BRASSIC returns to Sky One tonight – and while the show is best known for its raucous hilarity, season 2 will also feature some dark, poignant moments.
The hit series has proved to be Sky’s most successful comedy, with a mixture of crude slapstick and dry wit proving to be a hit with audiences.
However, co-creator Danny Brocklehurst revealed that some real tragedy in the life of Joe Gilgun – who stars in the show and serves as co-creator – had an impact on Brassic’s second instalment.
The first series of the show won praise for its depiction of mental health and it looks like season 2 will look to extend that legacy.
“In the second series, we deal with the terrible effects of alcoholism. That’s not particularly funny, but it’s important, and it’s important to Joe,” Brocklehurst told BT.com.
“His dad sadly died of alcoholism during the filming of series 2, but before his dad died, he felt he wanted to deal with that, and show it, and show the effects of it, so that’s what we’ve done with series 2.”
Joe has poured a lot of himself into the show, with his character Vinnie’s struggle with bipolar inspired by his own mental health.
“When we did series 1, we were slightly nervous about that, especially for Joe in particular, having bipolar himself, he felt a great responsibility,” Brocklehurst continued.
“Actually we were super careful to only put things out there that he could back up in his own life. I don’t know [if I was surprised by the reaction].
“It’s a funny show because on the one hand we’re aiming to be a raucous comedy, but on the other hand we are dealing with [serious] things.”
The comments come after Brocklehurst told viewers they can expect to see a lot more of Michelle Keegan’s character Erin in season 2.
Daniel revealed that he wanted to bring Erin to the forefront because it felt right to make her character more involved – and he has done so by focusing the plot on the very sensitive topic of sexual assault.
“I can’t remember the starting point of Erin’s assault storyline. It felt like we wanted her to have a particular arc in series 2,” he stressed.
“So when you’re thinking about how the arc’s going to develop, certain ideas come to the fore, and this idea leapt forward.
“I think some of the other people on the show were nervous about it, but I was reasonably confident we could pull it off, and for it to be dealt with sensitively. ”
Brassic kicks off on Sky One tonight, with all episodes available to stream On Demand and on NOW TV.
