Ackley Bridge: Interview with Jo Joyner who plays Mandy

29 May 2018

For anyone that is unfamiliar with the show, can you explain a bit about what Ackley Bridge is about?

Ackley Bridge is about a new flagship school up north which is an academy. Its main ambition is to unite a community which is 50% Asian and 50% white. What they have found up north is that a lot of areas were having schools that were becoming predominantly white or predominantly Asian and it wasn’t helping with the community. The big mission of Ackley Bridge is to bring the community together.

You play Mandy Carter: what can you tell us about her character and who she is?

Mandy is really driven. She believes passionately in the ethos of the school and the whole idea of bringing the community together and understanding each other’s cultures. She comes from a working class background herself so she’s no push over. She doesn’t take any excuses about why they might not be achieving and she’s kind of twice as driven because of her background. Rather than going off the rails she climbed up the ladder instead. So she can be a little bit serious, highly motivated, and she’s not always the most liked person in the school but it’s always for a good reason. The pupils and what they can achieve is at the heart of her mission rather than the figures.

And what was it that attracted you to the project?

I’m a big fan of Channel 4 full stop. Once I knew it was on Channel 4 I knew it would be a modern take on things and it would have some of the best people behind it. Being part of a Channel 4 thing… I haven’t done that probably properly since No Angels. I think Channel 4 is always ahead of the times. That was a big draw. And I think that in the current climate it’s a really great piece because of its forward thinking and because of its ideology. So those were the main draws at the time because there weren’t a lot of scripts! It’s got a really fantastic cast and I always enjoy working up north.

Mandy hasn’t got the most straightforward personal life. Is there anything that’s resolved for her as the series goes on?

No. Poor Mandy is working hard at school, working hard at home. When we met them last year her and Steve were on a rocky footing anyway because Steve had already had an affair and a baby with someone else and during the first series Mandy had kind of got even by having her own affair. By the time we arrive this year they’re not living together anymore but they are still really missing each other. It may turn out they can’t live with each other, can’t live without each other. Definitely throughout this series they have a lot of ups and downs. The path of true love doesn’t run very smoothly, is all I can say.

You get the sense that Mandy is probably quite lonely, given that she’s been promoted above her colleagues. What are your thoughts on that? Do you think she’s quite a lonely person?

Yeah, I do. I think that what’s lovely is that in episodes seven and eight we get to know Mandy a bit better – we get to know in episode 8 what’s really driven her. We get to see her home life and where she’s come from. Mandy, she is an only child, so she’s been forging ahead on her own ever since she was tiny really so she is used to kind of carving her own path. People like that can be quite hard to get close to and get to know and loosen up a bit. Hopefully through this series people will have a better understanding as to why she is a bit of a lone wolf on a mission.

Obviously you film in Halifax. What’s that like? Do you enjoy being up there? What do you think of the place?

We stay in a place called Hebden Bridge which is really lovely. It is absolutely stunning up towards Leeds. I’ve always been really fond of Manchester and Leeds. For me the difference between Leeds and Manchester to getting home is a bit too far though. I would like it if Halifax were a bit closer to the Midlands! But yeah, everyone is really friendly and we all feel very comfortable up there now. It’s nice because they know the show this time around so it’s been great.

Your character works with Paul Nicholls who you’ve worked with before. Does it help if you have a shorthand and a familiarity with other cast members? Does that make it an easier working environment?

Yeah definitely. I love working with Paul, he’s a really great actor and we get along well. It does make it very easy on set because we do work in quite a similar way as well. You get a scene and neither of us really know how it’s going to turn out and we know that take after take we’ll do something different and surprise each other. We’re very similar kind of actors actually, instinctive. A bit like when I work with Jake, it’s always really easy and it makes your job easier. I just genuinely enjoy it. I really love working with Paul. This is the third time and it’s been great. He’s fantastic.

Do you find on a second series of something it’s a bit easier because you’ve got a rapport going with people, you’ve got a relationship because you’ve worked with them before?

It’s always really lovely to get a chance to do a series again. I’ve been really fortunate since leaving EastEnders to do a lot of new series. A lot of them have gone again for another series. There’s something really special about starting up a series with a whole company with a crew and a cast and producers and the art directors. You can all get a say on developing the characters and what their set looks like and their home looks like. You get really involved in it which is really special and really lucky. If you get to do a second series it’s even better because by then yourself and the company know what you’re making and know what you’re trying to achieve. There’s always a concern about pleasing the channel and the audience, but once you’ve set up a show and it went all right, and you know the things that didn’t work and the things that did work, getting a chance to go back and make the best of it is always really lucky. So it’s been really lovely.

How has it been working with a large cast of kids?

The kids are fantastic. We’ve got well-seasoned cast members like Amy and Poppy who are really experienced and professional. They are really lovely to be around. We’ve got some close friendships with them now. Equally we have an extended young cast who are fantastic. Some are street cast and they may not know everything we know about the job but they bring a lovely enthusiasm and energy to the set. They are excited and happy to be there, whereas some of us can get a bit complacent and we can forget how lucky we are, they’re fresh enthusiasm reminds us.

What kind of a head teacher do you think you’d make?

I’ve got a lot of teachers in the family and I think I would be good at coming up with lessons but actually teaching them… I’m not as patient as the rest of my family like my husband who is a teacher. I don’t think I would be the best at putting up with that level of noise and energy all day!

What were you like at school?

I loved school. I could have been a perpetual student, I want to do a degree in everything and I do like learning so I’m lucky in that sense. A big part of it was the social element; you wanted to go to school because you didn’t want to miss out on the gossip and what was happening that week.                

What else have you got coming up?

I go straight onto the second series of the comedy Porters when I finish Ackley Bridge so I’ll go straight into filming that through the summer. Then I am going to start the second series of Shakespeare and Hathaway up until Christmas, so a nice variety of things.