Sir Derek Jacobi interview

Vicious. Image shows from L to R: Violet (Frances de la Tour), Freddie (Ian McKellen), Ash (Iwan Rheon), Stuart (Derek Jacobi). Copyright: Brown Eyed Boy / Kudos Productions
Vicious. Stuart (Derek Jacobi). Copyright: Brown Eyed Boy / Kudos Productions

Sir Derek Jacobi returns as Stuart for the second series of Vicious...

What difference does it make to you as an actor, to film in front of a live studio audience?

Well, it's the first time Ian and I have done it, and I think at first we weren't sure who to play to: the audience, or the camera? But I think we have solved that now, and the answer is 'a bit of both'!

It's lovely to have the audience there. We are aware that they have to sit there for three hours. It's a bit of a marathon for the studio audience but they have been very, very good and stayed and responded wonderfully, we've been very lucky.

Is that an extra pressure, to keep them entertained as well as making a show?

Yes, it is really. It's a combination of that fear that you get at the theatre, as well as the thought of millions who are watching at home through the camera.

Fortunately, though, we are allowed to make mistakes, and sometimes the mistakes are better than the show!

The audience feels part of the creativity of the evening when we say, 'You know how you laughed the first time? We have to do it again, so please laugh again'. And thankfully they do.

Was it an easy decision to come back for a second series?

Oh yes, completely easy, I loved doing the first series. Right from the moment they first phoned me to tell me the idea for the sitcom a few years ago I loved it.

Neither Ian or I had done sitcom before and nobody had to talk us into it. We both wanted to do it. And this is one step beyond comedy; this is farcical.

Are there any funny scenes that stand out for you from this series?

Well, there is one where we go to the gym and look absolutely ridiculous.

And another scene in the ballroom where we are even more so. I had this beautiful sequinned waistcoat, it was very lovely, and Ian comes on in a costume from Cats with a huge tail and looks wonderful.

We leave the house a little more often in this series also.

Vicious. Image shows from L to R: Freddie (Ian McKellen), Stuart (Derek Jacobi). Copyright: Brown Eyed Boy / Kudos Productions

Do you think Freddie and Stuart will ever marry?

That will certainly be an option for them now that the law has changed. We'll have to see!

Certainly there is talk of weddings in this series but I won't say anymore than that. Whether anything actually takes place you'll have to wait and see.

Funnily enough when the series goes out in America on the PBS channel, it goes out on a Sunday night, the same night that Last Tango In Halifax goes out. So at 8 o'clock I am married to Anne Reid, and at 10 o'clock I am nearly married to Ian McKellen, which is nice.

Would you like a wedding to happen between them, to normalise gay marriage on television?

Yes, it would be a very potent symbol. Marriage is not for all couples, and I'm not married, but for Freddie and Stuart I think that could potentially be very important, and it would also be a symbol of progress made.

The immediate image that comes to mind when you talk about a wedding is, dare, I say, not a suit but a dress. That is getting better because homosexuality is now so much part of everybody's lives.

But this sitcom is not just about being gay, it's about age, it's about relationships. It's about friendship and it is about acceptance and devotion. So whether they do or don't, there is still a good message at its heart.

Published: Wednesday 27th May 2015

Share this page