News / television
From Baby Reindeer to Bristol
Heads turned as Jessica Gunning walked through the foyer of the Bristol Beacon on a recent afternoon.
Her portrayal of Martha in Baby Reindeer on Netflix is winning plaudits across the world but she was here in Bristol to talk about The Outlaws, which returns for its third season in May.
Gunning plays probation officer Diane in the comedy-thriller from Stephen Merchant which follows a group of strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a community payback sentence in Bristol.
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Gunning told Bristol24/7 about the differences in preparation between between playing Martha and Diane: “They’re really different characters for sure. Obviously, also Baby Reindeer is based on a true story, so a different kind of preparation goes into that.
“For me, Dianne felt so familiar just because I admire Stephen very much and so his comedic voice is so familiar and so it feels so easy to find that vibe with Diane.
“It was great to have a bit of space from it to film series three and that was after we filmed Baby Reindeer, so it was a bit of light relief in a way.”
In season three, Diane has a protégé in the form of Stan, played by Screen International Star of Tomorrow 2022, Harry Trevaldwyn.
Comedy-thriller The Outlaws from creator, star and award-winning writer and director Stephen Merchant returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer in May
Season three of The Outlaws begins with crime boss The Dean behind bars awaiting trial, with the gang moving on with their lives “until one of their own returns with a deadly secret, hurling them back into mortal danger”.
Rhianne Barreto, who plays Rani, was also at the Bristol Beacon as part of the Creative Cities Convention, the leading annual meeting place for film, TV and digital content creators working outside London.
“There’s more of everything that people love,” said Barreto, whose work also includes the film Share and the ITV drama Honour.
“In terms of the drama, there’s more drama. In terms of the comedy, there’s more comedy. I think it’s just everything that we loved about series one and two but on drugs.”
Rhianne Barreto plays Rani, whose prolific shoplifting got into trouble with the law
Bristol-born and bred, Gamba Cole, who grew up in St Paul’s, stressed the importance of the background of his home city for framing The Outlaws.
“We always said that Bristol was like a character in itself,” said Cole, a guest panellist in the upcoming EatDrink24/7 food and drink guide from Bristol24/7.
“With all the exterior shots which we have, we wanted to make sure we highlight different parts of Bristol.
“As characters, we all individually come from different parts of Bristol and it’s about that coming together and having those people with different political views, different races all coming together.”
Christopher Walken, most recently seen in cinemas in Dune: Part Two, returns as Frank
Series three of The Outlaws begins on May 31 on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime Video.
All photos: BBC/Big Talk/Alistair Heap
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