BRASSIC creator - Daniel Brocklehurst - has explained why he made Michelle Keegan 'more central' in the upcoming series with a gritty sexual assault plot.
The Sky One comedy has a long list of popular actors in the cast, such as Joe Gilgun, Damien Molony and Ryan Sampson, but the award-winning screenwriter has lifted the lid on why viewers can expect to see a lot more of the former soap star in season 2.
Daniel revealed that he wanted to bring Michelle, who plays Erin in the show, to the forefront because it felt right to make her character more involved - and has done so by focusing the plot on a very sensitive topic.
He told : "I can’t remember the starting point of Erin’s assault storyline. It felt like we wanted her to have a particular arc in series 2.
"So when you’re thinking about how the arc’s going to develop, certain ideas come to the fore, and this idea leapt forward.
"I think some of the other people on the show were nervous about it, but I was reasonably confident we could pull it off, and for it to be dealt with sensitively. "
Daniel Brocklehurst has also written for TV programmes like Shameless, The Street and Ordinary LiesCredit: Handout
But Michelle Keegan isn't the only woman who has become more central in the popular comedy - Sugar (played by Joanna Higson) and Carol (Bronagh Gallagher) have also had more storylines focused around them.
He added: "Then for the other two main females, Sugar and Carol, I just really liked them.
"They were in series 1 a little bit, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought they could be good fun, and it would be great for Cardi (Tom Hanson) to have this girlfriend, and for Erin to have a pal who was her own age.
"Those women are really good actors, so it was more organic really. I wasn’t doing it to be like ‘we’ve got to have more women in it."
The 32-year-old actress was forced to leave the video call to calm Phoebe the pooch down.
The interruption caused hilarity for the rest of the cast who made fun of Michelle's unusual doorbell that had set off her pet.
Host Jamie East joked: "I do believe the dog has just tackled Mark Wright to the ground."
Michelle's dog started barking during the cast Q&ACredit: Sky
The actress quickly had to go and resolve the issue and the rest of the cast found it hilariousCredit: Sky
But Michelle's husband was nowhere to be seen. Instead Michelle had to quieten Phoebe down and return to the interview.
Her co-star Tom Hanson whose interview was disrupted said: "Don't worry Michelle, I'll just fart during your question!"
The apologetic actress said: "Sorry about that, but that's what happens in lockdown.
"You have no idea who it is, it could have been an Amazon package I've been waiting for for two weeks, who knows.
Tonight the second series returns to Sky and fans have been desperately waiting for its return since Vinnie faked his own death and went into hiding to escape Terrance McCann.
Michelle has teased that her character will go through "a bit of bother" in the latest series.
Last week on The One Show chatting about the new series, Michelle ended up making a hilarious gaffe when she revealed she's become a keen gardener in lockdown.
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