David Walliams says Sheridan Smith dazzles in his new series Walliams & Friend
He tells TV Magazine his special plans for pal Sheridan and why he couldn’t stop slapping Jack Whitehall...
David Walliams has got an impressive list of famous faces together to play the Friend in his new comedy sketch show series – Jack Whitehall, Harry Enfield, Miranda Richardson, Hugh Bonneville and Meera Syal – but there’s friend in particular that clearly holds a special place in his heart – his old pal Sheridan Smith.
“There’s just something special about her,” says David. “I’ve seen her onstage and there’s a vulnerability there.
"She’s somebody who you feel protective over. She’s not actress-y. She’s like a normal person. But she’s also a chameleon.
"She is really seriously talented. People have been waking up to that since Cilla and The C Word. You’ve got your Keira Knightleys but Sheridan’s range is out of this world.
"We could give her things to do in in this show that had an element of tragedy which you couldn’t just give to any actor. There’s one sketch where she’s a cruise ship singer and she’s just magic.
As well as Sheridan's midas touch, here are 10 more insights from TV Magazine's exclusive interview with David about his new show Walliams and Friend...
1 Following last year’s Christmas special with Joanna Lumley, Walliams & Friend returns with six new episodes and a star-studded line-up that includes Jack Whitehall, Sheridan Smith, Harry Enfield, Meera Syal, Miranda Richardson and Hugh Bonneville.
2 In the first episode, Jack Whitehall plays Sherlock, James Bond’s Q, a dating-show contestant who doesn’t understand innuendo and an upset 28 year old who hasn’t been taken skiing by his mummy and daddy in the spoof show ‘Middle Class Jeremy Kyle’.
3 For that sketch, his mother is played by Jack’s real mum, Hilary Whitehall, who watches him getting mercilessly slapped by David. “I could have slapped him a lot more,” says David. “Jack started laughing so I was slapping him as Jeremy Kyle going: ‘It’s not funny!’”
4 In a series-long sketch called Celebrity Slammer, hosted by Vernon Kay, David is locked up with Christopher Biggins, Eamonn Holmes, the Chuckle Brothers, Bob Carolgees and Spit The Dog and The Bill’s Christopher Ellison.
“We wanted a real hardman to fall in love with Biggins and write him poetry, so we chose Chris,” says David.
5 David could work with the Chuckle Brothers every day. “They’re iconic and brilliantly funny,” says David. “When we did Comic Relief with them, Stephen Fry and Liam Gallagher were starstruck.”
6 Later in the series, Sheridan Smith does a brilliant turn as a cruise-ship singer who spots an important agent in the audience. “Sheridan’s just magic,” says David. “She gets better and better every time I see her – I liken her to Julie Walters.”
7 Sheridan also does a great Barbara Windsor in a Carry On spoof. And David wants to work with her more. “I want to write a drama about Joan Collins and have Sheridan play Joan,” he says. “It would be about the court case just after Dynasty. Joan had written a book but the publishers rejected it and tried to get the advance back.”
8 One brilliant running gag in the series has David as part of an Il Divo-style male voice choir called Il Prima Donnas, giving straight-faced renditions for their CD ‘Chants From The Terraces’.
9 There’s a guest appearance by Fern Britton, who is unfortunate to have David as her very bossy personal assistant on a flight. “I have noticed that PAs take on the importance of the person they’re looking after,” says David. “You’re not actually that person. You’re paid by that person to get them a Coke!”
10 David would have dearly loved to include Ronnie Corbett in his new series. “His show, The One Ronnie, was really the starting point for thinking about this programme,” says David. “If Ronnie was still with us he would have been the perfect Friend.”
NEW! Walliams & Friend Friday 9.30pm BBC1