More fun. For me, writing becomes a chore when you know what you’re about to do. You think “I’ve got to do this and this in the next three scenes, so here we go.” I prefer to not really know where it’s going. You know it’s going in a certain direction, but you don’t know how you’re going to get there. That’s what makes it fun, the freedom to go in a different direction. KC: Obviously Ridley is an icon of cinema so having his input and his lens on things is always really invaluable.

Ronald Frame's 2013 novel, Havisham, is a non-canonical story about Miss Havisham's early life. The story tells how Miss Havisham (given the name of Catherine) is the daughter of a brewer. The story tells of more than just the infamous trauma of being left behind by her fiancé and goes on with her taking charge of her family's business before descending into vengeful madness, adopting Estella, and arranging the meeting of Estella and Pip. DB: I've known Brady for several years and it was really exciting to finally get a production away with him. When Brady came to us with his vision for it was just really it felt so personal to him. He’s bought an enormous depth to the story and a personal insight – and he's a really lovely human being.KC: He brought a real authenticity and honesty to the part and you really feel for Pip and his journey through London and his eventual downfall. It really hits hard. He's a terrific actor.

Can you tell us about the relationship between Pip and Miss Havisham and what it's been like working with Olivia Colman? Collin, Robbie (29 November 2012). "Great Expectations, review". The Daily Telegraph. London . Retrieved 9 March 2013. Many journalists have drawn connections between the jilted Miss Havisham and subsequent jilted brides (life imitates art), such as the widely-reported case of Alice Pinard-Dôges, who committed suicide in 1894. [8] Alternative and derived versions [ edit ] DB: To have an actor like Ashley play such a powerful role in a period drama just feels very exciting and it's something we haven't really seen before.

The process of hair, makeup and wardrobe with a period drama is so different to anything I've ever experienced, specifically with wardrobe. In our very first meeting with Verity Hawkes, who's the designer, she'd laid out all these incredible sketches that she had drawn up and was explaining the process of what happens to Estella – we see her bloom and rot in her clothing, like you would with flowers. I remember going in for those first fittings and seeing those dresses for the first time – they literally took my breath away. While Miss Havisham's original goal was to prevent Estella from suffering as she had at the hands of a man, it changed as Estella grew older: Osborn, Michael (24 December 2011). "BBC News – Great Expectations: Miss Havisham given 'youthful' air". Bbc.co.uk . Retrieved 14 August 2012.

Well, A Christmas Carol is a short story, so it was more contained. So much is known as part of our culture with A Christmas Carol. You know, Scrooge dances on Christmas morning. You don’t want to be someone who comes along and says “right, I’m going to vandalise what you think of A Christmas Carol, I’m going to make it totally different and turn it all on its head.” I don’t think you should do that. So with Great Expectations, the scene with Magwitch on the heath is what people think of, so I wanted to keep that. I think A Christmas Carol was easier in a sense because there was a more simple map, whereas with Great Expectations there’s more freedom to play with those characters. I like any of the scenes with Miss Havisham, Estella and Pip when he’s being educated. I think they’re just great.Working with Fionn Whitehead has been very interesting. He is a really talented actor and we have been getting along on set. He likes to play his music from his little speaker and I love music as well. We have been really catching a vibe and laughing, making jokes and just enjoying each other’s company. I think that rings through on screen. Even though, at first, the characters are at odds, they come together and get closer and our relationship off screen starts to show on screen. There is a comfortability between us that is shining through. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Working with Olivia Colman was incredible. We had a couple of big scenes and she just made it effortless, very easy, very seamless. We had a laugh, and it was huge honour; it's a huge honour to be on this set with everybody. You feel incredibly blessed. Olivia is a national treasure. I have to point a gun at her at one point and I was very nervous about that, and I have to push around a little, and she's a national treasure, so if you harm Olivia you might as well ask Jeff Bezos for a trip to the moon, as there's no place here to hide. It was amazing. The relationship between Estella and Miss Havisham is incredibly toxic and dark, especially the way that Steven has adapted it. I was really excited and nervous when I found out Olivia Colman was essentially going to be playing my mum. They're such heavy scenes so it's really fun when we're on set and straight after we yell "cut" we're just laughing and making light of the situation, so that's been lovely. She's such a dream, I literally pinch myself thinking about it. I can't believe I'm working with her. What makes this version different is the casting choices – they have really thought outside of the box. People can see themselves in a piece like this where they may have been excluded previously just because of the nature of the way the world was at the time. London at that time was a melting pot of different cultures. You had people from Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, even before the Windrush era. I think it is important that these shows show that representation. I don’t think it’s about being woke, it’s just about being accurate to the time. This team have really endeavoured to make that happen.