Interview with Sam Frears, who stars as 'Ray'

Sam as a young boy is played by Ethan Rouse (Joe) in the series.

Do you have any recollections from when Nina lived with you?
Yes. I used to have a friend and we got dropped off at his house, and Nina started driving off with half of me still in the car, with my foot dangling out. I survived, that’s the main thing! There were some very good times and we had a few laughs, I remember playing football in a place called Market Road and Nina dived into the goal thinking her head was the ball; she missed it but landed in the back of the net.

What is your first memory of Nina, do you remember the interview?
Not vividly. When Nina first applied for the job, there was another candidate so I didn’t want Nina at first, my mum and my brother did. But the other person left anyway!

How does it feel seeing your family portrayed in this light?
Weird. SJ said to the boys, let's sing our song, and they started singing the song to 1982 World Cup, and that made me twinge a bit as I used to sing that all the time and it’s the first time in years I’ve heard it sung.

When were you first aware of the letters?
I was first aware of the letters when my mum [Mary-Kay] had her 70th birthday and a friend of ours made a book about her, and he asked people to write stuff about memories of my mum. One of the people was Nina Stibbe, who had a letter she wrote home to her sister when she was our nanny, and she read it out. She did another at my 40th three years ago, so I had no idea that the letters existed until then; her sister wouldn’t ever come to London so that’s how she would keep in touch with her.

Tell us about Ethan, the boy playing you?
People tell me he looks like me when I was younger. So I’m sure he has been cast very well. I asked if he was enjoying it and he said yes so that’s a good sign. I bet that is down to people like SJ, getting the best out of everyone, like a football coach, doing it properly but bringing in a bit of fun.