Outrageous star had ‘mental block' delivering her ‘offensive' dialogue
Actress Joanna Vanderham admits she had difficulty wrapping her head around her character's fascist views in the new period drama, Outrageous
Outrageous star Joanna Vanderham admits she was uncomfortable with some of the dialogue she had to say as historical fascist figure Diana Mitford in the new series.
U and U&Drama's six-part period drama reveals more about the life of iconic author Nancy Mitford (played by Bessie Carter) and her five sisters.
In the 1930s, with war looming and women struggling to find a place in society outside the home, the Mitfords stood out as rebels and pioneers amongst their aristocratic peers.
However, their rise to notoriety threatened to fracture the family as both Diana and their younger sister Unity (Shannon Watson) began to associate with British Fascists and Nazis.
Reach caught up with Vanderham at Outrageous' London premiere and asked if she found the role of a notable Nazi sympathiser challenging.
'Absolutely,' she said. 'Diana has a couple of lines that refer to what was happening at the time, and I personally found them quite difficult to deliver.
'I'm usually really quick to learn lines, they go in in an instant. But, for some reason, there was like a mental block of, 'I don't want to say this!'
'So some of those political lines, those were hard to say.'
Written by Sarah Williams, this new period drama is a must-watch for fans of Downton Abbey, but be warned - it's a historical series like no other.
Outrageous takes an unflinching look at the role of British aristocrats in the years leading up to the Second World War, proving not everyone was on the right side of history.
Viewers will also get to know one of the most infamous wealthy families of the 20th Century better than ever before.
'What's so remarkable about Sarah's writing is so much of it is about what's between the lines and what's unsaid, the subtext of it,' Vanderham added.
'Which a) I think is really British, but b) when you have a family, you can have those silent communications and the little nods that's sort of like, 'Go on, do it', 'Go on, say it', 'Oh my God! You're not going to say that!' And it's just all silent.
'That's what lends itself to the fact that this was a real family and we were just really lucky to get to spend time together beforehand to really create that camaraderie.'
The riveting new series is now streaming completely for free, so there's no excuse not to get totally scandalised by this shocking corner of history.
Outrageous is available to stream on U, U&Drama and Britbox.
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