Interview with Charlotte Spencer for Glue

3 September 2014

Charlotte Spencer plays Tina Fallon

The following feature is available free for reproduction in full or in part.

How would you describe Glue?
It’s about a group of friends from the countryside. One of these friends dies and their world falls apart, so it’s about what happens after that, the consequences of it.

Who do you play?
I play Tina, she’s a female jockey. She’s very loving, a very strong character. She doesn’t take any rubbish from anyone – but she’s got a heart of gold.

Who does she interact with?
She interacts with everyone – she has a connection with everyone in the group in some way. She’s very close friends with Annie (Jessie Cave) and goes out with Rob (Jordan Stephens).

What did you think of the script when you first read it?
I thought it was amazing. The storyline is brilliant, the writing is just so incredible. We were rehearsing one day and the director asked us to do this one scene in one way – really quiet – and then to do the same scene in different way – really angry. And it just really worked no matter how you did it, which is the sign of great writing for an actor. I’m a huge fan of Jack [writer Jack Thorne], I loved This is England.

How much does the countryside play a part in it?
I think it has quite a significant role because it’s basically very isolated there – in this village everyone knows everyone’s business, it’s quite close knit, everyone knows everyone. So it plays a big part in the story.

What were the scenes like with horses?
I’d ridden a couple of times when I was a kid but not very much. I took to it quite fast and I loved it – unfortunately I couldn’t do all of the big dangerous stunts but I really wanted to! I had people telling me not to go any faster and I was like ‘Please!’

Did you have any training?
I had a crash course of eight lessons. I was doing a bareback ride at one point, so without a saddle, and it was so ridiculous because I just slipped off the horse when he was standing still – it shocked the horse so much that I was on the floor because he’d just been standing there!

What was it like filming in the countryside? Did you guys hang out together?
We’d hang out a lot, we all just gelled really quickly, we’d all ring each other up when we were not filming and hang out or go and eat together.

Were you pining for the city by the end of it?
I was mainly pining for good coffee, that was what I missed the most! I missed Monmouth.

Are you a country or city girl?
I’m a mixture really because my family live in Essex which is quite out in the country, and obviously I work in London. I like a bit of both!

Can you liken it to anything else?
I honestly can’t liken it to anything else. When I was first approached for it I thought ‘oh it’s just going to be a twist on Skins’, but it feels so different from anything we’ve seen before. We managed to see an early version of it and the room just went silent – it was just so good! I can’t compare it to anything else.

Are you a fan of crime drama?
I did Line of Duty [playing Carly Kirk in the BBC Two drama] – so I do love them if they’re done well. It’s a great genre.

There’s a lot of secrets uncovered in the series, can you tell us a secret?
I just ate a whole pot of ice cream to myself. Literally just now the Ben and Jerry’s carton is staring at me. My sister had some of it too…but I polished it off.

Any anecdotes from set? Who was the biggest joker?
Jordan was the joker, of course! There were a few times he was naked and he did like to flash his bum – I was like ‘oh please, just cover it up!’

ENDS.