Fear, Stress and Anger
Eileen Essell plays Gran
Writer Michael Aitkens - who drew extensively on his own life experiences when he wrote the long-running hit comedy series, Waiting For God, starring Graham Crowden and Stephanie Cole - based the character of Gran on his own mother.
"It's what happened to her. It wasn't Alzheimer's, but more senility - as her brain started shrinking like a little walnut and slowly, bit by bit, she started shutting down. But she was perfectly happy."
Producer Sue Vertue adds: "Eileen Essell as Gran is a spectacular find. She used to act, years ago, but gave up in her thirties when she married a writer.
"She thought that when you're married to a writer, you should be around more to offer support, so she became a teacher. She got back into acting fairly recently when she was spotted by an agent who cornered her at an after-show party where she had been helping out in a stage show.
"She hasn't stopped working since – she's been in a Danny deVito film, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and now this.
"She's extremely professional, a lovely person and hugely fit – which she puts down to daily yoga. You certainly couldn't get a better recommendation for the benefits of it!"
Sue adds: "It was an unusual part to cast, due to the fact that Gran doesn't speak the whole way through the series, but Eileen has given Gran such depth and pathos and found it highly amusing that she had no lines to learn at all."
Eileen explains: "The thing is to immerse yourself in the character in the knowledge that you won't be able to express anything verbally.
"Michael told me that he based the character of Gran on his own mother who had a sort of dementia whereby she didn't utter a word, although up to that point she had been completely normal.
"Gran is very happy on the whole, just living in her own, smiley little world."
She relished the challenge: "I found the idea of a character who suddenly shut up and never spoke again quite fascinating.
"I think the series is beautifully written and so funny. Michael's daughter Daisy told me wonderful stories about her granny, and how she was always telling fantastic stories that weren't true – so it could be that all the time she's living a drama in her head.
"She used to nip out of the house on her own and she somehow managed to cotton onto the fact that police cars would bring her home, so she kept her address in her pocket. Gran does just seem to climb into open car doors."
Eileen first became an actress when she left university, working in the theatre "because television hardly existed that long ago!"
She spent four years in Sheffield working with Paul Eddington, and worked continuously for 12 years. She then married a playwright and decided, in her early thirties, to earn a living so she could stay in one place.
She saw an advert in the Evening Standard offering crash courses in teaching for graduates, so she combined this with bringing up her son, who is now an actor.
When her husband died nine years ago, a friend of her son persuaded her to appear in a play he was putting on, which she did. She was spotted by an agent, who, unbeknownst to her, was in the audience to see another client, and he asked if he could represent her.
"I said, 'After forty years!' But I realised that I had nothing to lose, especially when he told me: 'You're very old, you have white hair and all your marbles – I think you're marketable'.
"In just three weeks I was doing my first television! Isn't that amazing? I was so lucky. My first role was in Doctors and then I got a part in Ali G In Da House; and following that, I did a play and then I spent three months in Hollywood working on a film called Our House, directed by Danny deVito with Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore.
"Then Miramax invited me to appear in Finding Neverland with Johnny Depp and I did a lot of telly – French and Saunders, The Canterbury Tales.
"I did another film with Johnny Depp, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, and spent 12 weeks in New York last year filming The Producers.
"It is the most amazing second career – friends of my son say I'm an inspiration, that it's worth holding on for that big break!"
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