Interview with Jodie Comer

Tell us about your character, Ivy.
The story starts when Ivy escapes from captivity after 13 years and the story follows her journey as a 26-year-old woman, from her escape to being reunited with her family and friends. It’s about how she copes, fitting back into her life and trying to find some sense of normality after being away for so long.

How does Ivy feel when she is reunited with her family?
Relief. At first she is definitely still scared, worried that her family had given up hope that she would be found or still alive. She is still sceptical and doesn’t warm to them at first but is completely relieved to be in safe hands. Although Ivy doesn’t know it, her sister Emma doesn’t believe it’s really her at first, which is a kick in the teeth when she eventually finds out.

How does Ivy feel to be reunited with Tim?
Tim is her only little bit of normality - he’s her escape. In her eyes, she wants to pick up where they left off, but obviously a lot of time has passed. When they are together, it’s the only time we see Ivy enjoy herself, forget what she has been through and be a young woman, starting to enjoy the things she has missed. It’s an intense filming schedule and subject matter, so when we did the Tim and Ivy scenes, it was a great relief to break free. There’s a scene with Ivy and Tim running in a field where she looks so happy and free.

Did you do any research for your role?
Vanessa Caswill, the director of the first block gave me a book about a young girl called Natascha Kampusch, and I read it to give me some ideas about what Ivy could have gone through in the time she was held captive. It really opened my eyes to what she could have experienced, and it makes it seem real. Even though we were making a drama, it’s crazy to think things such as this have actually happened to people. Before we started filming, we made a timeline for all the events during the time that Ivy would have been held in captivity and we bullet-pointed when certain incidents would have happened, her big birthday milestones etc, which helped me get into the mindset.

What attracted you to the project and to the character of Ivy?
It’s completely different to anything else I’ve done and nothing like the characters I played in My Mad Fat Diary and Doctor Foster. It completely took my 100% focus and there was no day filming where I didn’t concentrate, even if it was just the way Ivy moves. It was really tough but it was a great challenge. When you get scripts and you really enjoy reading them, you know it’s a good project. I was so keen to read more of them after the first script which we auditioned with. Playing Ivy, I had to imagine the unimaginable - it pushed me to my limits as an actress and it’s been a real challenge.

Have you got any anecdotes from filming?
It depends on the nature of the scene. Sometimes I would take myself away from the group as it’s such a serious subject matter and it was a good group of people on set, so I wanted to be able to concentrate. Natasha, who plays Christina, is hilarious, and she looks like butter wouldn’t melt but she is so funny. It needed the lighthearted moments behind the scenes. The crew were really respectful, particularly during some of Ivy’s more difficult and exposed scenes.

How do you feel about Thirteen being the drama to launch the new BBC Three?
Excited! I’m really happy for Thirteen to be the drama to take the channel online - it’s a massive step but I’m very proud. I believe in change - we should embrace it.