Sweet Pea star Ella Purnell reveals 'terrifying' reality of playing female serial killer in gripping new series
"Sometimes I make a list of people I'd love to kill" are the chilling opening lines in the trailer for Ella Purnell who plays a female serial killer in new series Sweetpea.
Fallout star Ella is making her way back across the pond for this dark new comedy thriller. After watching the first episode, everyone is in for a treat as it's not often that a dark female character is relatable, funny and chilling at the same time. Ella, who plays the lead character Rhiannon Lewis, highlighted at the Sky Premiere Q&A that playing a female serial killer is something viewers "don't see on screen very often and that makes it unpredictable" to watch.
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What's the series about?
Adapted from the 2017 novel by C.J. Skuse and produced by the makers ofHeartstopper, the series follows Rhiannon Lewis who is a receptionist that is bored with her life and fed up of being overlooked all the time. Ella plays her as a sweet people pleaser that only wants to succeed; however, her innocent demeanour starts to switch into something darker when she finally has enough.
The fuel for Rhiannon's fire starts from several key characters that rile her up such as her school bully who is back in town, her boss who patronises her using the nickname 'sweetpea' and the new junior reporter at work who catches her eye in a different way. Not to mention the soundtrack will be on repeat!
What are the core themes of the show?
In a way, Rhiannon's murders are exploring the complexity of female rage and what happens when a woman fully bites back at everyone who has wronged her. Ella describes this rage as "terrifying" where Rhiannon finally lets go of being nice to everyone all the time. Whilst the cast are not condoning murder, the topic of female rage on screen is not often shown and this series proves it's not always in a glamorous (more gory) way.
The six-part series takes the audience on a messy coming of age story for the lead killer as the murders give her a new lease of life. Speaking to HELLO! and other outlets at the Q&A, Ella explained: "It's about somebody who didn't get to have all the experiences most of us have had. It's really sweet to watch her do makeup for the first time and go on a date."
This role was not without its psychological challenges and there was a risk that the audience would be disconnected from the character. However, Ella told Sky she was "not interested in her (Rhiannon) being likeable; I'm interested in her being relatable. Creating a relatable serial killer means that the audience is going to feel conflicted".
Who is starring in it alongside Ella?
The talented cast of the thriller series include Calam Lynch (Bridgerton), Nicôle Lecky (Mood), Jeremy Swift (Ted Lasso), Dino Kelly (Peaky Blinders) and Leah Harvey (Foundation).
When and where can you watch it?
Sweetpea premieres 10th October on Sky Atlantic or NOW TV in the UK and Starz in the United States and Canada.
