Interview: Steve Speirs Talks About New Sitcom The Tuckers: Page 3 of 3

By Bruce Dessau on 12/1/2020
News: Second Series For The Tuckers

Interview: Robert Pugh (Murphy Tucker)

What attracted you to the role of Murph?

The role was offered to me by Steve Speirs and I read it and I just loved it. Steve is quite mad and I loved the characters, and mine in particular seemed like a challenge!

Do you have any standout moments during filming?

Every day was filled with standout moments because they were such a good bunch and we were all just messing about and laughing all the time, particularly with Steve. We went into the studio to do some scenes and it was the middle of the summer so it was incredibly warm. Steve couldn’t stand the heat so we were just taking the mickey out him, because he was always wiping his brow and complaining!

What should the audience expect from the series?

Because I’m from the Valleys, I knew a couple of families exactly like the Tuckers. The family are just a bunch of mad and interesting characters trying to get by in life by any means. The characters have definitely drawn inspiration from real life individuals and families from the Valleys.

Tell us a bit about your co-stars and what it’s been like working with them?

I’ve known Steve for years it’s just such a good laugh to work with him. Sometimes it’s just laughter and no work! I’ve worked with Billy and Bobby before too and the whole family were brilliant. Alexandria Riley is a superb actress, just full of positivity and energy. They were all a great bunch.

 

Interview: Lynn Hunter (Peggy Tucker)

What attracted you to the role of Peggy Tucker?

She represents all those matriarchs of the Valleys. I was born and bred in the Valleys, in Merthyr Tydfil, and it’s a very matriarchal society where the men think they’re in charge, but the people who do all the work and hold everything together are the women!

Peggy is very much of that ilk. She’s surrounded by this hapless, incompetent family. She spends most her life undoing their mistakes and goes about it very quietly and without making much of a fuss or claiming the credit. I think that’s true of many families throughout the Valleys and Wales. Welsh mothers are very strong and powerful and although Peggy is Irish, it’s the same principle. She’s a very strong, feisty, no nonsense, deeply caring and protective person and what’s not to love about that? 

Do you have any standout moments during filming?

There are so many to be honest, but there is one right at the end of the series. The family have really been through hell in the six weeks filled with crazy antics. Right at the end there’s a moment where they think they’ve lost her brother, Murphy Tucker. There’s a lovely moment there and that’s the great thing about this comedy, there’s a load of moments that are touching. When we did that final episode, you really felt as though the cast were a family. The thought of losing one of them was very real and it stands out.

What should the audience expect from the series?

I think they’re going to love it! I think they should expect to laugh a lot at the antics of the family and what they get up to. They might also be quite moved by because they will identify with this group of people.

One of the great comedies, Only Fools And Horses, was very funny on the surface but you cared so much for the characters, if anything bad happened to them, you’d start to worry for them. I feel that it will be the same for the Tucker family too.

Tell us a little bit about your co-stars and what it was like working with them?

I’ve known Steve for a while but I’ve never worked with him before. We have massive amounts of respect for one another and he’s written Peggy as the most fabulous character. But the interesting thing is that although we only worked together for six weeks, we bonded almost immediately and we fell into those roles.

What’s really interesting is that in the show they call me Nan but very quickly, after about two weeks, Joshua McCord who plays Billy Tucker, started to refer to me as Nan all the time! He texts me now and again and it’s always “Hi Nan, how are you?” The other co-stars have started too now and it just feels right, we were just so bonded together.

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