Yes, that\u2019s right \u2013 despite her year off the show, and despite her character being replaced (with Siobhan Redmond joining the cast last year), Mackichan is back for Two Doors Down\u2019s new season. And apparently, she never really wanted to leave anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, there was a lot going on in my life at the time, and it just didn\u2019t work. It was gutting,\u201d Mackichan says now of her original decision to leave. \u201cSo when that had all passed, and, you know, kind of righted itself, it was like, \u2018Well, I would love to come back. Can we make this work?\u2019 It was like fireworks in the sky. \u2018Yes, yes, yes!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth is, we never wrote Cathy out of the show on purpose,\u201d series co-creator Gregor Sharp tells me. \u201cIt was an availability thing with Doon.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo when the stars aligned, and it was possible for her to come back, it was a fairly straightforward decision to want to do that, just because she\u2019s a dynamic energy. She brings a lot of comedy force, both as a character and Doon as an actor. And so it felt like a card that you\u2019d definitely want back in the pack.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/11\/two-doors-down-season-7-cast-d1cfee0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Two")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Still, the abrupt volte-face<\/em> was still a shock for Mackichan\u2019s co-stars, including on-screen husband Jonathan Watson (aka Colin).<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a bit of a surprise, to be honest with you,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI\u2019m delighted! We weren\u2019t expecting her back.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was great to have Siobhan in it. She did a great job. But I think the dynamic Colin and Cathy bring to it as an annoying couple helps the storylines in so many ways. We didn\u2019t have that with the relationship with Siobhan. I think it\u2019s good to have it back. The programme benefits from it.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n In fact, in the new season\u2019s first episode Cathy\u2019s return is the driving force behind the plot, when she accidentally gatecrashes another event held by the main cast. Usually foul-mouthed, half-cut and self-centred, she\u2019s forced to try and charm her old friends, who aren\u2019t too happy with her about her sudden exit.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Cathy is shocked at the level of not being welcomed back,\u201d Mackichan says. \u201cWhen she\u2019s suddenly there with everyone, she\u2019s really, really nervous, which is not something we\u2019ve ever seen her be. So that\u2019s quite funny. She has to keep quiet and gauge how quickly she can get back in. And it\u2019s not nearly as quickly as she thought.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy Cathy was missed, probably, is because she gives something to push against. She rubs everyone up a bit. She\u2019s just rude!\u201d she laughs.<\/p> \u201cThe thing about Two Doors Down is that it\u2019s a story-of-the-week show,\u201d adds Sharp. \u201cSo we don\u2019t really follow a big series arc. But obviously with a character like that leaving and then coming back, that is something you have to deal with in sequence order.<\/p>\n \u201cHer coming back into Colin\u2019s life and the lives of the other characters is a sort of dramatic story as much as it\u2019s a comic story. I mean, we definitely explore the comic impact of it. But it has to feel dramatically true as well. We never wanted to just drop her back into the show, and pretend nothing had happened.\u201d<\/p>\n And however it\u2019s done, Mackichan gets the sense fans will just be happy to see Cathy back on the sofa with her neighbours.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve definitely had that response from people on the street,\u201d she says. \u201cEverywhere I am, I\u2019ll be on a beach, and someone will go, \u2018Are you coming back?\u2019 And then they get a picture. Or they take a picture out of the pub window when I\u2019ve just had a wild swim, and I\u2019m looking terrible.<\/p>\n \u201cSo people are missing her, which is really nice to know. I didn\u2019t really realise how much they missed Cathy.\u201d<\/p> \n