‘They both need each other'

Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham on playing a carer and a care-home resident whose lives are changed forever by the pandemic…

- SEAN MARLAND

Sitting in their respective living rooms, Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham both laugh as they remember how long it’s taken them to find a project they could work on together.

‘We’ve been begging our agents to find us something for ages,’ says Jodie as she and Stephen share a video call with TV Times to talk about their new C4 drama, Help.

‘We’ve been close friends for a few years and thought there had to be something out there for us. But this was perfect because it’s a beautiful story and something we both really believe in. Plus it’s set in Liverpool, our home town!’

The pair’s friendship goes back to 2012 when they first worked together on the BBC1 series Good Cop and Stephen was so impressed by the then 19-year-old Jodie’s talent that he persuaded his agent to take her on. Seven years later, when she picked up the Best Actress BAFTA for Killing Eve, Jodie thanked Stephen for his generosity in her heartful acceptance speech.

There could be awards for both Jodie and Stephen, who’s currently also starring in The North Water on BBC2, for this powerful feature-length drama, written by Jack Thorne (National Treasure) and set in a fictional Liverpool care home during the first wave of the pandemic last spring.

Jodie stars as Sarah, a young carer who makes a connection with Tony, played by Stephen, a care-home resident in his 40s suffering from early-onset dementia, only for their lives to be changed forever when COVID sweeps through the country.

Here, Jodie, 28, and Stephen, 48, tell us more…

What makes Sarah and Tony’s relationship so special?