{"id":38777,"date":"2023-10-27T14:36:11","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T12:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1915612"},"modified":"2023-10-28T04:58:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T02:58:41","slug":"jodie-whittaker-links-cost-of-living-crisis-to-time-season-2-character","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/jodie-whittaker-links-cost-of-living-crisis-to-time-season-2-character\/","title":{"rendered":"Jodie Whittaker links cost of living crisis to Time season 2 character"},"content":{"rendered":"

The series is set to tackle some hard-hitting, topical themes. <\/p>

By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 27 October 2023 at 12:36 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Jodie Whittaker has discussed how her character in Time season 2<\/a> is clearly connected to the cost of living crisis currently wreaking havoc on people\u2019s lives up and down the country.<\/p>\n

The prison drama from Jimmy McGovern, which won high praise for its initial run starring Stephen Graham and Sean Bean, is back with a largely new cast including Whittaker, Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us<\/a>) and Tamara Lawrance (The Silent Twins).<\/p>\n

It marks the first major project starring Whittaker since her dramatic departure from Doctor Who<\/a>, with fans looking forward to seeing her in a very different role.<\/p>\n

The actor explained: \u201cOrla is a single mother of three, and we meet her in a stereotypical domestic scenario that any mother can appreciate, where you\u2019re just trying to get your kids ready for school.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, for Orla, it\u2019s particularly heightened because she\u2019s in a rush to get somewhere that nobody knows she\u2019s going.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThe beauty of Helen and Jimmy\u2019s writing is that the audience isn\u2019t completely spoon-fed every scene,\u201d continued Whittaker. \u201cSo you then have a very hard cut with them realising that she\u2019s gone to court and is then sent down for six months.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn law, there are very clear lines on what is legal and what is not legal \u2013 but then there are very blurred lines of what warrants prison sentences and what warrants fines. In Orla\u2019s situation, the crime doesn\u2019t necessarily merit the sentence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of living crisis has absolutely contributed to Orla\u2019s situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jodie

Whittaker doesn\u2019t divulge exactly what lands Orla behind bars, although her comments evoke recent headlines connecting a rise in shoplifting to the cost of living crisis as the poorest in society struggle to pay for essential items (see The Big Issue<\/a>).<\/p>\n
Co-star Lawrance was taken aback by \u201chow human and real and timely\u201d the series felt, singling out Orla\u2019s storyline as particularly compelling.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201c[Orla is] somebody who can\u2019t afford to pay for gas and electricity, and ends up being imprisoned for what most would see as quite a minor crime compared to some of the other people she\u2019s inside with.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of people will be able to resonate with struggling to afford things right now.\u201d<\/p>