Breeders stars Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard talk biggest ‘challenges’ in store for characters in season 3 and ‘really important’ menopause storyline-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro

The Office’s Martin and Back To Life star Daisy return for a third season (Picture: Sky UK)

Breeders stars Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard are back for more in season 3, as their characters – Paul Worsley and Ally Grant – continue to deal with the trials and tribulations of being parents.

At the start of the new season, their family is very much divided, with Paul currently living outside their home after being punched in the face by their teenage son, Luke (Alex Eastwood).

Paul and Ally’s daughter Ava (Eve Prenelle) is desperate for her dad to come home… but it’s easier said than done to repair the rifts that have been created.

Ahead of season three coming out, Metro.co.uk caught up with Martin and Daisy to discuss what the new episodes have in store, with one of the most ‘important’ storylines being how Ally copes with the impact of going through the menopause.

From screaming matches to swearing, heartwarming declarations of love to witty wisecracks, Breeders has been hailed from the start for being an extremely relatable watch. So what lies ahead?

Paul and Ally have to cope with the fallout of Paul’s strained relationship with their son, Luke (Picture: Sky/FX)

What does Breeders season three have in store?

Daisy: So we begin with the family divided. They do start to sort of tentatively reform their relationship, rebuild it. Their family are challenged individually in quite big ways. It’s not as shocking as a punch in the face.

But there’s the introduction of a character called Gabby (Sally Phillips) who Paul connects with a little bit. So there are other ways of it giving you an emotional punch without it being a physical one.

Speaking of Gabby, what can we expect from her introduction after Paul connects with her?

Martin: Hopefully, you don’t know where it’s gonna go,. Paul has met someone while not living under the same roof as Ally and the kids anymore. He has met someone who’s a neighbour of Leah (Stella Gonet), Ally’s mom whose house he’s staying in, and she’s really nice, she’s fun. His life is pretty low on fun at the moment, and there’s someone who’s kind of willing to hang out with him and make him laugh and laugh at his jokes as well.

It’s fairly clear, I suppose, why it would be a distraction to Paul, because he’s on his own. For the most part, he’s trying to keep contact with his family in the early part of the series, and, and there’s someone who is giving him attention. And he is fairly low on that at the moment.

Newcomer Gabby is played by Bridget Jones star Sally Phillips (Picture: Lia Toby/Getty Images for BFI)

Another interesting storyline to watch was Ally going through the menopause and dealing with the HRT shortage, while at the same time, her daughter Ava has started her period. For want of a better word, I found it really refreshing because you don’t see that very often on TV, let alone done in a really authentic way.

Daisy: When I was reading it, it was really interesting, and then how that then creates a disconnect between them because Ally’s got too much on her plate and can’t sort of be the best mother for her daughter in this moment, which would be really upsetting.

As a mum, myself, I’d be gutted if I missed that. I completely understand why Ally does, because she’s just got too much on. She’s just not on top of her life, you know?

How did it feel to be able to bring that storyline to life in the show?

Daisy: It felt really good. It’s really important, and it’s so important that something like the menopause is part of a story not just about the menopause. For me, it was quite nice that it’s part of their life, like it’s part of every woman’s woman’s life, something else to deal with, while you’re dealing with this and this and this and this.

How did you find working with the actors playing your teenage children Luke and Eva in season three, after viewers were first introduced to them during the season two time jump?

Martin: I think it was one year on and one year more confident for them, I suppose. And we know each other better now. Last year they were a year and a bit younger, and a year and a bit less experienced. And this time, I think they just had more confidence and were I suppose more at ease. I liked them last year, but I grew even fonder of them this year.

They’re becoming more their own people as teenagers do, you know and they’re becoming good people. I’d be very surprised if they went down a bratty showbiz route because I think they’ve got good families, good parents, who are going to keep them grounded and they seem to genuinely care about being good and doing the work well. I absolutely loved hanging out with them actually.

Daisy: Yeah, they’re lovely kids. Intelligent, funny – just really good company.

Daisy emphasised how ‘important’ the authentic menopause storyline was to portray (Picture: Sky/FX)

Did you still find you had to be careful about swearing in front of them, or did you find you could treat them more like grownups, like how many teenagers like to be treated?

Daisy: It’s less scary, isn’t it? It was lovely working with the young kids too. They’re brilliant, and also they’re troopers. Kids don’t sort of stand around set, you know – they come in, do their bit, and then they go, they’re on such a schedule, and it’s quite complicated. When you have young children, the fact that you can’t swear, or you have to say these funny substitutes… but with the older kids, it’s just different. They could just be really nice to chat to.

Martin: It’s just like hanging out with a couple of actors. Obviously, they are younger, and you have to be mindful of that at some point. But it was just like hanging out with a couple of pros. It was just like, ‘Oh, yeah, just these are the actors who are in the scene. And they happen to be a bit younger.’ It was really lovely just getting to know them more, and they were more relaxed. So they could be more themselves.

The co-stars have magnetic chemistry on-screen (Picture: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

Could we see Breeders go past season three and if so, could we see another time jump?

Martin: I’m fairly confident we could go again. And I’m fairly confident there might be a time jump.

Daisy: Yeah, I feel like another chapter story. It feels like there’s another time jump to the story doesn’t it?

Martin: There’s more we could get out of it without it becoming flogging a dead horse. I’m very in favour of getting out while the going’s good and not going way past your sell by date. But I think there’s more that we could do with Breeders, and keep it fresh.

I’m sure you must get so many parents reaching out to say how much they relate to the show. What are some particularly memorable comments you’ve received that you’d be willing to share?

Daisy: It’s mostly just people saying, ‘Oh my god, thank you so much.’ Or, ‘I feel like I’m watching myself,’ or ‘I’m so glad the parents are human.’ It’s mostly that rather than one particularly memorable thing.

Martin: I agree. It’s sort of this spirit of ‘thanks for doing that’. I’ve had parents sort of say, ‘Oh, thank god you’re doing that.’ That was always my hope that we would be funny, but it would also be truthful.

Martin and Daisy are both hopeful Breeders could return for more episodes (Picture: Mark Johnson/Sky/Avalon)

Do you find that because the show is so truthful, it’s hard not to take it home with you? Or are you able to have a degree of separation?

Martin: Certain aspects of the show, I feel I’ve been living with for 16 years anyway. Not all parts of the show. I don’t particularly take it home with me. But I also don’t feel a massive need not to take it home with me. Because it’s there anyway, you know, and my kids know it very, very well. They know why this show exists. So it’s not a secret, but I tend not to take too much work home with me.

Daisy: I try not to. I try to shake things off. But I get home so I can be in my life. There are times where you’re doing loads and loads of big emotional scenes, and you’re knackered. It’s more that, isn’t it?

Martin: It’s more the tiring thing. I think it’s less about literally taking that scene home with you, the content of that scene, and more the spirit of the day. Like if you have a day where you’ve been crying a lot, it’s just knackering. Or a scene where you’ve been aggressive. It’s more of a tiredness. But it’s not a direct thing of, as you say, I’m not going to take an argument that I have with Daisy in a fictional show – I’m not going to take that home to real life.

What would you both like people to take away from season three when they’ve seen the final episode?

Daisy: You want them to be really invested, further invested in the family and the relationships that have gone a bit deeper and to just be really involved emotionally in the story.

Martin: I agree. I think the show does go to deeper places this time, and I hope we bring the audience with us. It’s a very obvious publicity thing to say this, but I do think this is our best one so far. I do think it’s the best written and directed one so far.

Breeders season three is available to watch on Sky and NOW from today.

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