Nick Blood on Twenty Twenty Six, his Agents of SHIELD reunion – and his name's origin

Nick Blood chats to Radio Times for the premiere of W1A sequel Twenty Twenty Six, where he plays failed footballer turned on-pitch protocols chief Phil Plank.

RT: Do you get a lot of comments on your name?

NB: People always assume that it's a stage name and it's made up, but it is, in fact, my real name. It's a blessing and a curse, really, because people always remember it; sometimes you want to be a bit anonymous, but people recognise that that name.

There's the romantic story that it came from pirates, because apparently there were lots of 'Captain Bloods' – not just the famous one – but it was probably just... I don't know, someone who worked in an abattoir or something like that.

How familiar were you with the Ian Fletcher-verse, as its now being dubbed, prior to joining Twenty Twenty Six?

I'd been a fan of them since they started. I just think everybody can relate to the satire of it, really. We live in a world of PR and this delicate balancing act that people, particularly in public institutions, have to endure. It's just so much fun watching them try to solve a problem while satisfying 10 people at once.

Did you struggle at all with John Morton's notoriously tricky scripts?

When you watch the show, you assume a lot of it is improvised because it's so naturalistic. And then you get the scripts, and every 'um' and 'ah' is scripted. It was only really when I got all the full scripts that it dawned on me what a challenge it is.

It's funny because I've done stuff where there's big action sequences, or there's a huge emotional scene, and you assume those are going to be the most draining. But actually, sat around a table in a glass-walled room with no air conditioning, trying to remember how many pages you've got until you say 'um' again... it fries your brain.

But it's a privilege to do it. We're not going down a coal mine, so it's all relative. But it really does drain your brain. Me and Hugh Bonneville ended up with oxygen canisters that we got off Amazon that we stuck on periodically to try and keep awake... John will know if you've skipped an 'um'.

You play ex-footballer Phil Plank. Was he influenced by any real-life figures?

I'm a big football fan and I consume a lot of football podcasts. That was all I needed, really. I do actually have a notes file on my phone of ridiculous things pundits have said.

There is the stereotype of footballers being stupid, which I think is unfair. I think often it's that you're sticking a camera and a microphone in front of somebody that isn't necessarily used to that and isn't trained for it – but they do come out with some bangers. I guess I was thinking about Gary Neville quite a lot, because Gary Neville takes things very, very seriously.

He must pop up on a lot of memes... just his facial expressions and his outrage at anything that he thinks a footballer should or should not have done.

Was it stressful to do 'Keepie-Uppies' in front of a full crew?

Oh yeah! And then thinking about all the people that are going to be watching it on TV! I was very nervous, because it's one thing doing it in your dressing room... and then, all of a sudden, you've got a camera on you. It takes you back to when you're at school and you've got the lads all stood around going 'impress me'.

Were you disappointed that Twenty Twenty Six isn't actually filmed in Florida, where it's set?

I was very, very disappointed by that. I was thinking: 'Come on, it's a BBC comedy, I'm sure they don't have the budget... but maybe?' No, you're going to be in Mill Hill, and it will be the hottest period of the year, and there will be no air conditioning.

We managed to kind of fake Miami quite well, just by not having air con. I mean, it was sweltering in there. They'd be bringing in these huge fans between takes to try to cool us down.

But I tell you what, the round trip from my house to Mill Hill was probably about the same in rush hour as it is to get to Miami.

Phil Plank is rather different to your recent role in The Day of the Jackal – how have you avoided typecasting?

I hope I have. Obviously, if you become very well known for one particular thing, I think that's often what pigeonholes people because it's hard for an audience to see them as anything but that.

There is a degree of planning, I guess... I've been conscious of making sure I don't shy away from things which are slightly intimidating or that I'm scared of, and lean into it. I hope I can continue with that versatility and always do varied things, because you can get bored doing the same thing over and over again.

I feel that one of the real positives I've found in my career is that I don't feel that I've ever been particularly seen as one thing. Just change the haircut and here we go, it's a new person.

You recently reunited with your Agents of SHIELD co-star Iain De Caestecker for a short film. Tell us about that!

Me and Iain are best friends. He was best man at my wedding. We've always wanted to work together [again], so we've thrown ideas back and forth. The short was kind of prompted by a feature film that we'd like to make, so we just need to get more experience under our belt with directing.

The short is a slightly whimsical tale, but with serious themes within it. It's about a mental health journey of this guy, out in the wilderness in Scotland, who is there to commit suicide – but ends up on a journey of redemption and survival.

We were chatting just yesterday about a couple of other ideas that we want to work on and the format of a short film is fun for us because you get full creative control. So what we'd like to do, if the short is well received, is continue that collaboration.

Would you play Phil Plank again in a W1A-style continuation of Twenty Twenty Six?

Yeah, I had a lot of fun playing Phil Plank. I think there's a lot of scope with his character for more comedy. He just makes no sense to Ian Fletcher half the time, so I'd be well up for exploring it more.

Which other Ian Fletcher-verse characters would you like to share a scene with?

I'd love to work with Olivia Colman. She did such an incredible job in [Twenty Twelve]. All that desire locked up, bubbling to the surface and the tragedy of her character [Ian's original PA, Sally Owen]... I think she was so brilliant in it. Seeing her and Phil Plank in the same room would be a very, very odd combination.

Twenty Twenty Six premieres on BBC Two and iPlayer on Wednesday 8 April 2026.

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