I Hate Suzie Too: Billie Piper shares a ‘dark’ sense of humour with Lucy Prebble

I Hate Suzie creators Billie Piper and Lucy Prebble said they shared a dark sense of humour when creating their second instalment, I Hate Suzie Too. I Hate Suzie Too is available on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW from 20 December.

Video transcript

JASMINE VALENTINE: What is it about Suzie and her world that personally draws you in to telling her truth?

BILLIE PIPER: Woo, what is it? What is it that draws us in? Well, I think, maybe we both have a quest to be honest about the things in life that affect all of us.

LUCY PREBBLE: That aren't maybe spoken about.

BILLIE PIPER: That aren't spoken about.

LUCY PREBBLE: That's a theme for both of us.

BILLIE PIPER: Yeah, yeah. This just seems to be a frustration we share. And so, I guess playing it through this character with the world that she lives in, it just opens the idea up so much. And it opens up a world of absurd behavior that allows us to be theatrical and fun. And really push those elements as well.

LUCY PREBBLE: We also share a sense of humor.

BILLIE PIPER: Definitely.

LUCY PREBBLE: Which is quite dark. And I think, on a personal level, we'll often make each other laugh by saying things like, and you won't believe what I did next. That sort of self-lacerating dark like, oh my gosh I'm such a whatever.

And then, we can translate that. Not even using those anecdotes or anything but that sense of humor. That sense of-- she just makes such bad decisions easy I think. Not always but often one after the other and that's really entertaining to watch.

BILLIE PIPER: It's so entertaining, coasting that line of something being really awful and therefore, hilarious. It's helpful in life.

LUCY PREBBLE: Oh, totally. Because otherwise, what you're going to do? Despair.

BILLIE PIPER: Yeah, exactly.

BLAKE HARRISON: What Lucy and Billie have done so well, is create this likable but so flawed anti-hero, and you don't see many, many female characters like that. And I think the fact that they've done that, makes this show feel very fresh and innovative.

And then, you put all of that at the backdrop of the TV film industry, which in itself is crazy at times. And then, you go one up on that even more with Series two by putting it in the reality show that is dance crazy. And I think that is drawing you in and is incredibly exciting.

DOUGLAS HODGE: Yeah, I agree. Yeah, I mean, I think I think that the inevitable consequence of Suzie in series one, is what would you do? Go on a dance competition and see if the world can love you. And that's terrifying.

And then, the whole social media business of getting more and more likes is a really interesting subject to tackle today. Especially, with Lucy and Billie being so fearless in the way that they honestly attack everything. Whether it's un-pc or whatever it is, or whatever it triggers something or whatever they're fearlessly looking into those subjects, which is unusual on television, I think.