Faye McKeever in Troliied
There’s always a little bit of a risk with comedy, as there’s really no way of truly knowing whether it will sink or swim before it hits the airwaves.
Sky 1’s supermarket based comedy Trollied however passed the test with flying colours, quickly getting both a second and third series green-lit.
In preparation of the second series starting later this week, we spoke to one of the shows stars Faye McKeever about her part on the hit comedy and her long term relationship with X Factor winner Shayne Ward.
So, what can you tell us about your character Linda in Trollied?
So Linda’s really in a double act with Sue (played by Lorraine Cheshire) and we’re the customer services girls. We stand at the front of the shop, serve the customers and have a good old gossip about people in magazines and people who walk past. We’ve got a really lovely relationship, sometimes we’ll have arguments, sometimes we’ll be laughing or crying. It’s just a really nice relationship we both have.
You two have a really great chemistry on screen, does that keep going when the camera’s stop?
It certainly does. I’ve worked with Lorraine before on a show called Massive. Well, we didn’t work with each other, but we knew of each other on the set. I actually only met Lorraine for the first time at the final auditions for Trollied and we ended up getting the parts together.
I love her to bits, we just have a really good relationship off the set too. Some people have even said “I wished we filmed your bits off camera, because sometimes they’re even funnier than the show”.
Linda’s such a natural character, any similarities between you two?
I think we’re quite similar in the way that she wants to be glam. Well, I used to be this, let’s put it that way. She’s a bit chavvy in some areas, but she tries to bring glamour to the proceedings with her sparkly rings and other jewellery. She’s a lovely character though. She likes her job, does what she has to do and gets to have a little bit of a laugh with her mates on the job too.
You’ve just finished filming, how was that?
Yeah, we just finished last week. It was brilliant, we’ve had such a good time together and I think it’s actually gone better because we’ve already done the first series. We come back, we all know our characters, we all know each other and we all get on so well. Then we also have the addition of Stephanie Beacham coming on board as well which was brilliant.
The show’s been a real hit, what’s that been like.
It was brilliant. We had great initial feedback straight away. I’m a fan of Twitter so I was on there when the first episode aired and it’s brilliant to see instantly what people thought. People really loved the show because they can relate to it.
Some people might just know you as being Shayne Ward’s girlfriend? Does that annoy you at all?
It doesn’t bother me. I’ve worked hard to be where I am today, I did acting through college and university and it’s always something I wanted to do, even before I met Shayne. It’s just that Shayne got the bite of the cherry before I did. I learnt a lot from Shayne and him being thrown into the media at such a young age, so it’s been more a benefit than anything really. It doesn’t bother me at all if people recognise me for being Shayne’s girlfriend or for being on Trollied.
Has he been a support you then when you’ve been going for acting roles?
Oh, a massive support. And vice-versa really, we work as a team. I support him and whatever he’s doing and the same in reverse. We help each other. It’s also good when we both wok away, because we come back and it’s like a new relationship all over again.
And you two have been together of nearly nine years now. What’s your secret?
The secret is….wow, what is the secret? Having some time apart every now and again and being chilled out really does help to keep the love alive.
So have you been down to see Shayne in Rock of Ages?
Yeah, I’ve seen it the show over 20 times. It’s full of life and energy; it’s not like any other music out there really. And then you’ve got the added bonus of Shayne and Justin Lee Collins, everyone should get down there and see him before his run ends at the end of September!
Has being in Trollied kind of ruined popping down the shops for you?
A little bit. I tend to do most of my shopping online to be honest. Sometimes I do go in, but I’ll end up stocking the shelves myself! I’m dying to get on the tannoy and start doing announcements too.
To finish up, what’s next for you then?
Well, we’ve got a couple of weeks off and we’re building a house up North so I’ll be helping with that. Then we’re back for the Christmas special is September and the third series in November. So I’m a busy bee! I’m loving this year.
Trollied Series 2 starts on Sky 1 on 31st of August.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
Tagged in Shayne Ward