Fool Me Once has done extremely well with TV viewers in 2024, and now its star Michelle Keegan has divulged some juicy backstage information.
The new Netflix series, which debuted on New Year’s Day, follows Keegan’s Maya Stern as she deals with the death of her husband Joe.
However, when she installs a nanny-cam to keep a watch on her young daughter, she notices Joe returning to the house as an intruder.
Meanwhile, Danya Griver and Daniel Burt feature in the series as Keegan’s niece and nephew, who are attempting to investigate another murder – that of their own mother.
The thriller also includes Adeel Akhtar from Utopia, Jade Anouka from BBC’s His Dark Materials, and Richard Armitage from The Hobbit series.
Despite having a superb cast list, probably the most notable is Dame Joanna Lumley – and Keegan has acknowledged that having TV aristocracy on set was difficult for one reason in particular.
Judith Burkett, played by Dame Joanna, is Keegan’s mother-in-law, although the two had a strained relationship following Joe’s supposed death.
However, the 36-year-old former Coronation Street actress has admitted that she found it difficult to dispute in character with the Absolutely Fabulous actor, particularly in several expletive-laden passages.
Speaking on The One Show, she admitted that she was dreading having to insult Dame Joanna: ‘Honestly, when I read the script, I was like, “Oh no, oh no!”‘
‘We had a bit of a laugh, didn’t we, when we were rehearsing? I don’t think I said it when we were in rehearsals, I was like, “I can’t! I can’t!”‘
Dame Joanna, 77, said that it took her by surprise at first.
‘When it’s not used very often, bad language comes… it slaps out of the screen at you, it does.’
However, both Keegan and Dame Joanna admitted that they had a lot of fun filming specific moments and that their friendship off-screen is still strong.
"I can't, I can't!"
How did @MichKeegan EVER manage to say those rude words to the icon, Joanna Lumley?! 🫣#TheOneShow 👉 https://t.co/D9VYPECbOW pic.twitter.com/40izeVZeQQ
— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) January 2, 2024
Late last year, Keegan also informed fans that Julia Roberts was close to taking her part, but negotiations broke through because Roberts wanted to make the series into a film.
She recalled: ‘I remember when I first met Harlan, he was saying that they were in talks with Julia because Julia wanted to make it into film.
‘But the book wouldn’t have been a film really, it needed to be a series.’
Watch Fool Me Once on Netflix.
