Two Doors Down season 7 is here so What To Watch caught up with the show’s stars, Alex Norton and Jonathan Watson, to learn more!
Warning: spoilers beyond this point
Put the kettle on and brace yourselves, as Scottish sitcom Two Doors Down returns with a whirlwind new series and the reappearance of gale-force fan-favourite, Cathy!
Starting out as a one-off Hogmanay special back in 2013, this week the endearing comedy about a collection of dysfunctional neighbours living in the fictional Latimer Crescent enters its seventh series and moves from its traditional home on BBC Two to BBC One.
The main cast is back, including patient Beth (Arabella Weir), less-patient Eric (Alex Norton), straight-talking Ian (Jamie Quinn), tightly-wound Gordon (Kieran Hodgson) and hypochondriac Christine (Elaine C. Smith). And, after a season away, Doon Mackichan returns as deliciously egotistical Cathy, making a brazen re-entrance after unceremoniously dumping husband Colin (Jonathan Watson) last year!
Here, in exclusive interviews, original cast members Alex Norton, 73, who plays mild-mannered Eric, and Jonathan Watson, 65, who stars as tactless Colin, tell us more…
Two Doors Down — series 7 interview with Alex Norton and Jonathan Watson
Were you thrilled when you learned Doon was returning for series seven?
JONATHAN: “I was one of the first to know and I was absolutely delighted when I got the call. I love working with Doon. As soon as we started filming during the summer it was as if she’d never been away.”
ALEX: “It’s absolutely great. She’s such a big force in the show — literally! When people stop me they always say ‘that mad neighbour is fantastic!’ Doon enjoyed doing other things and taking some time off, but we’re all glad she’s back with Cathy’s high stakes lunacy!”
Can you reveal how Cathy comes home?
JONATHAN: “Colin struggled and missed Cathy terribly at first last year… until he found Tinder, which shows you what a shallow individual he is! When this series starts he’s organising a surprise birthday party for his new girlfriend Anne-Marie [Siobhan Redmond] and it ends up more of a surprise than anybody can believe! I think viewers will want to see Colin and Cathy together…”
ALEX: “Eric tries to give Colin some friendly advice when Cathy returns, but he doesn’t take it because he’s glad she’s back and thinks they’re bonded, which is all to the good!”
Siobhan Redmond isn’t playing Anne-Marie this series and we’re not going to lie… We’re a wee bit disappointed there won’t be a Cathy/Anne-Marie crossover — Doon and Siobhan are both such excellent comedy actors!
JONATHAN: “It’s not going to happen, well certainly not in the series we shot recently. It’s just one of those things. The best thing to do is to imagine it!”
ALEX: “Sparks would fly if Anne-Marie went toe-to-toe with Cathy, but Siobhan was quite happy just to let go. I can’t think of anyone who could have played Anne-Marie better, she was up for everything — remember last series when she came in with a bowl of peas, tripped and ended up face down in the peas and carpet? Brilliant! It's not everybody who would do that.
“I’ve known her for years. She was my boss in Taggart for a while and my fiancée in a one-off true TV drama set in 18th century Edinburgh called Deacon Brodie with Billy Connolly as the title character. I’ve the highest respect for her. She’s terrific.”
What’s it like when Doon’s playing Cathy at her most heightened?
ALEX: “It's fabulous. It’s like standing near an electrical transformer. She's got incredible energy. Doon doesn't exactly stay in character but she tends to keep it going and switches it on to full power when the cameras are turning. When the cameras are off she just goes down to a low hum, but is still Cathy!”
JONATHAN: “Materialist, insensitive and selfish people like Colin and Cathy exist. I don’t think Colin and Cathy are over the top — we don’t crank it up for the camera, if anything we pull it back a wee bit!”
Can you tease what else happens during the new series?
JONATHAN: “Ian holds Cathy to account and stands up to her in the first episode! In episode three an old flame of Ian’s comes back and some of the things Colin comes out with — he’s got no filter!”
ALEX: “Ian and Gordon got engaged in the last series and are now talking about the wedding, which is brilliant because there’s so much potential for things to go wrong! Gordon’s parents Sandra and Graham [Alexander Kirk and Maggie O'Neill reprising their series 4 guest roles] are back and they’re so good.”
Who finds it hardest to keep a straight face during filming?
BOTH: “Elaine C. Smith!”
ALEX: “She’s the worst giggler in the world! When we’re filming so many times we crack up on set and have to reshoot. We go back a long way, Elaine and I, and always make each other laugh. If even a little thing goes wrong, I can’t look at her, because when I see that wee twitch at the corner of her mouth it sets me off!”
JONATHAN: “She pulls this face that makes her look about eight-years old — very like her grandchild actually! — and that sets me off. That and Alex carrying a tray of crockery, promising to be quiet. The slightest clink of China gets me going! If the hilarity gets too much we’re very quickly put back in place and reminded that we’ve got a schedule to keep!”
Do you have a favourite episode?
ALEX: “My personal favourite is the one where Eric’s got a sore arse. [‘Eric’s Colon’ Series 3]. He’s had a wee operation and spends the whole episode face down on the couch with cushions under him and his bum in the air… You know, complete lack of dignity! Of course the neighbours all come in with their suggestions and he just wants rid of everybody. I’ve watched that a few times and it really makes me laugh.”
JONATHAN: “I have happy memories from loads of episodes so it's quite difficult to choose... There’s one called ‘Fish Friday’ [Series 3], it was for Beth’s birthday and was filmed in a pub in Glasgow. Cathy was away and Colin got absolutely hammered! I really enjoyed that one, it was great fun and we had a laugh doing it.”
Deepest sympathies on the sad passing of Two Doors Down’s co-creator Simon Carlyle in August…
ALEX: “Thank you. We finished the last shot on the last day and were all hugging each other and saying ‘great work, terrific, well done everybody’. Then a few days later we got a phone call. We were completely stunned. I don’t know what they’ll do now that Simon isn’t here any more. He and his co-writer Gregor Sharp are a great team. Simon initiated the series based on characters he knew growing up. Everybody loved him. He was a very clever man and a very clever writer. It’s a great loss.”
JONATHAN: “The honest answer is we don't know [if Two Doors Down will return], but we’d all like it to and Simon wanted to do more. It may be a lovely legacy to him if we continue, but we’ll just have to wait and see. It’s still pretty raw.”
What do you think is the secret to the show’s success?
ALEX "It’s really funny! There’s a truth behind it and I’ve always felt that comedy needs to be truthful. There’s an old adage, ‘Comedy is tragedy with its trousers down.’ You know, life trips us all up and we keep on slipping on the banana peel that we didn’t see. I think Door Doors Down is a classic comedy in that sense, with Beth and Eric as the calm centre of this storm of craziness."
JONATHAN "Yes, and I think that’s why people can relate to all the characters— people like that really do exist. It never ceases to amaze me how warmly the programme is received.
"I think when you strip everything away it comes down to Gregor and Simon’s writing. When we did the one-off ten years ago nobody for a second assumed it would go to a series. It was only the response it got on social media that really made them think, ‘wait a minute, we might have something here.’ It's a real privilege to be in it right from the get-go; I'm very proud to be part of it.”
Two Doors Down season 7 — episode guide, guest stars and everything you need to know
Two Doors Down series 7 debuts on BBC1 on Friday, November 24 2023 at 9.30pm with a hilarious episode entitled 'Cathy's Come Home. The new six-part series will air weekly on Fridays on BBC1 and be boxsetted on BBC iPlayer.
