The Marvel and Doctor Who star is full of praise for the new ITV comedy-drama.
With a raft of roles under her belt, it’s safe to say that Karen Gillan has dabbled across genre, format and roles in her extensive career.
From her iconic stint as companion Amy Pond in Doctor Who, to playing Nebula in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and also starring in the Jumanji films as Ruby Roundhouse, Gillan has made the successful crossover stateside. But even so, Gillan has now said that her upcoming project is actually her favourite yet.
Set to star as news anchor Madeline Crow in ITV’s Douglas Is Cancelled, Gillan was asked how the new four-part series ranks in the list of productions she’s done so far.
She revealed: “This is definitely my favourite project of all time. I think that’s partially because it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Having to memorise that much dialogue was unbelievably challenging.
“One episode is almost entirely in an interview setting, and we’re just sitting down and talking to each other. That’s an hour that you have to fill with just talking. So that’s a lot of talk! That was just scary for me.”
She continued: “I feel like the hardest thing for me to do as a person is to sit down and talk. I have a lot of jittery, nervous energy that I like to channel into moving around or a big emotion.
“So in that particular episode, I didn’t have anything to hide behind. I just had to sit there and be in it and do the thing that really scares me. And so it felt really nice to walk through the fire of something that was terrifying to me. It felt like doing a play. There was so much dialogue, and also so much that was not being said between the two characters. I just loved it. It was an acting dream.”
Of course, Gillan is reunited with her former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat for the upcoming comedy-drama, which sees her co-anchor Douglas (Hugh Bonneville) come under fire for comments made at a cousin’s wedding.
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While viewers will only learn what Douglas actually said right at the tail end of the series, the show will follow Douglas’s ongoing social media storm as his words are dissected and he struggles to contain the problem at hand.
For Gillan, it’s even more of a Doctor Who reunion of sorts as she’s also reunited with Alex Kingston, revealing that filming with so many old friends from Doctor Who felt like “coming home”.
As well as Gillan lauding Douglas Is Cancelled as her favourite project of all time, Bonneville is similarly full of praise for the show, admitting that he was first drawn into leading the show by Moffat’s script.
He said: “It constantly surprised me with its changes of direction and tone. It made me roar with laughter but, as with all good satire, the laughter gradually turned to ice as the questions raised by the comedy became more stark… harsher.
“Some of the twists and turns are toe-curlingly funny, but by the end, the lights have gone out, the fun has evaporated and we’re into dark territory.”
Similarly, Kingston – who plays the role of Bonneville’s onscreen wife and newspaper editor Sheila – said: “I’d say what appealed first of all was that the piece was written by Steven Moffat. I would do anything that Steven wrote because he’s just such a brilliant writer.
“The characters he creates are such a delight to play. I’ve had that experience of working with him on Doctor Who. It was just a joy to read the script. I laughed out loud. I even cried with laughter in some places. It’s so superbly written.”
Douglas Is Cancelled will air on ITV1 and ITVX on Thursday 27th June 2024.
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