Greg McHugh (Richard Pritchard):

Greg McHugh returns as Richard Pritchard, Ken’s long-suffering son whose life working as an actor in London hasn’t quite gone to plan. Back home and under his father’s roof again, Richard finds himself torn between exasperation and affection as he tries to keep things under control.

● The first series was incredibly well received - how was the reaction to the series for you?

I was absolutely blown away by the reaction! You never really know how something's going to be received, but when I read the scripts that Bryce [Hart] had written for series one, they were great scripts and so if you go from the idea of you've got great writing, it's only for Gregor and I and the rest of the cast to kind of ruin that! So the reaction to me was very exciting - I think people could really see this was a universal idea. It might be set in Scotland, but the themes that Bryce covered are completely universal, and I was so pleased that people really bought into it.

● Where do we find Richard at the start of Series 2?

Well, where do we start? Richard had grand plans for his acting career and his life in general, but what we find at the start of series two is that I think it's fair to say that Richard's entire life has taken a bit of a dip. He's a bit unlucky in both work and life and love to a point. Ken's life is on the up, and Richard's life is kind of on the down when we join him in episodes one and two. Things haven't quite worked out in any real part of his life, he's been weaving a few lies, and it starts to backfire on him as he's not being fully open and honest with the people around him about what he's been up to.

● There was a hint of a relationship with Emily in series one - is there hope for them in this series?

Without ruining too much, I think Richard gets a very sharp reminder that he had an amazing opportunity with an amazing individual, but he decided to choose his career, and as a result, things in that department are far from straightforward.

● How would you describe Ken and Richard’s relationship this time round?

Ken and Richard's relationship has settled to a point, but a bit like when Richard returned home in series one, - and he was very frustrated with Ken that he wasn't part of the community, and frustrated that he wasn't able to adapt to modern life - with series two, it's actually Ken who's very frustrated with Richard. The tables have turned, and Ken is actually looking for Richard to integrate himself into the community. It's quite interesting how in series one, Richard was looking after Ken and at the start of series two, Ken is attempting, in some ways - and perhaps not always in the most helpful way - to look after Richard.

As the series progresses, their relationship is put to the usual stresses and strains. There are driving lessons, there's an allotment and there are things that they end up teaming up to work together on.

● What do you think it is about their relationship that works so well?

The reason their relationship works is because Bryce's writing is so fantastic. I always think in terms of acting, it is like ‘what do you bring to the party?’ So, there's a party going on and Bryce's scripts are this brilliant party, and I think one thing Gregor and I do bring is an openness with each other as actors, which I think does come across on screen, but their relationship is based on the writing. Gregor and I bring our personalities and our interpretations of the characters, and I think that's what really works, but ultimately, the world Bryce has created is very well observed and relatable.

● How was it reuniting with Gregor Fisher?

I just smile at the thought of it. It's just a joy, genuinely a joy. We get on really well, and we support each other. I just love him as a person and as an actor. He's a fantastic actor and a cheeky chappie.

He'll say the same about me, but he's all about the wind up. There's always a twinkle in his eye, you know, so to get to be reunited is an absolute pleasure. I think even more so than last year, because we'd already done a series, and we had a working dynamic - after reading the script from Bryce, again I just couldn't wait to get going. And it did not disappoint working with Gregor again.

● What can viewers expect for the new series?

We've got a fantastic returning cast, with Amy Lennox obviously returning as Emily, and we've got some great new additions in Clive Russell, Kevin Bishop, Jenny Galloway. In these new characters, we see a really big shift in the dynamic. So, one of the shifts is relating to Ken, and the other one is very much relating to Richard and Emily's relationship, which I won’t say too much about, but Richard just may have waited too long and mucked Emily about too much.

● What do you enjoy the most about playing Richard?

I've played a lot of different characters on the scale from a psychopath to Gary: Tank Commander and Richard. I hate to admit this, but he is as close to me as I’ve played. I'm lucky that I've worked, but I've certainly gone through periods of being Richard and feeling like I'm never going to work again, like many actors have. I don't know, there's just something about Richard where maybe because I knew Bryce before this a little bit, that he's written certain characteristics for me to play. So, I kind of feel it's not a huge leap for me. I'm not Richard, but I'm closer to Richard than I think in comparison to maybe many of the other characters I've played, to be honest.

● Why do you think audiences connect with Only Child?

I think audiences connect with it because of its universality. Whether you're carers or parents or grandparents, you see this shift in generation, and for the vast majority of people it's always there. There will always be someone older in your life who when you get to a certain age, you stop seeing them as that perhaps caring role, and you actually become either their carer, or you just start to see them in a different light. There is no longer this kind of hierarchy of familial ties, and they become a person, a real person with vulnerability and maybe funnier sides than you ever realised they had when you were growing up.

I think everyone goes through that. I'm going through it with my own parents to an extent where I look at them some days and go, ‘Oh my goodness. Why are you doing this?’ and then I think ‘Alright, you're a bit older. I'm gonna have to look out for that for you’, and I think the feedback that I've had is that people see their own relationships with either their parents, grandparents or carers in the show, and I think that is why audiences will continue to watch the shows, because it's a universal relationship that people can see and identify with.

● Finally, how would you sum up the show in one line?

Only Child is a relatable, family comedy that everyone can enjoy.

Interview/picture supplied by publicists