Freema Agyeman is known for her acclaimed dramatic roles in shows as wide-ranging as Law & Order: UK, Sense8, New Amsterdam and of course Doctor Who — but the star is dipping her toe into new territory with a more comedic turn in Sky Atlantic's new series Dreamland.
Set in the Kent seaside town of Margate — home to the much-loved amusement park that the series takes its name from — Dreamland follows the lives of four very different sisters: Trish (Freema Agyeman), Mel (Lily Allen), Clare (Gabby Best) and Leila (Aimee-Ffion Edwards).
As the series begins, Trish is pregnant and holding a very special party to ensure she has a daughter, but the celebrations are interrupted by the unexpected return of Mel, who's been away working and living in Paris — and while Clare and Leila are happy to be reunited with their sister, Trish is far from thrilled to see her.
We caught up with Freema to find out more about her latest role...
Freema Agyeman interview for Dreamland
What can you tell us about Trish?
"When we meet her, she is organising a 'manifestival' — which is a party to try and manifest a girl, because she's pregnant! She's married and she has two boys, and we learn quite quickly into the first episode that she's had three miscarriages in the past two years, so this is quite a tense and heightened time for her.
"She initially comes across as having this incredibly strong, tough exterior — she's very fiery, very front-footed, and she's this deeply devoted family member, a part of this huge working-class, salt-of-the-earth family and she likes to place herself at the core of most things! But also she's a hustler, she's fighting for a better life for her own immediate family, for her children. She wants to move off the estate — the show addresses so many brilliant themes, social mobility being one of them."
What's Trish's relationship with Mel like?
"Basically, over the course of the series, in terms of their characters, we see how fiercely in love these two girls can be with each other, but just how equally fiercely they can utterly hate each other!
"They have this incredibly complicated and dysfunctional relatiosnhip, and I think that stems from their childhood, and from feelings of jealousy on Mel's part towards Trish for the affection she received from their mum, and then a feeling of exclusion on the part of Trish for how much more Mel actually looked like their mother and part of their family as a whole.
"I think when they are in a place of love, it's like they beat with the same heart, but when they fall out, it's just explosive!"
What was it like working with Lily Allen?
"With this job we were so spoiled because we got rehearsal time, so we were able to work together, and explore the script together, and get to know each other — that's so important. It was fascinating to hear her story of getting into this game because she went straight in at the deep end of course, that's our Lily!
"There's a fearlessness about her and a resilience which I think is going to stand her in really good stead in this business. But she has a really healthy sense of self-deprecation, she feels obviously able to say 'I don't understand what this means', or 'can you explain this more?'. By asking questions and being open, this is how we learn, so I think she's standing herself in good stead!"
We know you primarily for dramatic roles. How did you feel about playing a more comedic part in this show?
"One of the many, many things that appealed to me about this script is that it is a comedic drama — or a dramatic comedy, or a dark comedy, or however we want to talk about it — so there is a healthy amount of both. I think it's testimony to the calibre of the team and the writers that they can talk about such serious issues and themes but it be so incredibly funny as well.
"I did initially think, 'oh, it's a comedy, I'm not a comedic actor, what do I do?' — but you don't have to gild a lily! I think the laughter comes from the situation, comedy and drama walk hand-in-hand in life."
How did you find filming in Margate?
"Margate is such an interesting, complex and colourful place, it's got a real unique vibe. I went there as a kid, but I haven't been there as an adult, and it was nice to go and experience that.
"Since lockdown, since the world turned upside down, I have been spending more time holidaying at home and along our beautiful coastlines, so that was great for me. While I was in Margate, I also went to Ramsgate and Broadstairs and just explored around. It felt like we were at camp, being there: it was that really hot summer we had, the sun was shining, people would go for swims in the morning and walk along the seafront to work with a coffee in their hand. It just felt really joyful!"
Dreamland launches on Sky Atlantic on Thursday, April 6 at 9 pm. The full series will be available at launch on Sky Box Sets and NOW.
