On Brassic, Erin is the Mother Hen whether she likes it or not – and with a group as busy and chaotic as these lot, she’s definitely got her hands full.
As a proud mum to young Tyler, life is complicated for Erin. With an unbreakable bond with Vinnie, Tyler’s dad and her best mate, she’ll always have ties to Hawley - but with the gang’s heists getting more dangerous, will something push her over the edge?
Speaking ahead of series six, Michelle Keegan talks us through Erin’s personal journey, the decisions she finds herself having to make, and what the future may hold for her.
How excited are you for everybody to see series six?
You know what? It never, ever gets old, ever. It’s still such a loved show. It’s sort of an institution now. I get stopped all the time by different members of the public. Doesn’t matter what age, whether they’re from the north or the south. People just seem to love Brassic.
So, for me, it’s like a new year, new era, I’m just excited for people to see it.
What do you think the secret is to the success of the show?
The characters and obviously Danny’s brilliant writing. It’s not just a comedy. It’s also a show with a lot of heart running throughout, a lot of relatability. I think once people watch the show, they just fall in love with the characters. Not just one character, but all the characters. And I think the audience champion them as well.
There’s not one character in the show that I don’t think people won’t like or think they’re a bad person. Everyone’s got really lovely traits.
What do the fans say when they stop you and talk about the show?
The main one we get, obviously, because I play Erin, it’s about Vinnie, and when are they going to get together.
I think because we’ve been teasing the audience for so long, they’ve got a long history. We’ve seen them kiss, they’ve got Tyler together. It’s like, will they, won’t they, constantly. And I think Danny does a really good job of just teasing the audience from time to time, bringing their hopes up and then all of a sudden, they get dashed.
What are the fans like who turn up on location?
There’s a girl who turns up quite a lot and this series she brought me a mug with my dogs on and she gives me little gifts. She’s a massive, massive fan of the show. I think she’s got an account on Instagram called Brassica. I think she gets photos before anyone else, and she posts them on Instagram. It’s just lovely.
And even when we film at location houses or when we film in a pub, the people that work in the pub or within houses are often there and they’re just bringing us cakes and seeing if you want any sweets, giving us drinks. It’s like we are a part of the furniture.
What does the show and Erin mean to you personally after all these years?
The show in general means a lot to me. As you play different roles, you always bond with your character, and you always have a soft spot for them. With Erin, her journey in the show… it’s been mad! She’s gone on a personal journey as well, she sort of was running away from herself and what she knew and where she belonged at the beginning of the show, and she didn’t feel that was right for her.
And you see as the show progresses, her transition into, actually, this is me, and I’m proud of where I’m from and I’m proud of my friends. The growth in Erin is lovely to see. I do love Erin as a character. I really do.
Do you approach playing her any differently now to the first series?
You just know her. Your instincts take over, after six years of playing the same character, you sort of know how your character reacts in certain scenarios. And I do think with Erin, she’s sort of the mother hen of the group, so sometimes when I see lines, and it’s like, oh she’s moaning again at someone. Well, of course she would moan at someone. Of course she would. She has to keep them all in check. She’s the mum of the group. She’s always had that maternal instinct towards them.
How would you sum up series six?
It’s hard to sum it up. I just feel like as the series go on, they become more and more dangerous. The heists become bigger, the stakes are higher, and this one is definitely a lot more dangerous. There’s a lot more at stake. There’s a real emotional thread running through this whole series.
One death is particularly gruesome, what was it like to film?
Well, first, before we went on set, there was a dummy that was obviously made to be that character. It looks exactly like them with half a face! So, we haven’t even shot anything yet, and we just saw that. So I knew going into the scene exactly what it entailed. I was like, “OK, this is gonna be gruesome! This is gonna be big”.
It was a lot of stop and start, obviously, and a lot of camera tricks and things like that, and a lot of prosthetics. I remember the girls from makeup were mixing sugar, banana and red dye, so that was covered everywhere. So gross. It was a long scene to film. I haven’t seen it yet myself, but I think it looked great.
Erin is really impacted by this death, why?
It’s too much for Erin. It’s too much. There’s things like little heists and, you know, trying to get money here and there, but for Erin, there’s always a reason behind it. So last series when she tried to steal the money from the fairground, it was for her dad’s debts. There’s always a reason behind Erin being a part of the heist for the greater good.
This series she plans a heist to pinch a watch off a man who’s basically a pig. He’s a horrible man. He’s sexist, talks down to and doesn’t respect women. And that’s the reason why she does it. There’s always a reason behind why Erin does it, whereas something like this death, it’s just too big.
She’s actually witnessed something horrific and that’s going to change her, isn’t it? It’s going to change the group. They could go to prison for a very, very long time just by being in the room. She realises now how far the group will go, who they get involved with, and it’s just dangerous. And she’s got Tyler to think about. These heists started so small and they are getting bigger and bigger and more and more dangerous.
There’s a very random and funny flashback scene as part of the watch heist where Erin is a nurse, what was that like to film?
Well, we couldn’t film it because Steve and Archie were crying laughing. Honestly, it was the longest scene to film because they couldn’t stop laughing. They have to kiss and so because they knew it was coming up Steve was crying laughing on the couch. We had to do it numerous times. It was so funny.
As a cast you ad lib a lot during filming, do you mind that?
The boys are so quick and it’s hard because you don’t know what’s coming. I don’t like it because I always break! You don’t know whether to come in or not because you don’t know what’s your cue because it’s all changed. And they say the most random, hilarious things that you didn’t see coming, so it throws you anyway.
There are so many scenes that I’ve watched now in the past where you can tell that I’m about to break or I have broken. I turn my head. If you watch closely, you see people smirking quite a lot, biting their lip! They constantly keep you on your toes, and by the end of the day, you’re shattered.
The series ends with a massive cliffhanger, what did you think when you read that for the first time?
Their lives are on the line. It’s on a knife edge for all of them. I got a bit emotional at the end and someone else said they had a tear at the end as well.
It’s quite an emotional episode, that one, anyway. You have no idea what’s happened to the gang, but they do!
It’s a huge stunt, how was that to film?
It was so fun! We did it in a studio. You read the script and you think, “Oh my God, we are going to be filming outside in the Peak District, driving up mountains, whatever”. But it wasn’t. It was all done in the studio. Very cleverly done. We had green screens, it was cinematic. The scene was all choreographed, it was good fun! The stunts just seem to get bigger and bigger.
There is going to be a series seven, what would you like to happen to Erin if she’s still standing after series six?
It’s a hard one. I don’t think she’d move away. I don’t think her heart is in that. I think she needs to be around her gang because that’s also her family too. So I feel it’d be sad for her to move away on her own. I feel like her heart is with Vinnie and in Hawley with the rest of the group and I hope it all ends happily for her because she deserves it.
When you think back to filming this series, what’s the one memory that sticks in your mind?
Favourite moments for me is any episode where we film in the woods, Vinnie’s shack. I don’t know why. It’s like a feeling that you get. It’s always a night shoot and you’re surrounded by fairy lights and you’re there by the fire and we put a bit of music on in between takes and everyone’s just in a really lovely mood.
Although it’s freezing, we’re all wrapped in blankets and we’ve all got hot water bottles and I don’t know, there’s just something quite magical filming in the middle of the woods in the winter, having a laugh with your mates. It’s a proper Brassic vibe.
Did you have any cast evenings during filming?
Bronagh performed with her band in the place where we film the pub scenes, The Star and Garter. She performed in that pub which was epic. But we were quite tame, I think it’s because we are older now.
I mean, the first few seasons we did go out a bit more. But now as soon as we finish work, everyone just goes home. The first few seasons we all lived in the same block. So we’d just go around to each other’s and, you know, meet each other in the morning and have dinner at night together. Whereas now everyone’s got their own separate apartment or house and everyone’s got their own lives. We just go home and do our own thing. We’re all grown up.