Lydia West and Nicola Coughlan insist the lives of the characters they play in their latest TV comedy reflect how them feel about themselves at this current moment in time.
Created by Camilla Whitehill, Channel 4 show Big Mood sees Nicola play Maggie, a young woman struggling with bipolar disorder, while Lydia plays best friend Eddie.
Described as ‘a vivacious and rebellious portrayal of female friendship when infiltrated by the complexities of a serious mental illness,’ the show finds both characters at a crossroads in their friendship as they rapidly approach their thirties.
Lydia, 30, starred as Jill Baxter in the Russell T. Davies drama It’s A Sin, a harrowing account of the AIDS crisis and its devastating impact on the gay community in 1980s Britain.
And she has now revealed she felt lost after the show aired on Channel 4 in 2021 while contemplating what the next step in her career would be.
Lydia West and Nicola Coughlan insist the lives of the characters they play in their latest TV comedy reflect how them feel about themselves at this current moment in time (L-R: Lydia and Nicola pictured earlier this month)
Created by Camilla Whitehill, Channel 4 show Big Mood sees Nicola play Maggie, a young woman struggling with bipolar disorder, while Lydia plays best friend Eddie
She explained to Grazia: ‘I’d say my lowest moment was after It’s A Sin came out and dealing with what to do next, feelings of impostor syndrome, feeling not good enough.
‘What I did to get through it was pottery. I joined a pottery club and I had two pottery friends.
‘They’re in their sixties and the three of us would go every weekend to just be on the wheel and catch up.
‘It was using my hands and getting out of my head.’
Meanwhile, Nicola told how she doesn’t know where she fits in with her friends, claiming she leads a ‘double life’ as her friends in show business don’t have ‘normal’ jobs and are single while her friends from home are settled down with families.
She said: ‘It’s really uncomfortable and weird how different the phases of your life can be.
‘My friends back home are married with kids and have “normal” jobs, and then my friends here, most are not married. It’s wild how different those two worlds are. Then you’re like, “Where do I fit?” It’s a tough time.’
A synopsis for Big Mood describes the characters as two people who have ‘lived in each other’s pockets for ten years, through thick, thin, and multiple challenging eyebrow trends.
Lydia, 30, starred as Jill Baxter in the Russell T. Davies drama It’s A Sin (pictured), a harrowing account of the AIDS crisis and its devastating impact on the gay community in 1980s Britain
She has now revealed she felt lost after the show aired on Channel 4 in 2021 while contemplating what the next step in her career would be (L-R: It’s A Sin cast members Omari Douglas, Nathaniel Curtis, Olly Alexander, Callum Scott Howell and Lydia)
‘But with the rest of their lives looming, careers hanging in the balance, and Maggie’s bipolar disorder making an unwelcome return to form, Eddie begins to question whether this friendship is really in their best interests.
‘It’s a pivotal point in both their lives, bringing to the surface those all-important questions – could sleeping with your former History teacher be the key to happiness? Is a basement Rat Hotel a functional alternative to pest control? How do you stop your new psychiatrist giving you worry dolls?
‘With their twenties behind them, Maggie and Eddie’s relationship faces the future – can it survive?’
Big Mood premiered on March 28 with a double-bill on and all six episodes were released on the Channel 4 website. It also stars Joanna Page and Sally Phillips.
Big Mood premiered on March 28 with a double-bill on and all six episodes were released on the Channel 4 website (L-R: Big Mood creator Camilla Whitehill, Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West)
