SHOW: Coupling

Anyone watch it?
It's one of my favourite programs ever.

Sarah Alexander
(Susan Walker)

"Susan is very tolerant - I would have booted Steve out years ago!"



Sarah Alexander plays Steve's now pregnant girlfriend Susan. Pretty and sexy, Susan's an unabashed go-getter. In fact her uninhibited attitude towards sex and relationships often catches the people around her unawares.

Writer Steven Moffat comments: "The others in the group perceive Susan as the 'super-confident' one, although this isn't really the case. Similar to Patrick, she is fairly non-complex, and yet she is also strong, bright and clever. She may well have actually preferred to have found herself an Alpha man, got married and become a mother. Despite the fact that she's a successful career woman, she would never power-dress and really rather enjoys the fact that she's a fun-loving, perfectly happy girly-girl."



Sarah is very happy playing Susan: "It's great fun coming back because we really enjoy ourselves. My character is very grounded, sorted and confident in her sexuality. Her comedy comes from her directness, which means she sometimes puts her foot in it, but you always know where you are with her. She's a good-time girl who enjoys her life and her man. I've certainly learned a few lessons from her about self-belief, but we also catch glimpses of her being slightly insecure, out of her depth, which is very funny. Mind you," she adds, "Susan is very tolerant - I would have booted Steve out years ago!"

Sarah admits that she spends many hours scrutinising Sue Vertue, on whom her character is based, in rehearsals. But now the part is well and truly written for her. Steven laughs: "I write with her in mind. It's her face, her voice. And I like taking the piss out of her scary eyes."

Sarah was recently seen in the hit BBC1 comedy THE WORST WEEK OF MY LIFE and stars in GREEN WING for Channel 4. She is also now penning her own comedy series - about journalists - with two writers from the Armstrong and Miller camp.

Gina Bellman
(Jane Christie)

"Jane's kooky, every man's worst nightmare."



Gina Bellman plays Jane, who was once Steve's "unflushable" ex-girlfriend. Gina Bellman describes her as "kooky, every man's worst nightmare. She has no filters, which is great fun to play. She's a real live-wire, self-obsessed, oblivious to the feelings of others, and supremely manipulative. She has her own unique set of principles which are usually completely politically incorrect, which makes for great comedy." Given that, she's starting to mature and realise that a puppy can only be a boyfriend substitute for so long. So she is on the hunt for a boyfriend, and ends up bumping into Oliver, again and again.

Steven Moffat comments: "Jane's a fairly needy, lonely character, mostly concerned about her age and the fact she hasn't got a boyfriend. Desperately seeking attention, Jane constantly makes things up, telling more than just little white lies. She lives a fantasy life, but she doesn't live up to any of the fantasies she creates. Instead, she's a woman who'd really rather prefer to be married - perhaps to someone like Steve - but pretends to be OK with the single life."



Gina loves playing Jane: "The audience know our characters really well now, and we all know them too and we see more of their vulnerability beneath the comedy; that's certainly the case with Jane. We also see her loneliness - she seems supremely self-confident and tactless, but that masks a lot of insecurity which is compounded by her being such an attention seeker! She loves being part of the group and the friendships are much more cemented now, offering Jane a real stability. But she is looking for a serious relationship so has decided to join a dating agency - which is how she meets Oliver."

Gina continues: "There's a real tension between them - at first she calls him half puppy and half idiot. But Jane is not known for her sense of humour - and Oliver really makes her laugh. And that is incredibly attractive…"

Gina is dating an American actor and was over in America whilst NBC were making their ill-fated version of COUPLING. In fact she made a cameo appearance in the American version as 'girl at bar.'

On completing COUPLING Gina was determined to pile on the pounds in order to play Marilyn Monroe in the stage play 'Insignificance' at the Royal Theatre, Northampton: "It's true. I was doing a bit of a Renee Zellweger. I was on the cream cakes, and wanted to put on a stone, but I wasn't that optimistic because when I get on stage, I have so much adrenalin coursing through my body that I burn fuel like a power station."

Richard Coyle
(Jeff Murdock)

"I play such a weirdo."



Richard Coyle plays Jeff, who has heaps of advice about dealing with the opposite sex, but very little practical experience - until now. In fact Jeff is in a serious relationship with his boss Julia, who he first got together with in the stationery cupboard at work: "I have a lot of fun with the role," he laughs. "It really is silly. I play such a weirdo. I like that, because I think I’m a bit of a geek as well. Jeff is a pubescent boy trapped inside the body of a man, still obsessed about his relationship with his mother. But this new series sees him still in a relationship, more competent when it comes to matters sexual, and there is a lot of pathos in this series, which I’ve loved playing.

"I also love the freedom to be smutty with the part - I’m nothing like Jeff, but I love playing him. It’s a chance to play the fool and dash around. I enjoy all the great comedy stars like Laurel and Hardy and Harold Lloyd, and this is my chance to have a go at doing what they did! All of us have that child inside us, and I can let that out when I play Jeff."



Richard finds he is constantly recognised as Jeff: "People frequently come up to me and say 'Breasts' - which can take a bit of explaining to people who don’t know the show!" Richard says he would love to see a young Chevy Chase playing Jeff in the American version: "He’s my hero!"

Richard left the Coupling cast at the end of series 3.

Jack Davenport
(Steve Taylor)

"Steve takes a situation, digs himself a big pit of humiliation and shame, climbs into it - and just keeps digging."



Jack Davenport plays the hapless Steve, Susan's boyfriend and the father of her unborn child. Steve tries to be the voice of reason while talking to his mates over a pint, but more often than not he stumbles into more complex and ridiculous situations than any of them.

Writer Steven Moffat explains: "In the original version of the show, Steve was really as screwed up as his best mate Jeff, perhaps even more so. He can be just as erratic as Jeff can be, and certainly in the first part of the series, he remonstrates with Jeff for his madness. At the same time he tells Patrick off for being ruthless with women, and yet the evidence shows that Steve himself is a bit of a bastard. For example he asks Susan out on a date while he's having sex with Jane. He is quite typical of having all the same lusts and appetites as Patrick while also having the nervousness of Jeff and the new character Oliver. He forms a compromise of a politically correct weasel, which helps him to believe that he's a decent chap. Actually he's really too frightened of Susan to misbehave!"



COUPLING marks the first time Jack has done several series of anything, although "This Life" ran to lots of episodes, and he is delighted to be back: "It's like putting on an old pair of slippers! We all know how to pace ourselves by now, so enjoy the whole experience hugely. In many ways Steve doesn't change, but the relationship certainly has. He's still frequently at a loss for words and continues to despair at his own towering ineptitude. He takes a situation, digs himself a big pit of humiliation and shame, climbs into it - and just keeps digging. But he is completely without malice, which is fun to play."

He adds: "I think we can all identify with some of the situations. That's what's brilliant about Steven's writing. He turns the tradition of men and women in this kind of comedy on its head; the women are mainly confident and sexually quite voracious, whilst the blokes are completely useless, riddled with self doubt and awkwardness. Steve's good at getting to the heart - in a funny way - of a little boy that will not entirely disappear in every grown man."

Jack adds: "There's a great luxury in being aware that Steven is writing with us in mind. He sits in the corner whilst we're rehearsing and he's picking things up all the time. You have to be very careful about what you say, as you never know when it might appear in the script! He writes about situations in a way that is funny, surreal and subtle all at the same time. Some of his material is pretty frank, and he's not afraid to go for it. He's a bit of a farceur, which I see as a dying art; he has a wonderful ability to take a situation which seems pretty unworrying and by the end of half an hour it's got faster and faster and built into a ridiculous frenzy which could almost be real. Being both clever and very silly is a nice combination."

However much he likes playing Steve, Jack doesn't identify with him: "His life continues to be in disarray, whereas I'm settled and happy both personally and professionally." Jack married his actress wife Michelle Gomez shortly after the first series of COUPLING completed production. Michelle has just started filming a brand new series for Hartswood Films and BBC1 called CARRIE AND BARRY opposite Neil Morrissey, Claire Rushbrook and Mark Williams. The series reunites Neil with Hartswood, writer Simon Nye and director Martin Dennis - the team behind MEN BEHAVING BADLY which turned him into a household name.

Jack's film career is also very much on the ascendant. Having appeared in THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY as "the chap in the duffle coat jumping up and down in the background!". Jack appeared in THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN opposite Johnny Depp. He admits to finding it weird to be recognised on the set by the largely American crew as "the guy from COUPLING - it's very popular over there." Jack recently returned to the Isle of Man to appear in THE LIBERTINE also starring Johnny Depp.

Kate Isitt
(Sally Harper)

"Sally and I are very different, but I love working on her vulnerability - on the surface she's cruel, but that's more fun to play than niceness!"



Kate Isitt plays Susan’s best friend Sally. A beautician, Sally is terrified of growing old and the effect that gravity can have on her face and bottom. Secretly afraid of being a spinster, Sally is desperate for a man - until she falls head over heels for Patrick, an unapologetic ladies' man and committed Tory.

Steven Moffat comments: "Emotionally ravenous, desperately insecure and very needy, Sally is so aware of her own insecurities and weaknesses that she's inadvertently cruel to the people around her. She assumes nothing will work out for her, so she takes a pessimistic view on all the good things that happen to her. She's very quick to assume she's about to get hurt, and therefore gets upset in advance. In fact, she has a fairly good time throughout the series, but she never actually notices!"



Kate laughs: "I suppose when the series began, Sally was mainly there as Susan's paranoid and needy best friend. She was belligerently single, twisted and desperate. But now all of the relationships have blossomed, and we are seeing more of her independent life. This new romance with Patrick is a big thing to Sally, and it's mutated into something much more for both of them. Now she is living a dream. Patrick really turns her on! He has disgusting self-confidence and is not called tripod man for nothing. He has no morals and very little brain! It's inspired writing, and Steven has written a lovely part for me! Sally and I are very different, but I love working on her vulnerability - on the surface she's cruel, but that's more fun to play than niceness!"

But Kate did have one particularly nerve-wracking moment in the new series - she makes her singing debut - to great comic effect…

Ben Miles
(Patrick Maitland)



"He's a fan of cars and women and enjoys living well - just like most men do - yet he's completely unapologetic about it."



Ben Miles plays Patrick. Very right wing, he is Susan's 'sort of ex'. He's not the most intellectual of men, but he has a number of talents which make him very popular with the opposite sex. Not to mention the fact that he is a tripod. Because of a recent encounter with the 'Melty Man', Patrick realises that he actually has feelings for his good friend Sally, but his past actions may come back to haunt him…

Steven Moffat comments: "Patrick lacks complexity at any level. He's straightforward and doesn't understand why other people don't view the world the way he does. He's wrongly thought of as a bastard, yet he's actually fairly honest with the others. He's a fan of cars and women and enjoys living well - just like most men do - yet he's completely unapologetic about it. Nevertheless, being the kind of guy he is, he manages to simply fall in love. Unlike Steve, he doesn't make a big fuss about it - for example, he'll realise Sally's the girl for him and then that's that. Patrick's fun because he's always that little bit simpler than the others and he just doesn't worry about things."



Ben comments: "Patrick is still a complete himbo, but there are some big developments in his life - central to which is his relationship with Sally which is becoming very serious. He's still got a fantastic job in the City, his sports car, his long list of conquests - which is always a joy to play - and is still far from bashful when it come to sex.

"But Patrick is now in a one-on-one monogamous relationship with Sally which is complete alien territory to him. You might as well put him into a rocket and point him into the sky. This monogamy business does get him into scrapes. He trips up along the way. He doesn't know the language or how to behave. His brain can't really compute it. It's a joy to play someone so very different from myself - and to see how he's evolved!"

One of the highlights of the new series for Ben was donning a splendid suit of armour "which made a most satisfying noise when I walked!"


Richard Mylan
(Oliver Morris)

Oliver is the ultimate 'Doctor Who' geek. Oliver's long-term girlfriend walked out on him almost a year ago, and between the accumulation of rubbish and porn, it's safe to say his flat has seen better days. Single after seven years, Oliver tries to revel in the freedom of being on his own with a wide screen TV and unedited living room. But he wants more, and top on his list is a date with an actual woman. Enter Jane. Will two unsuccessful, undateable losers in love find companionship together?

Steven comments: "Jane calls Oliver a cross between a puppy and an idiot, which is only partly fair. His ex-girlfriend calls him a cross between brother and sister, which is mostly cruel. He's been in a relationship for seven years and he's badly out of practice with women. But he still thinks he sort of knows his way around them. He swings between misplaced confidence and raptures of apology over his latest blunder. But underneath all his seeming sweetness and haplessness, he's angry at being dumped, angry at being on his own and, as Jane finds out, quite capable of turning on you if you push him far enough."

Richard, who is most familiar to television audiences after starring alongside Dawn French in BBC1's WILD WEST, describes Oliver as "likeable but crap with women, rubbish at dating. He is out of practice but to be honest he was probably never much good in the first place! He needs to re-invent himself."

Richard admits he was nervous joining the successful BBC comedy: "I was really nervous when I went along to audition, but also excited about the possibility of being in the show. I'm a huge fan." Another draw was the girls: "They're a bit of a wow package! I was in the bank begging for an overdraft when the call came through on my mobile to say that I had got the part of Oliver Morris and I went completely mad!"

The rest of the cast soon made Richard feel at home - but not before pulling his leg for a bit: "They started off by joking that I had won the part in a competition on BLUE PETER or that I was in a version of FAKING IT and three judges were going to turn up at any minute and denounce me as a fraud!"

However, the character of Oliver is far removed from the character of Jeff - which is why the Swansea-born actor is playing it with an English accent. Although Richard Coyle has no Welsh links, his accent was such a part of the character and so convincingly played that many viewers did not realise he was English. But it was not a stretch for Richard Mylan to manage an English accent, as he spent most of his teenage years in London: "I moved to London when I was twelve and lived there for around 14 years before I moved back to Wales. A lot of people ask me why I do not do my Welsh accent any more and I keep playing an Englishman. Some of my friends think I am not being true to my Welsh roots, but it just happens to be the parts I get."

Richard now lives back up in Cardiff with his Welsh girlfriend Catrin Powell who he met on the set of Hartswood's BORDER CAFÉ.

i do i love it jack davenport etc are great, i don't know anyone else who does...

I love that, sometimes I can laugh my ass off at it. xD

Then once kinda mentioned Green Day.