Fresh Meat: Joe Thomas on Kingsley and Josie - "There is nothing more boring than a happy couple"
The Ross and Rachel of the Channel 4 comedy finally make a go of their relationship in season 3 - but will Kingsley's girlfriend Heather come between them?
Kingsley and Josie are the Rachel and Ross of Fresh Meat. Despite pining for one another during the last two series of the Channel 4 comedy, the pair have never managed to make much of their mutual attraction, culminating in Kingsley's doomed dash to the bus station at the end of last series.
Fast-forward to the start of second year and Josie's down in Southampton studying zoology (remember, her dental aspirations came to a dramatic end when she drunkenly put a hole in a patient's mouth?). According to Kingsley, their fledgling romance is "over like Dover", but during a house trip down south to Josie's traffic light party, it looks like their spark may have reignited...
So is Joe Thomas, who plays the try-hard hipster, excited to see the pair finally make a go of it? "I think people do want to see them get together but it wouldn't be interesting if they did and also, it wouldn't be true to life if it all went smoothly because you's so inexperienced at managing relationships at university that they always go wrong."
That being the case, it sounds as if Fresh Meat is staying true to life for now, with the potential spanner in the works for 'Jingsley' being the fact Kingsley has conveniently forgotten to break up with his previous girlfriend, Heather. "He doesn't address it," explained Joe. "He just assumes that everything’s going to be ok and it will all come out in the wash. It’s difficult to play because you’re trying to show this mental world that Kingsley has and all these cogs turning in his mind – when he’s with Josie he’s thinking about Heather and when he’s with Heather he’s thinking about Josie – and it’s quite hard."
On the other hand, Kimberley Nixon, who plays Josie, told RadioTimes.com she is rather enjoying reaping the rewards of all the ground work the pair have put in. "After all the mistakes they've made – nearly getting there and screwing it up – they try quite hard to actually make it this series which has been really nice for Joe and I because we've put in all the leg work."
More like this
However, Joe did hint that we shouldn't expect the path of true love to run too smoothly...
"I think people do want them to get together but dramatically it relies on it not going right. There is nothing more boring than a happy couple. People don’t want that, really. If you look on Facebook and someone’s said, 'I just love my husband SO much,' I’m always like, 'When is death? When do I get to kill myself?' It’s just boring, but I do think they are good together and I think he wants her." It looks like we've got a turbulent series ahead, then.
Fresh Meat series three begins tonight at 10pm on Channel 4
Read about what's new in Fresh Meat series three
