New interview with Damien by Bradford zone! 

Some of this has been read in interviews elsewhere, but much of it is new!

Spoilers alert!

Series one of Brassic was a huge hit, you must be chuffed?

It’s always lovely to be part of a successful show and even more so when it’s so much fun to work on every day. We’re a very tight gang, we have as much fun off set, as it looks like we do on TV, so we were very proud of the success of the first series. And thrilled for Joe!

You had started filming series two when series one was going out, what was it like being together and seeing the great reaction to the show?

It was great being in Manchester when Series One was on TV. Like you say, we had just started filming Series Two, so we were wandering around on our days off with our characters’ haircuts, going out to buy milk. And you’d often hear someone shout ‘Hey, Dylan!’, or ‘It’s the Brassic guys!’ Lots of people would stop us to tell us they loved the show, which was great!

What do you think is the key ingredient that made Brassic such a huge hit?

Joe wanted people to watch Brassic and think, ‘Ah, I wish I was in their gang!’ And that really is the key ingredient, people who love Brassic want to be a part of the gang! The characters are real; we’re never cool, we always screw up, but we have so much fun doing it that I guess it’s infectious.

Did you feel any pressure coming back for the second series when the first has been such a success?

To get a series two, you have to go bigger and better, and I genuinely do think this time the show is bigger, it’s better, it’s wackier, it’s funnier, it’s darker too. Basically everything that was great about the Series One, Joe and Danny have made even better.

Was it easy to get back into Dylan’s shoes for series two?

There was a six-month gap between the end of filming for Series One and the start of filming Series Two, but when we were back on set in costume and we’d all had haircuts and speaking in our accents, it was like we had never been apart, truly. So that made it very easy to get back into character. And there’s a great confidence on set when everyone knows the first series has gone down well, so that always helps.

What’s Dylan like this series?

When we kick things off, Dylan has kind of turned his back on the gang. And on Erin. He wants to prove Erin wrong, and that means going to college and learning a trade, becoming a responsible adult… and in a way, become the man that Erin wants him to be. So he’s gone slightly cold turkey on the gang… but obviously, he is easily lead. It’s only matter of time before he’s back scheming some hare-brained plans with the rest of them!

Erin and Dylan aren’t together in this series, how does that change the dynamic within the group because most people don’t like hanging out with their ex?

It’s very much the elephant in the room. So much of their feelings toward each other are buried, so they actually have very little interaction at the start of this series because they’re afraid of what they might say to one another. They both still feel very, very strongly about each other, and are both still attracted to each other. Erin’s got involved with the gang too, which makes it a bit awkward for Dylan. She’s become the brains of the gang in a way, so they have to navigate that clash too.

Dylan has started to see a new girl called Sara. Is he really interested in her or is he just using her to make Erin jealous?

Dylan has gone to college, because he thinks that’s what Erin wants him to do and then, through no fault of his own, he’s actually fallen for another woman. He hasn’t deliberately set out to make Erin jealous, but there’s definitely an internal struggle: he really likes his new girlfriend Sara, but I suppose deep down, he’s probably still holding a flame for Erin.

Do you think they could ever get back together?

Of course, but it involves an apology, probably on both sides. They took their relationship for granted, and so it got neglected over time… Dylan has some growing up to do. But there’s still some very strong feelings there, so who knows…

Fans seem to like the idea of Erin and Vinnie together. How do you think Dylan would cope if something did spark up between them?

Dylan is selfish, and one of his flaws is that he really only thinks about himself.

Finding out that Vinnie is the father of Erin’s son Tyler was a big shock. But I don’t think it’s ever crossed Dylan’s mind that something could happen between Vinnie and Erin. He’d be heartbroken.

The gang are always up to crazy stuff, so what can fans expect this series?

There are robberies, and road trips, a bigger weed farm, there’s even a treasure hunt! And car chases! In Series One hardly any of the actors could drive. So when we did high-speed chases, the car was either on a trailer being pulled along by another car or… there was a stunt driver sitting on the roof of our car, in control of the car. But in Series Two, they just stuck us in a green-screen studio; a couple of guys shook the van from the outside and we would throw ourselves from side to side inside. We felt ridiculous. But we watched it on camera afterwards, and with the right sound effects, it really works! So we got to a shoot an amazing car chase in series two, without leaving the building!

Did you guys have as much fun off-camera as you did on-camera, like last series?

Joe took everyone out for dinner before Series One started filming so we could all have a big night out together and start the bonding process. Come Series Two, we’ve had lots of those nights out together now, having filmed the first series for four months up in Manchester. Definitely the days on set where the whole gang are together are the best!

Rumour has it you guys were more health conscious this series?

Yeah, there was a lot of Brassic gym action going on. There’s a gym in the building that we were all living in, so we’d often be in there together. Aaron had a huge striptease scene this series and he wanted to get into really, really good shape for that, so the rest of us are just trying to keep up with him really. Michelle got involved too, everyone in the cast is really, really fit. Ryan is really fit, his upper body strength is phenomenal. Parth is really fast and Tom is really good on the weights, Joe can run, unbelievable stamina. Can you imagine if we brought out a Brassic work out video? An aerobics video for Brassic would be so cool, we need to mention that to Joe!

It is great news that there is a series three, what would you like to see happen to Dylan?

I was hoping you’d ask this question… When it’s three o’clock in the morning and we’re on top of a hill, in the middle of a thunderstorm, it’s lashing rain and it’s freezing, we all say to Joe, ‘Please, please write us an episode where we go to Marbella or even Benidorm, can we just have a little bit of sunshine?’ We love Manchester and we love filming there, but a little bit of warm sunshine would be amazing, right? It would be pretty epic if they all went on a gang holiday and it all went wrong. The possibilities are endless! So can we have a little holiday in series three, Joe? Please?!