Sharon Rooney interview for series 2 of My Mad Fat Diary

4 February 2014

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If Glaswegian Sharon Rooney, the star of E4’s My Mad Fat Diary, was ever worried that she wouldn’t get away with playing an English girl from Lincolnshire, her fears were assuaged at the start of this year after she starred in a BBC comedy drama, Two Doors Down. Afterwards, she received several tweets from fans telling her that her accent needed work.  She was playing a Glaswegian.

If that is a measure of how much fans associate her with the part of Rae Earl, it is a role that Rooney is happy to take on. Here, ahead of series two, she talks about why Rae means so much to her, what it’s like filming intimate scenes, and what the reaction to series one has been like.

To set the scene, what sort of a place is Rae in when the series picks up?

When the series comes back, Rae is in quite a good place. She’s had a great summer, she’s feeling quite settled within the gang, she’s alright. We pick up directly after the first series ended so she still has to deal with the revelations at the wedding, and people have questions – but I think she feels she’s self-confident enough to deal with that.  Her and Finn are getting on great, and it’s all kind of good until she gets the news that college starts much sooner than she thought. And then the old feelings start to creep back in…

And what are her feelings about college?

I think for Rae, because she missed some school when she was poorly and in hospital, she’s not been in that kind of environment for quite a while, she’s not been around mass groups of people.  And I don’t think she had the best time in school.  So for her, going to college – it’s not just going back to school for another term, it’s totally different. I remember my first day at college – it’s really daunting; there’s no uniform, no makeup restrictions, people kind of wear what they want, do what they want, there’s cliques, there’s older people, you’ve got a lot more free time during the day, different classes.  I think she’s put the thought of college in a little space, on the back burner, worry about it later – and then she realises that actually it’s like five days away and she’s not ready.  She’s not prepared at all.

Talking of wearing your own clothes, I loved the scene where she’s in the Oasis t-shirt and everyone else is in Blur….

That’s just one of those things, because that’s what college is like. You think that you’re cool and you’ve got a certain outfit and then you realise, no, actually everybody is listening to something else. So I do feel for her because she tried, she obviously thought, ‘what could I wear that that will blend in’, but it backfired on her. Plus Rae’s Mum is wearing her t-shirts as well so she’s not doing well on the t-shirt front!

That’s interesting, you remember the feeling of being daunted and starting off somewhere new. Are you able to call on your own experiences of feeling insecure about stuff in your past and does that help you with the role?

Not really, I’ve never been in the same place that way. I’ve always blended in. I was never one of the cool kids – I was the funny one who liked doing accents. But I remember I went to two different colleges  - one was a kind of university – and each time I remember the first time I went to the building and looked up, oh my goodness, that is the biggest building I have ever seen in my life! It was huge. And it’s not at all, it’s just a normal building.  It’s like when you go back to your old school and it’s tiny.  It’s so small. But at the time it’s huge and it’s scary.  I think it’s like that for Rae.

Do you feel quite close to the character of Rae? Do you feel almost protective of her?

Yes. Very protective of her. But, this year there have been times when I have wanted to hug her and there have been also been times when I have wanted to smack her bum and give her a time out because she pushes her luck this year, on more than one occasion!  I remember someone said to me in an interview, ‘is it important to you that everyone likes Rae all the time’, and I thought, nah, not at all. Because if everybody liked her all the time then I’ve failed at my job. My job is to make it real, and I hope this year that people will see that because it took me some courage to go with it. And that’s why Tom Bidwell [My Mad Fat Diary writer] is such a genius at what he does.

Rae’s relationship with her Mum has always been quite strained in the past so what can we expect from that little dynamic in the series…..

I would watch out for that this year. Her Mum is behaving so bizarrely, and being so annoying.  She puts on these clothes, she’s flaunting her great relationship with Karim, she’s married now.  But she’s still mad at Rae, she’s nagging her, she’s crying all the time, and because Rae’s got so much going on, it’s just another little thing for her to be dealing with. But there’s a lot more to come from that dynamic, and at times it’s brilliant and fun and at other times, it is heart-breaking. Like really heart-breaking. That’s what it’s like for Rae, being a little bit naughty, and a little bit bad.

What’s going on with the rest of the gang?

Archie is still struggling – obviously Rae knows his secret [he came out to Rae in series 1] – but no one else does, so how long is that going last realistically?  Not giving too much away, but someone with a big mouth (but a heart of gold) gets involved. Chloe is still being typical Chloe, who casually and lovingly reminds Rae that not only is college starting, but that she’s also still a virgin. Izzy is also reminded that she’s a virgin, and her and Chop still seem to be getting on brilliantly…for now. And Finn is being his usual lovely, brooding self…  

Do you find filming the more intimate scenes difficult or embarrassing?

No, it’s funny. We just have a laugh. That’s kind of my rule for myself, if we’re not having fun, we need to fix it. And we play tricks on each other all the time, which is great. We’ve played some crackers on each other this year.  I think sometimes people forget that it’s not just awkward for the actors, it’s also awkward for the room of people! But that’s the beauty of working on My Mad Fat Diary, everyone is such a team so you never ever feel exposed or scared or nervous because everyone is on your side, so it’s brilliant. It’s fun, we just have a laugh. The worse the scene is, the more of a laugh that we have.

What kind of tricks do you play on each other?

Nico is going to kill me. Well, sometimes we’ll stick things to places that other people have to touch. Obviously over underwear, so that they’ve got something to… I can’t believe I’ve just told you that! Or we’ll just wind each other up, but the more horrific the scene is on telly, the better time we’re having and annoying everyone, and laughing too much.

A new guy comes into Rae’s life at the end of Episode 1, Liam, tell me about how he fits into the story?

Liam is kind of the only person in Rae’s life who is pretty much like Rae, if that makes sense. He uses the term ‘f*cked up’ quite a bit, and he’s absolutely adamant that he’s f*cked up, she’s f*cked up, people don’t change – deal with it and accept it.  And there’s no grey area with him, whereas Rae accepts that she has problems and she has to work through them, and that some days she’s going to feel good and some days she’s not, and that’s okay. But with Liam there’s no manoeuvre. That’s the way it is and that’s it. But he’s also able to understand in a way that sometimes the others don’t. And she manages to understand him in a way that other people don’t. We have these kind of deep connections – but it’s whether they are good for each other or not, are they making each other worse? Turlough who plays Liam is an absolute great guy to work with – he’s a fantastic actor but also a fantastic person – he was a brilliant addition. All the new cast are great because I think it must be hard to come in with such a close knit gang, but they just joined and it was great.

So as a cast you are really close? Have you stayed in touch when you’re not filming?

Yeah.  Me and Jodie are really close, really good friends, we text most days and speak to each other. And I speak to Ciara, Dan, Nico, Jordan – we speak to each other all the time!  I stay in touch with everyone, much to their annoyance, I’m sure. [Laughs].

And there is a big bombshell at the end of Episode 1 isn’t there? I know that you can’t reveal it but it will be quite devastating really?

It was devastating for me. I found that very difficult as it’s very close to something that happened to me before the first series started, so I found that very hard to…those aren’t pretend tears, they’re real tears. I think though that it’s so important, that’s why Tom Bidwell is such a genius because the things that we deal with in the show, they’re not pretend, they’re real things and the consequences are shown throughout the series if you don’t get the help that you need.  I think the way that it’s done, it’s not forced and hopefully people can take from it because it’s done so beautifully. 

And on that subject, what kind of reaction did you get? Did you get letters with teenagers who were struggling with issues?

I got quite a lot actually which was very humbling and I felt very honoured that people wanted to take the time to write to me with their experiences. I found it quite hard at first – I felt that I was responsible for the whole world and each person, but unfortunately I’m not qualified to do that!  So all I do is read them and feel blessed that they have shared it with someone.  And it’s not just younger people – older people, men too, men and women, all different ages, anyone really, and they just feel like the show has helped them to understand that they are not alone, that they are not a bad person for the way that they feel.  I feel that even in this day and age people feel like they don’t have the right to be mentally ill, and I just think, if you broke your foot you would get an x-ray, and put it in a plaster cast and let it heal. And then you would do exercise to get it back to full health.  It’s the same if you’re mentally unwell – go and speak to someone. It’s fine.  The letters that make me really chuffed are the ones that say that you have portrayed it really well – because my fear that I wasn’t going to do it properly.

Do you feel quite a sense of responsibility playing a role like this?

Definitely – the worst thing would be if someone said ‘that’s not how it is’.  I’ve done a lot of research and we’ve got people help that you can speak to about how things work or what things mean, because nothing is taken lightly.  Before the first series I did a lot of research and I spoke to a lot of people. The same with this series with the issues we tackle, I’ve spoken to people, I’ve run things past people so that it’s as real as it can be.  But I’ve also had to learn that the world’s mental health problems are not for me to tackle. I’ve realised that I can encourage people to seek help, that’s all I can do.  

And did you find that you got recognised quite a lot when the series went out?

Yes.  It’s taken me awhile to get used to it!  Where I live, everyone is so supportive, they just want to talk to you. I think I was scared at first, I mean, I wouldn’t go anywhere on my own!  But people are nice, really they just want to come and speak to you.

A lot of people must be surprised by your Glaswegian accent?

The funniest thing is that I was on a show on Hogmanay and I spoke in my own accent. I had about six tweets saying your Scottish accent is rubbish, you really need to work on your Scottish accent! And I thought, I don’t know how to take that!  I can take it from the point of that at least my other accent is convincing, but it made me laugh. I said to my Dad, ‘how long do you think it will be before my Scottish accent is rubbish?’ And he said don’t be silly, everyone knows you’re Scottish.  Then I checked my feed the next day and just couldn’t stop laughing. There were genuine tweets ‘You should get a voice coach!’ [Laughs]

Speaking of being Scottish, you were nominated for a Scottish BAFTA that must have been amazing?

Yeah. It was a bit of overwhelming, it was a bit of a double whammy with having the Breakthrough BAFTA and then being nominated for a Scottish BAFTA, it was kind of surreal. And I was nominated beside two of my favourite Scottish actors so I kind of felt like I had won anyway. I mean there’s a big age difference and to be the only girl among Peter Mullan and Ford Kiernan – if someone was to ask me my favourite Scottish actors they would be the ones out of my mouth!  So it was wicked, it was brilliant and to present an award, I don’t know, it feels a bit like – not Cinderella, but kind of like Cinderella – I don’t want someone to say it’s time to go home!  

Are you still in contact with Rae [the show is based on Rae Earl’s real-life diaries]?

Very much still in contact with her.

And do you get in touch and ask her for little tip or information when you’re filming?

No, not at all. In the first series, Rae was very clear that she wanted me to do my own interpretation of Rae.  She didn’t want me trying to be her now, because who she is now and who she was is not the same – as it would be with anyone from when they’re a sixteen year old girl to when they are 40.  So we just talk about rubbish, the same rubbish that everyone talks about.  But she’s become a constant figure in my life, she’s always there, she’s always got advice. She’s quite an amazing human-being. I’m in awe of her.

So lastly Sharon, very pleased to see you popping up in Sherlock the other day. What was that like to be part of?

That was amazing to be part of. I feel so honoured to be a tiny part of something so magical and it’s one of those things that I will tell my grandchildren – obviously My Mad Fat Diary as well – but I mean it’s Sherlock isn’t it!  It’s pretty good.  And getting to go to the read-through is something I’ll never forget.  And sitting across from Una Stubbs, how excitingly beautiful she is, that’s something that I will never forget.

She’s a fair old age. But she looks fantastic….

You’ll get in trouble for that!  I couldn’t get over how striking she is. My favourite part is when she screams, you know when she screams on telly, that’s the exact same scream that she did.  She doesn’t hold back.  And obviously Cumberbatch and that, they’re quite good as well… [Laughs] And Amanda Abbington was fab as well. A lovely person. Because I got a ring stuck on my finger and she happened to be in makeup at the time, and she made me laugh as my finger kept getting bigger and bigger. So they were such a lovely bunch. Hopefully I can come back. There is always room for a Goth somewhere.