Published: 6 August 2024
When hedonistic 24 year old Gemma (Aimee Lou Wood) discovers she’s pregnant after a random hook-up, she has no choice but to turn to her hapless father Malcolm (David Morrissey) for support. Recently divorced from Gemma’s mother (who made off with their joint savings to ‘Eat Pray Love’ her way around the world), Malcolm is unable to load a washing machine, boil an egg or microwave rice without it exploding. Up until now, he’s been living in squalor with fellow divorcee Derek (David Fynn) but when Gemma’s own flatmate decides to move out, the combination of financial desperation and a desire to not be totally alone makes her resort to the unthinkable: she asks her dad to move in with her. Because what’s the worst that could happen…?
From dating disasters and failed romances through to toxic friendships and messy family dynamics, plus a dangerously sociopathic antenatal teacher, Daddy Issues is a big hearted story about a father and daughter, and the reality of facing up to parenthood - at any stage of life.
Watch Daddy Issues on BBC Three from Thursday 15 August, with the whole series available on BBC iPlayer.
MJ
Q&A with Aimee Lou Wood
Gemma
What can you tell us about Daddy Issues?
Daddy Issues is a very very funny comedy that also has lots of heart about a father and a daughter getting to know each other as adults and as people and they basically wind up as flatmates and what ensues is lots of fun, love and comedy.
How would you best describe your character Gemma?
Gemma is a very honest, independent, true to herself woman who finds it hard to let people in fully and to accept help. Over the course of the series she learns how to be vulnerable and open up to people and not always be so hyper independent.
What’s Gemma’s relationship like with dad Malcolm?
At the beginning of the series Gemma and Malcolm feel like strangers to one another. Even though they are father and daughter, they don’t really know each other that well, but she’s pregnant and needs someone and he’s going through a divorce so they need each other. As the show goes on they start to really see each other as humans and we see how Gemma and Malcolm through all their weird choices and crazy ways they just choose to love each other through it all.
So what attracted you to the role of Gemma?
I genuinely laughed my head off at the scripts when I read them, I was like I’m sold! It just kept getting better and better. I found out David Morrissey would be playing Malcolm and I was like I HAVE to do it, I have to play David Morrissey’s daughter because I’ve loved him since I was a kid in everything he’s done. Also I wanted to see David Morrissey playing this part because its so silly and he’s this incredible actor, known for his dramatic roles. I wanted to see what he was going to do with this part and he went above and beyond anything I could have ever expected.
You’ve mentioned David there, what was it like working with him?
Heaven. Honestly I just love him and I hope he’s in my life forever. On set we had really great chats but we’re also really good at sitting next to each other and just existing. We don’t even have to speak, we can just listen to music, sing along to it and just be and I think that’s where Gemma and Malcolm get to as well. They get to a place where they are just existing alongside each other. They are living their lives knowing they have each other and that is really beautiful. It doesn’t always have to be a deep chat, it can just be that you feel safe and comfortable enough to just sit in silence with each other which is great and rare.
The show is filmed and based in Stockport, was that important to you that it was filmed in your hometown?
I didn’t think it was important to me until I got there and started filming it, I didn’t think it was going to move me as much as it did but when I was in Stockport I was like this is really lovely, it brought back really fond memories of growing up there.
Tell me about the rest of the cast.
Sharon Rooney who plays my sister Catherine in the show has played my sister twice as we were sisters in Louis Wain, and Susan Lynch who plays my mum in this has also played my mum in Sex Education so we’ve obviously got some family connections going on there - it’s the brown eyes I think. We have such an amazing cast in the show, every single person is great: Sarah Hadland, Taj, Arian, David Fynn every single person in this is incredible.
Finally what’s next for you?
The White Lotus season 3, filming in Thailand, very exciting and very overwhelming. A year ago the two jobs I said I wanted to do was Cabaret and White Lotus so its weird that I’ve done it.
Q&A with David Morrissey
Malcolm
David, what can you tell us about Daddy Issues?
Daddy Issues is a comedy with myself and Aimee Lou Wood and it's about a young girl who finds herself in a position in life where she needs help of her family and her family aren’t around. Her mother has disappeared and her sister is somewhere else so she has to rely on her dad who’s a bit of a Man-child who's going through a bit of a crisis so they are brought together as he tries to help her now she’s pregnant.
You mentioned there that Malcolm is a bit of a Man-child, what more can you tell us about him?
Malcolm is someone who has been infantilised all his life and he’s a man who doesn’t know the basics of how to look after himself in the world. At best he’s naive at worst he’s ignorant. He doesn’t know how to look after himself and he sees the world in a very innocent way. But he’s in crisis, we meet him in a crisis but he’s unable to look after himself.
How would you describe his relationship with his daughter Gemma?
He loves his daughter and she loves him but whether they are good for each other is debatable. They are both in desperate need and they find themselves at a point in life where they need to lean on each other but they aren’t sure whether the other is capable of holding that weight. There’s some heightened emotions between the two of them particularly as she’s at a point in her life where she is in desperate need.
What attracted you to the role?
I just loved him. I love Aimee Lou Wood, I think she’s amazing, such a great talent and I’ve admired her for a while now. When Daddy Issues came along I was looking for something a bit different as I do quite a lot of heavy dramas so I was looking for something that was a bit more comedic. This came along and it was perfect for me, I really wanted to do this and I jumped in as I thought the first two episodes were so great and the standard of writing has maintained that quality. I love every episode and it has been such a learning curve for me. It’s been a challenge to do but I’ve been really loving it.
As you mentioned you are known for your heavy drama roles why did you want to take on this comedic role? Was the writing too good to turn down?
For me I’m always looking to change things. What I want to do is usually the thing I’ve not just done. I have done comedy in the past, Blackpool which I really loved and Inside No 9 and I’ve done some comedy in the theatre. I was looking for something that was going to exercise that part of my craft, looking for something that was going to hit my funny bone a bit more than the past. I’ve just done The Long Shadow and Sherwood and they were both really brilliant but quite dramatic so this came at the right time.
What was it like working with Aimee?
Well I knew her work but she’s just wonderful, she’s SO funny. One of the big problems we have working together is that we make each other laugh, so that’s always tough at times, but I think she’s a huge talent. I saw her at the theatre in Uncle Vayna as well as in Sex Education and I just think she’s got such breadth and honesty and truthfulness in her performances, and she’s a wonderful person. We get on very well and that’s essential as Daddy Issues is a relationship comedy which is brilliantly written by Danielle, but we had the freedom to improvise and play around which is really important. We have a great ease with each other and there’s some very awkward situations that we get ourselves into so its really important that you have an ease around the person you’re working with.
The show does explore relationships and as well as Malcolm with his daughter Gemma, there’s another relationship in Malcolm’s life, with his friend Derek. What can you tell us about their friendship and working with David Fynn?
I know David because I saw him in School of Rock in the West End which I just adored and thought it was brilliant. David is very much more used to this type of work in terms of comedy and he’s been great for me and again we spark off each other. Derek is Malcolm’s friend or is he? Malcolm is divorced and had to find somewhere to live, he’s got no money and Derek is someone who has opened up a residence for divorced men, its a very decrepit, disgusting place to be and this is where Malcolm finds himself when Gemma comes along to ask for his help. Derek sticks to him like a limpet, he’s an angry man as is Derek though quite a pathetic man as well and that’s quite a good sounding board for Malcolm as well. Derek sees Gemma as a threat to his friendship with Malcolm thinking she’s going to take him away.
