Entertainment
Stath Lets Flats cast on spin-offs, being inspired by The Apprentice and ratings worries: ‘I think 6 people watched the first episode’
The cast of Stath Lets Flats series 3 (Picture: Channel 4)
Stath Lets Flats has quietly become one of the most successful sitcoms of recent years and after yet more Bafta wins and the excitement of the upcoming third series, the cast sat down to share the insane journey of the Channel 4 series so far.
Armed with a cast full of dreamy comedy names, it’s easy to see why we’ve all taken to the bizarreness of the hit show created by the fantastic Jamie Demetriou.
It tells the story of the mayhem of the rental market we all know and hate from the perspective of those desperately trying to let out properties, centred around Stath Charalambos, a well-meaning Greek-Cypriot letting agent, who is albeit not so great at letting flats.
Since series two left some quite shocking cliff-hangers (Is Julian okay? We still don’t actually know) the show has gained even more critical recognition and it’s clear the cast are still pinching themselves over working on a Bafta-winning show.
Al Roberts, who plays Stath’s best pal Al and his sister Sophie’s (Natasia Demetriou) love interest told us: ‘It was just crazy [to win a Bafta], you just go into a place of almost finding it funny, like how outrageous it is – just could not believe it.
‘With series one, there was all this talk about whether it really – it was all this kind of last-minute stuff. What channel would it go on? E4, Channel 4… and was there going to be a series two?
‘We would have been so grateful to just get one series out. But then the idea that the second one won a Bafta – it just felt like the dream.’
Oh Stath, we do love you (Picture: Channel 4)
Ellie White stars as wonderfully over-dramatic postwoman Katia and explained it took around 10 years and ‘so much hard work’ for the concept to make it to screens: ‘Obviously for Jamie [Demetriou], it’s just so exciting and amazing and it absolutely well-deserved but to be in a show that’s been rewarded, it definitely feels like a privilege for sure.’
Believe it or not, it didn’t always look like it was destined to carry on for the long-haul, with Kiell Smith-Bynoe, who plays Dean, adding: ‘It was also great, because I remember that we had a lot of talk about like numbers and viewing figures and all that s**t.
‘I never really understood what those conversations were. But it felt like people weren’t watching it,’ with Ellie joking: ‘Six people watched the first episode or something.’
Series three sees Stath on a mission to rescue Michael & Eagle, after it fell into financial ruin – operating out of the family’s North London home – amid the reality of impending fatherhood.
Dean will continue to be unimpressed with Stath at all times (Picture: Channel 4)
Katy Wix, who plays heavily pregnant lettings agent Carole, gave the goss about where they sought inspiration for some of the maddest characters on TV, and it’s really not as far-fetched as you might think.
She said: ‘We talked about Apprentice candidates quite early on, that kind of self-delusion, I guess some of them have that sort of officious, kind of, aggressive business style and business-speak, which is so kind of awful. We talked about some of those women, and I suppose quite a lot of sort of noughties reality people.’
Series three also brings with it a new crop of fabulous guest stars, which includes Julia Davis (Nighty Night and Gavin and Stacey), Charlie Cooper (This Country) and David Avery (The Night Manager).
Katy admitted she was ‘really nervous’ to be working with her idol Julia, who plays her sister in the series: ‘It was a dream! I mean, basically, I had to leave my body. I just had to forget it was happening or I would have just like kept on fainting. I wanted to be her, I grew up watching her and she’s like one of the reasons I wanted to do it [comedy acting].
‘You have to sort get past all that, you’re not only just trying to talk to this person but actually trying to act with them and then trying to like improvise with them… it’s too much, it is terrifying. But there are points where if she said, “Oh that was funny… I like what you did there,” it kind of made all the fear worth it and I went home really sort of just proud of myself!’
The wonderful Julia Davis will guest star this series (Picture: Getty)
After leaving fans on one of the most bizarre endings to a comedy series ever, we pick back up just as we’re about to see Carole give birth to Stath’s (Jamie Demetriou) baby, which promises to be utterly chaotic in true Stath-style.
‘Carole’s heavily pregnant – still working – totally in denial that she’s literally about to give birth, she’s on the phone to a tenant! Basically, she just refuses to let it go and the whole kind of way Carol gives birth is totally absurd.
‘It doesn’t go to plan and, Stath is really, really irritating her and she’s trying to sort push him away and he’s just being really over-emotional, crying every time he thinks about the fact he’s going to have a child,’ Katy laughed.
The surprisingly cute relationship between Al and Sophie, who’s played by Jamie’s equally hilarious sister Natasia, is finally going to develop further this season too, as Al reminded us: ‘I think all Sophie and Al have actually done is hugged, which is very mild! It’s exciting that there’s potentially a long way to go, if they were to make something of themselves.
‘It’s taken 12 episodes, which is great. I love how sweet it is and I’m not pushing for it to go at breakneck speed but, it’s nice that there’s so much more that can come from that relationship if that happens.’
Ellie weighed in: ‘I always find it I always find it funny talking about the plot lines in Stath because they’re so stupid.’
Al and Sophie might finally do more than hug, but that’s not a certainty (Picture: Channel 4)
There’s also a very inescapable nature of the show for the cast as Katy shared: ‘My friend is trying to buy somewhere in North London at the moment and said she’s had three Greek estate agents and she can’t like stop giggling when they’re showing around the house, and I felt really bad!
‘I thought like well, do they watch it? Are they aware of it? But then I’ve had Greek Cypriot people come up to me and say that they really love it so that’s good as well.’
But the all-important question, will there be more to come? Absolutely, if the cast has anything to do with it, even throwing in some possible spin-off ideas they’d come up with (potentially on the spot) which obviously would all involve each other.
‘I think Tash [Demetriou] is writing a spin-off, of Dean?’ Kiell teased.
Ellie noted every character in the show ‘could have a spin-off’ but was uncertain on what was to come for the future of Stath, leading Al to chime in: ‘Wasn’t there talk of a Katia play at some point… a one woman play?’
The most exciting thing about the whole show is you can tell how much this cast all love each other’s energy for it, and for each other, as Al concluded: ‘I guess I kind of feel, as long as it’s big – basically I never want it to stop, it’s so fun to do.’
The cast are all full of praise for creator Jamie too, with Ellie giving a brilliant summary on what it’s like to work with his rather outlandish writing: ‘I just think it’s like nothing else you get script wise, because you get the scripts and I’m just laughing, I honestly just sit there… I know it sounds cliched, but you just read them and you go this is just… because it’s so unique, his language.
More: Channel 4
‘It’s from such a specific person and part of his brain that I just don’t think anyone else maybe in the world… you know how when you say something right? It’s weird to think that someone else may have said this at one time in history.
‘With Stath, I genuinely think that some of the lines, no one has ever said that in history of time.
Stath Lets Flats series 3 begins Tuesday at 10.15pm on Channel 4.
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