Lucy Heath is here to ‘pull back the curtain’ on the reality of working creatives, whether the curtain likes it or not. Tackling the modern television industry with laughter and a loveable authenticity, Heath is diving headfirst into the world of TV optioning and writer’s rooms, and taking us along for the ride. Straight off a stellar role in the hit show Sweetpea, the actress spoke to THE REAL about creating her podcast, Let’s Get Sh*t Greenlit, writing the pilot series of her sitcom The Bull Ring and stepping into a lead role in Pragma.
by Maisy Nichols
First things first, huge congratulations on Sweetpea! How did it feel to receive such a positive reaction to the series, especially when the original book already had such a dedicated fan base?
If I’m completely honest, I thought it would get a positive reaction because the creative team were so brilliant; Ella Purnell has been creating fascinating characters since the womb, Kirsty Swain and Patrick Walters had such a clear and specific vision for the show and Ella Jones, our director, made us all feel so comfortable on set that the cast were really playing and making each other laugh – and I don’t think a See-Saw show has ever missed. What I hadn’t expected was to see Sweetpea on every bus across the country and all over Waterloo station – that was an epic feeling, knowing that people were actually going to watch the show and, according to my best-mate’s mum, it would be the show everyone was talking about on their lunch breaks in the office.
Were you familiar with the book before taking on this project? How does having pre-existing material that goes beyond the script shape your acting process?
I actually hadn’t read the book until I was cast, and then it was an excellent resource material. I think a few of the characters have shifted (AJ not being Australian and all) but it was really clear who Lucille was from reading both the book and the episodes. In the book you can really dive in to Rhiannon’s psyche and see Lucille from Rhiannon’s point of view, which was helpful because the show is also told from Rhiannon’s POV, so I knew that I needed to portray Lucille as that bitchy school girl that Rhiannon always saw her as, to help the audience understand Rhiannon’s rage.
At its core, Sweetpea is a story about female catharsis. Why do you think audiences are increasingly drawn into media that draws on female anti-heroes violently reacting to their status in society?
Ironically, I find women are often inadvertently pedestalled; they’re the cover of every magazine, the subject of most conversations, and regularly relied on to help society navigate their emotions. So the thought that women might act selfishly, impulsively or aggressively as opposed to empathetically and with care, completely disrupts the status quo, which terrifies us. This is why there’s so many true-crime female serial-killer documentaries, it ignites a primal fear in us that if women were to stop being a conscience the world would become anarchic. I think it’s rare that female characters recognise they have that level of power, but when they do it’s so thrilling to watch.
Image credit: Jemima Marriott
You’ve also been involved in the hit show Trying. Is sitcom comedy a genre that you feel particularly at home in?
Yes I love comedy, I was often cast in the comedy roles at drama school. Rom-coms and heart-felt sitcoms are my favourite genres to watch and therefore write. It feels like there’s no rule book, you can just keep trying things until somebody laughs, which makes for such a fun work environment.
How does working on sets for sitcoms like Trying or dark comedies like Sweetpea compare to your work on indie short films such as Pragma? Do you adapt your acting process for each project, or do you have a set ritual to get into character?
I think it’s important to acknowledge the part your character plays in telling the overall story. If your part is there to propel a certain narrative then it’s important you make choices that assist that. This is a classic but I will always look for anything that other characters say about my character, and what she says about herself, that’s often the best indication of her true character. However, if you’re the lead, which I am in Pragma, then I would spend more time finding my own way through the character’s journey and making those choices for myself. Regardless of the role, I’ll always go hard on the prep but then leave all that at the door when it comes to the day and just see what happens.
Image credit: Jemima Marriott
You also recently started your own podcast Let’s Get Sh*t Greenlit with Lauren Soley – how did the two of you come to create this project?
Firstly, I’m a podcast fiend and have an extensive list I’ll listen to each week. Lauren and I are writing a sitcom together called The Bull Ring, Lauren is newer to writing and would often ask me questions about the process of writing etc, she’s hilarious, so the conversations we were having always felt really entertaining. I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts How To Fail by Elizabeth Day, and thought, wouldn’t it be great if we’d heard from these very successful people on their ascent whilst they were putting in the hard graft but without the payoff yet? As I’m determined to have my own TV show on TV, and I find Lauren to be one of the funniest people I know, I thought it might be interesting/ entertaining for fellow creatives, doing the daily grind but without having ‘made it’ yet, to have a podcast where it feels like we’re ‘all in this together’ and get a peek behind the curtain at what the (hopeful) ascent actually entails.
What has been the most memorable moment shared on the podcast thus far? Is there a dream guest that you would love to bring on?
It’s got to be either me defecating in a saucepan or Lauren being called a rug-muncher … If you want more context, it’s all in the pod.
I would LOVE to have Sharon Horgan, Phoebe Waller Bridge and Michaela Cole on. These women had to graft to get their work out there, I respect them so much as creatives who have such distinct voices and have had to fight many prejudices to carve a path for themselves in this industry. I have so many questions to ask them!
You’re exploring so many creative avenues and have had an incredibly busy year – what are you excited for going into 2025?
I’m about to sound like a child at Christmas, so bear with! I’m really excited to direct my first short film that I’m writing at the minute. I’m hoping we get to film season 2 of Sweetpea, as that was such a fun team. I’m buzzing at the thought of being cast in other fun and/or challenging roles. I’m giddy at the thought of getting some more people I admire on to the podcast and interrogating them. I’m also gagging to getting mine and Lauren’s TV show out there, and hopefully optioned by a production company. Also – big manifest – I’m hoping my TV show Pragma is greenlit and we go in to production on that – the thought of that gives me chills!
Lucy stars in Sweetpea on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
Follow Lucy on Instagram @lucyheath1
