Five minutes with… Daisy Haggard

Daisy Haggard was hugely relieved when the first series of her BBC comedy Back To Life — “a weird show”, in her own words — was a hit with viewers. Now back with six new episodes, the London-born writer and actor, 43, is feeling the pressure once again — but viewers definitely won’t be disappointed.

The darkly funny and poignant show follows Miri Matterson, played by Haggard, who spent 18 years behind bars for killing her friend, Lara, when they were teenagers, which was a “terrible mistake”.

In the first series, we see her being let out of prison and returning home to her parents’ house in Hythe, Kent, before discovering, in the final episode, that it was actually the secret affair between her friend Mandy (Christine Bottomley) and Lara’s father, John Boback, which led to Lara’s death.

Set three weeks after we last saw her, the start of the new series shows Miri being optimistic about her future — but Haggard, who co-writes with Laura Solon and is also an executive producer, promises it’s not a smooth journey ahead for her character.

Here, the star, who has two children with musician Joe Wilson, discusses her writing process, new guest stars, and having women in charge.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE STORYLINE OF SERIES TWO?

The parents of Lara Boback come back to town. So, we test Miri’s ability to get up when she’s knocked over to maybe the biggest extreme yet. This season takes you on a bit of a roller coaster. And there’s a bit of a love story; what’s going to happen with Billy (Adeel Akhtar)? How’s their relationship going to evolve? They’re tentatively and nervously moving towards something, possibly…

ADE EDMONDSON AND MEERA SYAL HAVE ALSO JOINED THE CAST…

We have Ade Edmondson playing the father of Lara. He presents a profound threat to Miri. He’s a man who has suffered enormous grief, so we don’t just see him as a bad guy — but he’s never been a very good man either, so it’s complicated. Meera Syal is playing Billy’s ridiculously glamorous, sexy, young mum who is an absolute powerhouse — and she’s hilariously terrifying.

WHERE DID THE INSPIRATION FOR MIRI COME FROM?

I was very lucky that Two Brothers Pictures [production company founded by Harry and Jack Williams] said that they’d like to do a show with me. Then they read something I wrote and then seemed to not think it was crazy when I wrote it, so that was a huge relief.

At the time [of writing Back to Life], I was living with my parents and being told how to load a dishwasher and what to put in the recycling and to rinse tomato tin cans better, and I was like, ‘I’m going to go mad’. There were a few situations where women had committed a crime, and I was noticing the disparity between how a man is treated and a woman is treated, so I was really interested in that. And then I have an absolute love of coming-of-age films and stories and their innocence.

OTHER THAN YOUR FAMILY, WHAT WOULD YOU MISS THE MOST IF YOU SPENT 18 YEARS IN PRISON?

I love food so much, and I love baths. So, I think it would be food in the bath. I spoke to several people who have been in prison for a long time and asked them what they missed or wanted, and one of the women was like, ‘It was crunchy vegetables’, so we put that in season one. She said she was really surprised because she never really liked them before. And also, because she had five items of clothing that she wore on rotation, she felt really overwhelmed by clothes, which we’ve also kept with Miri. Miri doesn’t get glamorous in this season — she only finds her old crimper.

WHAT DO YOU FIND IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WITH THIS ROLE?

Because I write her, one of the last things I ever think about is how to play her. I always have an absolutely terrifying moment where I realise I haven’t ever read the part out loud and then I just scramble through in a state of perpetual fear. Because Miri is oddly close to me -- she’s a relentless optimist, with a sunny disposition, who can cry and laugh quite easily — I just go ‘well, let’s see what happens’.

THE SHOW IS FILMED IN HYTHE. DID YOU GET TO EXPLORE MUCH WHILE ON SET?

Between takes, I’m either FaceTiming my children — I hadn’t spent even a night away from them for years — or I’m answering 75,000 emails. But there was emergency ice cream, and we were always googling, ‘Where’s the best fish and chips on this street?’

When I do Breeders [Sky comedy with Martin Freeman], I’m like, ‘Where’s that charity shop?’ I’m having a great time, as everyone else has to worry about everything. I’m pootling around buying trinkets.

DO YOU AND LAURA HAVE IDEAS FOR SERIES THREE?

We had a conversation the other day where we were like, ‘Maybe there is a possibility’. The seeds are there. But also, I just need to have a holiday. It was an amazing team of women this time. Last time was brilliant too, but this time, I looked around on set and went, ‘It’s a female DoP [director of photography], a female director, female producer, female execs’.

It feels like the world has changed. We just need to keep on pushing for that. It’s nice having a team of women just being really kind to each other. You realise you don’t go on a set and everyone in charge is a woman — that doesn’t happen to people.

Back To Life series two will begin to air on BBC One from Tuesday, August 31, and the boxset will be available to watch on BBC Three/iPlayer from 6am that day too.