Lydia West - who plays Eddie
Category: Press Pack ArticleWhat were your initial thoughts when you first read the scripts for Big Mood and what made you want to get involved?
When I read them, I was like this is chaotic and hilarious but somehow also devastating and heart-breaking. I could really associate with both Eddie and Maggie's characters, being set in East London it just felt real – these are the type of characters I always wanted to stick my teeth into. We had a meeting about it before it was picked up by Channel 4 and I just said yes, please attach me to it. So many of these shows you hope they get made and then you never hear anything. We all love Channel 4, it’s the perfect home for Big Mood!
What was it like on set?
Having Camilla (Whitehill) there every day was amazing, I could just ask her anything about the script – what do you mean by this or what was that? What’s their relationship like at this moment? It's so nice to have that clarity. And then our director Rebecca (Asher) is such a sensitive and kind director, it felt so safe - we had so much to fit in seven weeks so just having that support was so amazing. Working with Nicola, and so many other amazing actors meant all these genuine friendships formed on set, it was such an amazing place to be in. Everyone was there for a good time and to tell a good story - I think that really starts from the top down.
Who is Eddie?
Eddie is in her 30’s, living in London, she’s taken over her dad's bar who recently passed away and is best friends with Maggie. Eddie is going through her own kind of things with managing her anger and bad relationships - toxic relationships with men. Maggie has bipolar disorder and is trying to deal with these mental health issues. Eddie’s issues are almost overshadowed by Maggie’s. She's trying to be there for her and support her through her stuff, but it means all of Eddie’s issues go under the radar and aren’t really discussed. She's not good at talking about what she needs until much later in the series. She's trying to make it work, living in London, not much money, not much idea of what she wants to be or do, and she has this love story with Maggie who is her best friend. They have very similar interests. They really are each other's rock.
What is her relationship with Maggie like?
I think they both had friendships throughout their 20s that haven’t lasted but these two survived. They left behind a lot of people that didn't have similar values or humour. They're both quite distant from their families, I think their families don't really understand them but they are each other's family. And I think Eddie likes to take care of Maggie and she likes to nurture Maggie and feels responsible for her. I think that helps her self-esteem, it's quite a co-dependent relationship.
Are there any similarities between you and Eddie?
She’s very different from me, but I can understand that part of living in London in your 30s, for me, it was a bit younger, but trying to find the right friendship group, trying to find your click and find your people and realise what you want. It was a lot about going out, drinking, dating men, I think I could have related to her in the past for that. What I found challenging and exciting was playing how angry Eddie is and how grief is affecting her. That was a challenge for me to figure out what she's going through. There are parts of the story that I haven't had to deal with.
Do you think other people will see themselves in Eddie?
I think there's a moment in the story which a lot of young women go through - the decision to start a family or not, and how that impacts someone. I think that's a really sensitive topic that a lot of women our age have had to deal with in silence, without friends or family support. There’s parts of Eddie and Maggie, young women and young people in friendships will be able to relate to, because you just do what you can for those who love you and those you love.
Any funny moments from set?
We were in Wet Mouth for two weeks and by the end, we were just delirious we were shooting quite late at night, and at the time we were all really obsessed with Vanderpump Rules. So, we would do these TikToks about different rules, like dancing and it was just delirium, and then you'd see characters dressed as Love Actually characters and the whole thing just felt bonkers. We just had so many laughs.
Why should people watch Big Mood?
Also, I watched the last episode for the first time and didn't imagine feeling this, but episode 6 felt like a thriller to me - and then by the end episode I was like what is going to happen with their friendship?