to and enjoy a lot.
You live with a part for a while and this way if you do it once a year you can have a good stab at it.
It would be fair to say that everyone at the school, teachers included, live in fear of Ms Baron due to her no-nonsense approach, but do you think there is anything that scares her?
It is revealed in this series that the school could be closed down because it is so awful. I think it is the only time we see Ms Baron being nervous. If the school were to go then her livelihood would go too and that is what makes her concerned about the OFSTED visit that happens in episode four.
Everybody in that staff room needs each other so it’s an interesting concept. They are much more dependent on each other than anyone would want to admit, that is what is so interesting about this show.
The school is a bit like ‘The Italian Job’ in that respect, as everybody is in on it. If the rest of the staff at the school were not in on it they would lose their jobs and if that happened they wouldn’t be employed anywhere else because they are all so terrible as none of them can actually teach very well!
Do you think that Ms Baron has any favourite teachers? Or does she have equal distain for all of them?
I think she has a soft spot for the most vulnerable which would definitely have to be Mr Barber – he is such a lost soul.
How was it filming in a real school?
We were really amazed with the children we worked with in the school; they were so on it and with it. I had some pretty ferocious assembly scenes to film and had to say some foul things in front of them.
Is it difficult to deliver some of Ms Baron’s very amusing lines in such a dead-pan manner?
The only way I can get through the series is to stay completely straight faced otherwise I couldn’t get through the scenes. What Ms Baron says is shocking and you don’t expect her to say some of the outrageous things she does, and that is what is so clever about the writing - you just expect her to be another harridan but then she will suddenly come out with these outrageous comments. Who knows if she could be drunk or high on drugs half the time, but it is funny and it is a lovely idea and yet somehow she manages to retain her authority. Like all comedies, we as actors are all playing characters. But what prevents us from all turning into caricatures is that we are stopped from going off field by the brilliant scripts written by David Walliams and the Dawson Brothers.
There are lots of great guest stars joining the series. Without giving too much away do you have any memorable or favourite scenes with any of them we should look out for?
I do love working with Sylvestra Le Touzel because she comes in to play another harridan. It is quite interesting because she is playing my counterpart and she is somebody in real authority rather than Ms Baron. Although Ms Baron can expel any student or sack any teacher she doesn’t have authority with the local council as they come checking up on her and that is when we meet the School Inspector Ms Steele played by Sylvestra. It was lovely working with her as I have known her for quite some time and it is always nice to see a friendly face.
I think the regular cast are smashing too - in my opinion Big School is beautifully cast. I think all of the actors involved are a very good match for their characters and I hope everyone enjoys watching it.
Deep down, do you think Ms Baron cares about the school, teachers and children?
Even with comedy you have to apply the same questions as you would to drama in terms of truth. I think somewhere she cares very much if only for herself because what would her life be without the school? I think she would be very concerned about retiring, because her life has been full of this naughtiness and exploitation at the school. If she were to ever leave, I don’t know whether someone like that would find what she has there elsewhere. Even if Ms Baron were to volunteer and end up being the harridan of a local Bridge Club, I think she no matter what she did she would always be a very naughty, outrageous and atrocious woman. Does she care about the children? She probably does in a funny way.
And finally, has Ms Baron learnt Miss Postern's name yet?
I think she completely knows what her name is but she finds Miss Postern deeply, deeply irritating but she also know that she needs Miss Postern too.
This year the teachers are joined by a host of guest stars, including Morgana Robinson as children’s author Fenella Forbes, Jimmy Akingbola as the dashing new geography teacher Dr Dalton, Jack Caroll as new pupil Dean, Sylvestra le Touzel as a School Inspector, Michele Dotrice as the mother of Mr Gunn and Karen Taylor as a parent of one of the Greybridge pupils.
In the opening episode, Miss Postern (Catherine Tate) and Mr Church’s (David Walliams) relationship has taken a downward turn after a misunderstanding over a date and the woefully underqualified Mr Gunn (Philip Glenister) is now teaching geography as Mr Barber’s (Steve Spiers) got a new job as the school caretaker.
When Miss Postern sets up a careers workshop, it seems her slogan ‘Which way now?’ applies as much to her as it does her pupils, not least because the guest speaker is her old teacher training colleague (and now best-selling children’s author) Fenella Forbes.
But at least things are looking up for one member of staff, as it seems Mr Martin (Daniel Rigby) is about to launch a successful pop career...
Interview with Philip Glenister
Are you pleased to be back at Greybridge once again?
I like the chance to do comedy and mix it all up and Big School is a lovely ensemble piece.
At the start of the new series, we learn that Mr Gunn is trying his hand at becoming the new geography teacher. Does this mean he has put his old ways behind him and is becoming more responsible and grown up?
I think the whole thing about Mr Gunn is that he is all mouth and terrible tracksuit trousers! I think for that reason I couldn’t imagine he has had a woman in his entire life! There is one storyline coming up in which he may have to show signs of maturity but this is the world of comedy, so his actions are not baited in any kind of reality. Playing him is a nice bit of fun really.
There are loads of great guest stars this series and we even get to meet Mr Gunn’s mum, played by Michele Dotrice. What was it like working with her?
I’ve worked with Michele before years ago when we did a TV mini-series called Vanity Fair, that is going back a few years now. In fact another of the guests in Big School, Sylvestra Le Touzel, was also in that series too. The casting for Big School is really fun though. Michele is something of a legend in the world of comedy as she was part of one of the all-time great sitcoms in Some Mothers Do Have ‘Em so it was a nice touch to get her in. It was great to have someone of her standing to be in the show.
Mr Gunn tries hard to assert himself in the staff room. Do you think the other teachers actually respect him?
I don’t think the other teachers even notice him half the time. Being a PE Teacher in a school is like being the drummer in a band, I think that is very much Mr Gunn. In fact I am playing him and I don’t take him seriously, so I am pretty sure that nobody else would.
Do you have a favourite character that you like playing opposite?
We had good fun filming the scenes with Steve Spiers and Michele Dotrice who play Mr Barber and my mum. I won’t spoil it but in one episode Barber moves into the Gunn household with me basically. We had a couple of days doing all of our stuff and we had a very funny scene where we couldn’t keep it together at all and all we could do was laugh. It’s great to have days like that.
Does working on a series like Big School bring back memories of your own schooldays? Did you ever encounter anyone like Mr Gunn at your own school?
I used to have quite nice PE teachers at school so the character is definitely not based on any of them. If they confiscated our cigarettes they would at least give us money for them! I suppose everyone has a story of their PE teacher and I seem to remember we had about three - they were all fine.
And finally, has Mr Gunn moved out of home and got his own bachelor pad yet?
I don’t think Mr Gunn would be capable of moving out of home. I think he is the epitome of the stay-at-home son. He’s horrible! He is just a bit of a saddo really.
Interview with David Walliams
Are you pleased to be back in Mr Church’s lab coat at Greybridge once again?
It is great to be doing the series again, particularly getting everyone back together as it is such a brilliant cast. It is great to be back and it is wonderful to see the actors bring the characters to life so brilliantly once again.
Where do we pick up the story following the school trip to France at the end of the first series?
We pick up the story at the start of the new term after Mr Church and Miss Postern have a disastrous date over the summer holidays. Mr Church and Miss Postern had made an arrangement to go for a meal but unfortunately turned up in two different branches of Bella Italia so they get off to a frosty start! Therefore at the beginning of the series Mr Church has a lot of ground to make up to try to get back into Miss Postern’s good books. Meanwhile, Miss Postern herself is trying to work out what she wants to do with her life, either carry on being a teacher or have a baby.
Mr Church is at heart a conscientious character and does take his responsibility as Deputy Head of Science very seriously. Do you think he needs to perhaps loosen up a little in order to woo Miss Postern?
Mr Church is very uptight! I think that is why he has probably never had any success with the opposite sex his entire life. He is very set in his ways and he is someone who has never had a partner before. If you’ve never shared a house with anybody and if you have never been married I think there is a danger that you will get set in your ways. Mr Church would probably find it really difficult to adapt to being with someone. I also don’t think you actually really want them to get together as it would spoil the tension between them.
Tell us about what is happening with Mr Barber - he wasn’t in a very happy place throughout the last series! Do things continue to get worse this time round or is there light at the end of the tunnel for him?
Mr Barber was the geography teacher that was down on his luck and struggling throughout the last series. Over the summer holidays he has had something of a nervous episode and has been demoted to caretaker. But like Peggy in Hi-De-Hi who always wanted to be a yellow coat, he wants to get back to being a geography teacher. So we follow his story over the series of his struggle to get his life back on track.
There are some great guest stars appearing this series, can you tell us a little about them?
Jack Carroll, the brilliant comedian who came second on Britain’s Got Talent last year was perfect to play a kid in this series and he was really funny. Myself and the Dawson Brothers wrote the part with him in mind and we had a lot of fun writing material for him. Jack will appear a little later in the series and I don’t want to give too much away as he plays quite a surprising part! I’ve stayed in touch with Jack and his mum ever since Britain’s Got Talent and I am delighted that he wanted to be part of the series.
Also, a childhood hero of mine, Michele Dotrice, who played Betty in Some Mothers Do Have ‘Em, plays Mr Gunn’s mum and she was absolutely brilliant. Everyone on set was so excited we had someone so legendary with us.
We were also very lucky to have Morgana Robinson playing the part of a visitor who comes to Greybridge to give some careers advice to the pupils in the first episode. Morgana is a fantastic comedienne who had her own series on Channel 4 and she has a big scene with Catherine – it was brilliant to see them together.
Is it important to you to film in a real school?
It is really important to film in a real school because when we were thinking about the series first time round we had a big question as to whether we would film in a studio in front of an audience or whether we would do it on location. I personally felt that we wouldn’t be able to convincingly portray a school in a studio, plus the audience are so familiar with the classroom situation that it would immediately look unrealistic, so we decided to film at a real life school.
Brilliantly, the real life school that we filmed in was able to provide us with around 200 child actors which is usually pretty hard to come by. It gave a real reality to the series and I think it really helps the cast too as addressing all of the children during the big assembly scenes in a real school hall makes you feel more like an actual teacher.
A lot of the characters you have played in the past involve lots of extravagant costumes and sometimes prosthetics, meaning long periods in hair and make-up before getting on set. Is it refreshing to play one character for an entire series?
Little Britain was such a big hit and it is always tricky to know how to follow something like that so the most sensible thing to do was something completely different. I wanted this series to reveal a bit more of myself as an actor with perhaps not so many layers of glasses and prosthetics, so for Big School I didn’t want to be hidden under all that.
I also wanted to write a more grown up story, a love story in fact, and to be a little more empathetic with characters that people will hopefully really care about that and the audience will want to see do well.
Have you got a favourite character that you enjoyed writing for or playing opposite?
I love writing for Miss Postern. Catherine’s performance is so perfect and so funny that I have to stop myself from laughing when she is doing it. The joy of writing for someone like that is knowing that she is going to do something amazing. A good example was writing a scene that required her to speak Chinese. I knew when it was being written that she was going to be brilliant at it. It is a joy writing for her especially.
I also love writing for Ms Baron as there is such a brilliant music to Frances de la Tour’s voice. In fact, it is simply incredible just working with someone like Frances as I can’t believe I have even met her let alone being able to work with her.
Interview with Catherine Tate
Are you pleased to be back at Greybridge once again?
Miss Postern is a lot of fun to play, I love playing such a delusional character. It is lovely to be back as we had such a good time last year making the show.
How would you describe Miss Postern to those that haven’t seen Big School before?
If I was using just one word to describe her I would probably say she is delusional! Miss Postern thinks she is a better catch than she is and she certainly thinks she is a better teacher than she actually is. Overall she thinks she is more talented than she actually is, but it really is fun to play the part.
Where do we pick up the story at the beginning of the new series?
There was a date between Mr Church and Miss Postern during the summer holidays but it all went terribly wrong, so at the start of the series we see Mr Church making excuses and trying to claw back. Basically the pair of them made a plan to go for a meal but he went to the wrong Bella Italia… he really pushed out the boat for her didn’t he!
In the opening episode of the new series, Miss Postern seems as enthusiastic as ever – arranging a careers day for the children. How do you think she keeps her spirits up when everything around her tends to descend into chaos?
Miss Postern is one of those eternally optimistic and cheerful people who is under the belief that she can make a difference. I guess if you are constantly surrounded by negativity it is almost like a survivor’s instinct that you have to be cheerful, so that is what she does.
Miss Postern always tries her best for the kids, despite their obvious ambivalence about having to learn French. Do you think she genuinely likes her job or yearns for something else?
I think she has found her calling. Although I think she is easily flattered and is probably easily led too so could very well have her head turned. Goodness knows what type of job she could end up doing if someone told her something she wanted to hear!
Miss Postern is quite flirty with Mr Church but has never actually admitted that she wants anything more than friendship. Do you think she just flirts with him to get her own way?
I don’t think that Miss Postern is a big flirt and to be honest I don’t think there is a huge amount of flirting in the new series. I think she is frustrated with Mr Church as she doesn’t actually know whether he likes her or not. I think she finds Mr Church a difficult person to find a way into; so I am not so sure she holds out much hope. Mr Church and Miss Postern are both a couple of oddities and I don’t quite know if they would know what to do with each other so I guess it remains to be seen whether anything will happen between them.
Do you think Miss Postern is genuinely unlucky in love? Or perhaps too picky?
I think she could be one of those women that has looked around but has never found the one. I am pretty sure the person she thinks she should be with would be in keeping with her delusional self! But Mr Church might be her last chance saloon as it were. In fact at one point in the new series she does address that and asks him if they have left it too late with the subtext being should the two of them have a baby together, but I can’t help but think that wouldn’t happen.
Does filming a series like Big School bring back memories of your own schooldays?
I didn’t really pay much attention at school in all honesty so I don’t think I am a very good poster person, I just got incredibly lucky. I wasn’t an extrovert when I was a child either. My teachers played a big part in my growing up and I do remember having a fantastic teacher called Mrs Thompson. She used to call me ‘flibbertigibbet’ because I would never sit still which was sweet. She told me that I absolutely had to go to university, she was really adamant about it. I didn’t… but there we go!
And finally, has headmistress Ms Baron finally learnt Miss Postern’s name yet?
No, not even close. In fact this time she manages to call me Miss Chakrabarti, I think Ms Baron definitely does it on purpose to assert herself as the alpha female of Greybridge.
Interview with Francis de la Tour
Are you glad to be back filming Big School once again?
I am extremely glad to be back. I loved watching the first series and I think a lot of young people liked it first time round too which is really nice. It is very interesting when you make a show like this as sometimes it takes more than one series for people to get to know who the characters are but I think with Big School they are all instantly recognisable.
For those that might have missed the first series, how would you describe Ms Baron?
Ms Baron is the headmistress of Greybridge School and I would say she is authoritative, naughty, outrageous and despicable. She would be very happy to smoke a joint or drink a bottle of wine whilst in her office. Ms Baron isn’t depressed but she is reckless and she gets pissed off. I don’t think she drinks out of depression but I do think she is naughty though, that’s the main word I would use to describe her.
Do you enjoy playing Ms Baron?
Ms Baron is the most outrageous woman I have ever played. I definitely enjoy playing her and I am pleased we are back and hopefully Big School will become an ongoing thing so we will see much more of her. Very often you have to say goodbye to a character very quickly but this has become more of a theatre piece which I am used to and enjoy a lot.
You live with a part for a while and this way if you do it once a year you can have a good stab at it.
It would be fair to say that everyone at the school, teachers included, live in fear of Ms Baron due to her no-nonsense approach, but do you think there is anything that scares her?
It is revealed in this series that the school could be closed down because it is so awful. I think it is the only time we see Ms Baron being nervous. If the school were to go then her livelihood would go too and that is what makes her concerned about the OFSTED visit that happens in episode four.
Everybody in that staff room needs each other so it’s an interesting concept. They are much more dependent on each other than anyone would want to admit, that is what is so interesting about this show.
The school is a bit like ‘The Italian Job’ in that respect, as everybody is in on it. If the rest of the staff at the school were not in on it they would lose their jobs and if that happened they wouldn’t be employed anywhere else because they are all so terrible as none of them can actually teach very well!
Do you think that Ms Baron has any favourite teachers? Or does she have equal distain for all of them?
I think she has a soft spot for the most vulnerable which would definitely have to be Mr Barber – he is such a lost soul.
How was it filming in a real school?
We were really amazed with the children we worked with in the school; they were so on it and with it. I had some pretty ferocious assembly scenes to film and had to say some foul things in front of them.
Is it difficult to deliver some of Ms Baron’s very amusing lines in such a dead-pan manner?
The only way I can get through the series is to stay completely straight faced otherwise I couldn’t get through the scenes. What Ms Baron says is shocking and you don’t expect her to say some of the outrageous things she does, and that is what is so clever about the writing - you just expect her to be another harridan but then she will suddenly come out with these outrageous comments. Who knows if she could be drunk or high on drugs half the time, but it is funny and it is a lovely idea and yet somehow she manages to retain her authority. Like all comedies, we as actors are all playing characters. But what prevents us from all turning into caricatures is that we are stopped from going off field by the brilliant scripts written by David Walliams and the Dawson Brothers.
There are lots of great guest stars joining the series. Without giving too much away do you have any memorable or favourite scenes with any of them we should look out for?
I do love working with Sylvestra Le Touzel because she comes in to play another harridan. It is quite interesting because she is playing my counterpart and she is somebody in real authority rather than Ms Baron. Although Ms Baron can expel any student or sack any teacher she doesn’t have authority with the local council as they come checking up on her and that is when we meet the School Inspector Ms Steele played by Sylvestra. It was lovely working with her as I have known her for quite some time and it is always nice to see a friendly face.
I think the regular cast are smashing too - in my opinion Big School is beautifully cast. I think all of the actors involved are a very good match for their characters and I hope everyone enjoys watching it.
Deep down, do you think Ms Baron cares about the school, teachers and children?
Even with comedy you have to apply the same questions as you would to drama in terms of truth. I think somewhere she cares very much if only for herself because what would her life be without the school? I think she would be very concerned about retiring, because her life has been full of this naughtiness and exploitation at the school. If she were to ever leave, I don’t know whether someone like that would find what she has there elsewhere. Even if Ms Baron were to volunteer and end up being the harridan of a local Bridge Club, I think she no matter what she did she would always be a very naughty, outrageous and atrocious woman. Does she care about the children? She probably does in a funny way.
And finally, has Ms Baron learnt Miss Postern's name yet?
I think she completely knows what her name is but she finds Miss Postern deeply, deeply irritating but she also know that she needs Miss Postern too.
Original article can be found here.
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