Aimee Lou Wood wants to see 'nerds fall in love' in her new BBC show

When actors Aimee Lou Wood and Ralph Davis first met as students at RADA, they instantly clicked and promised to write together one day. A decade later, the pair have co-written and starred in their first romantic comedy drama series, Film Club.

The six-part BBC series follows an agoraphobic film enthusiast Evie, played by Wood, who transforms her mother's garage into a weekly cinema for herself and her best friend Noa, portrayed by Nabhaan Rizwan.

When Noa reveals that he has secured a dream job across the other side of the country, the pair are forced to consider for the first time they might be more than just friends.

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Also starring Doctor Foster's Suranne Jones, The Serpent Queen's Liv Hill and Happy Valley's Adam Long, the series explores mental health, family, friendship, love, and the escapism of cinema. BAFTA-winner Wood says she and her then-flatmate, House Of The Dragon star Davis, began writing the series during lockdown.

"Ralph and I met at RADA about 10 years ago. On the very first day, we instantly clicked and developed this strange, secret language between us. We promised that one day we'd write something together. Cut to five years later and it's lockdown," explains the 31 year old Stockport-born actress.

"During that time, it became so clear how much people needed film and TV. It was the only way to access the world beyond your own flat, to experience something bigger. Storytelling suddenly felt even more urgent. We've always had that need for stories. Everyone suddenly shared that obsession. People craved plot. We needed to be taken away, to escape."

Wood, who recently received an Emmy nomination for her role in the third season of The White Lotus, reveals that she and Davis drew inspiration from classic romantic comedies while penning this series. "We missed the rom-coms of the past. Everything on TV felt too cool, too restrained, there were lots of smouldering looks, sparse dialogue, people just staring at each other in a sexy way," she elaborates.

"But where was Meg Ryan? Where was When Harry Met Sally? Where was Holly Hunter in Broadcast News? We wanted nerds to fall in love, basically. We wanted to see neurotic, messy people falling in love, instead of really cool, silent people."

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Davis, aged 31, shares that they indulged in up to 12 films every weekend during lockdown as part of their writing process for the series. "We got pretty geeky during lockdown, that was our escape," he admits.

"We just watched so many films. At one point, we were living together, and while people were starting to go out again, seeing friends from a distance, going for walks, having 'vague fun,' we were too scared. So we just stayed inside and binged movies, 12 in a weekend sometimes. That's really where all of this came from.

"As for the writing process, we're theatre people originally, so we sort of kept theatre hours. A vague 10-to-6. We'd sit side by side at a laptop, just laughing and laughing as we wrote."

Jones, 47, who portrays Evie's mum, reveals she was eager to join the cast after glimpsing an early version of the screenplay. "I read an early draft a couple of years ago, and I just thought, 'This is so beautiful, I want to be a part of it'. I said, 'I'm in. Let me know when it's happening'."

"It was maybe a year and a half later, after I'd first seen that draft, that things really started moving. And honestly, what a gift. It's so beautifully written, so gorgeous."

Jones, who takes on the role of Suz, a passionately devoted and stylish single mum, explains her character engages in considerable pretence. "Suz wants everything to be nice, she wants to be a good mum, and she wants her girls to do well.

"But with that narrative comes the pressure to present yourself well, to have a nice life, to have fun, to appear put together. It's all the covering up and masking that she does.

Speaking about her fellow cast members, Wood shared that the entire experience felt otherworldly once they began shooting. "As soon as they walked in, everyone knew they were right for those parts. It was immediate, boom," she elaborated.

"Some of us already knew each other before, but from the very first day of filming, it felt like we'd all known each other for years. That doesn't happen often. There was this real sense of unity, and that was crucial for this group of characters, you had to believe they'd been doing this for eight years."

Film Club will be broadcast on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday, October 7.

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