Jemima Rooper's latest role in The Famous Five season 2 is something of a full circle moment.
The Geek Girl and The Inheritance star got her big break in the 1990s playing George in ITV's adaptation of Enid Blyton's The Famous Five novels — and now she's guest-starring as Angela Clutterbuck in the latest episode of CBBC's new adaptation of the stories, titled "Mystery At The Prospect Hotel".
The episode sees Julian (Elliott Rose), George (Diaana Babnicova), Dick (Kit Rakusen) and Anne (Flora Jacoby Richardson), along with Timmy the dog (Kip), all receiving mysterious invites to stay at the Prospect Hotel. Upon arriving, they discover that their old frenemy Thomas Wentworth (Jack Gleeson) is a guest there, and he warns them that he has had a premonition in which famous jazz singer Cab Vee (His Dark Materials star Amir Wilson) — who is also staying at the hotel — is murdered by an unseen assailant.
Determined to save Cab's life, the Five set about interrogating the hotel's other residents to see who might have means, motive and opportunity to kill Cab and stop them in their tracks before they can carry out the deed — and two of the suspects include Angela and her domineering mother (Rita Tushingham).
We caught up with Jemima to find out how she feels about being a part of The Famous Five once again...
Jemima Rooper interview for The Famous Five
What can you tell us about your role in the new Famous Five adventure?
"I play Angela Clutterbuck, the very henpecked daughter of Miss Clutterbuck. It's so fun — her mum is deeply unpleasant, but the relationship is so brilliant when you're reading it, and Rita is just joyous! Miss Clutterbuck is one of those characters that you hate, but you also secretly quite love them. I have a little history with the writer of this [Guy Andrews, who also wrote the 2008 miniseries Lost in Austen which Jemima starred in], so I was very pleasantly surprised to see his name on the script. He always does a very good line in witty banter, and even the stage directions are funny. It's always a joy if you get sent a script that makes you laugh!"
You played George in a previous adaptation in the 1990s — how have you found being part of a new Famous Five series as an adult?
"It's amazing — and bizarre! I look at these delightful young people and I keep saying, 'we were not like that, we were awful!'. It's interesting to see young people today and then think back on what we were like, but doing the series was one of the happiest times of my life, and I have so much affection for that period of time — everything I learnt, and all the people I worked with. I had been a fan of the books growing up, and I had a genuine connection to the character of George. I remember that auditioning for it meant a lot to me. Diaana is just fabulous and brilliant, and it's so nice watching it mean something for a whole new generation. I think they've done a really fabulous job of keeping it period, but modernising it so it's fresh. It feels very separate from what we did in the 1990s, but I also recognise so much of it."
Are you excited to be part of a show that the whole family can watch over Christmas?
"Yes — I live in hope that I'm finally in something that my kids might actually watch! There are so many witty jokes in it, and so many things that I think the grown-ups watching will enjoy too."
Were you excited to work with Kip, who plays Timmy the dog? And how did he compare to the Timmy from your series?
"Aw, my Timmy! He was a fabulous dog. I remember being very pleased when I saw a picture of this cast, because the dog is very, very important to me — in the 1970s adaptation, they had a border collie, which was wrong! [laughs] I'm sure it was a very clever dog and a very good actor, but Timmy was always a mutt, a shaggy mutt, which ours was. Kip has beautiful eyes, and it's made me very nostalgic for Connal, who played our Timmy — he was the most amazing dog. I spent lots of time with Gill Raddings, his trainer. They had the most beautiful relationship; I think Connal was a rescue dog and he used to sit in the front of her car and just gaze at her. He was so devoted, and he would do anything — you could get him to bark on command or jump into your arms, it was amazing!"
Have you noticed a lot of difference in the way things work for child actors now compared to when you were one?
"Yeah — I think it's probably harder for the kids now, because they're much stricter about the hours they can work, and the tutoring and stuff. They handle it brilliantly, but we used to be there all day, we'd block our scenes, we'd be there for lines off-camera or whatever, whereas they come in for such a short burst and they have to be so on it and engaged — then they get taken away and they've got to put their school heads on. But they're brilliant. They're much more professional than me!"
- The Famous Five: Mystery At The Prospect Hotel is available on BBC iPlayer from Monday December 23. It also airs on CBBC on Monday December 23 at 5.25pm, and on BBC1 on New Year's Eve at 10.20am.
