Q&A with Lenny Rush who plays Frank Harte

What can you tell us about Frank?

He is Emma Harte’s younger brother, and you only see him in the in the early 1900s, in Emma's younger days. He's quite young for his age, but he has also had to put up with a lot, he's a very brave kid. I had a lot of fun playing him. The Yorkshire accent was daunting if I'm honest, but I worked with a dialect coach, and Jessica [Reynolds] was amazing at the accent, so she was really helpful. I do remember doing one line that came out like I was from South America!

I've got no problem playing a character who has a disability, I'll certainly do it, but I also like going for roles like Frank where they weren't looking for someone with a disability. They slightly changed the script for me, without making it massively obvious, but for example Frank gets carried more often than your average young boy. I think it only helps the story, it pulls on the audience's heartstrings.

This is a much more serious role than we’ve seen you play before – was that a conscious decision?

Yes, that's a big reason why I went for the audition. I love comedy so much, but since Am I Being Unreasonable? came out I've done a lot of it. If I'm honest I don’t want to be a comedian or even a comedy actor, much as I love it, so this was a good opportunity to show that I can do more. I feel quite at ease with comedy, I know what I’m doing and it’s a bit safer, so it was definitely different getting to set and needing to fake cry every day. I really enjoyed the experience though, it has given me more confidence to play different roles and I’m looking forward to doing more drama.

It’s also so cool to be involved in a drama that will mean a lot to so many people. I hadn’t seen the original series when I went for the job, it was only after I got the role that I realised what a big deal it was.

How did you approach the more emotional scenes?

This sort of thing was really new to me, in terms of the crying and the big emotions. There were other actors who really managed to get into those emotions before a scene, then there was me in the corner with a tearstick! 

Of course, there were some more light hearted scenes too, otherwise it would be difficult to watch. I think that's why Frank is there, he's often a bit of light relief for the audience in quite a dark show. Even then, I remember one day when Jessica and I were really looking forward to a light scene we had together, and then we realised that by the end of it we both somehow end up crying!

What was the atmosphere like on set?

It was great, even though there were some really sad scenes and sometimes people wanted time to get into character, it was never awkward, and even if someone had just bawled their eyes out for a shot, we’d still have a laugh afterwards. We all got on really well – I asked Will [Mellor] if there was anything I could do to help him out as he had to carry me in quite a few scenes, and he told me to eat more salad!

You also have a scene on horseback – what was that like to film?!

Oh my God… I'm pleased I did it, but I don't know if I'll ever do it again! I'd never been on a horse before, and I've never been so tall in my life. We had an amazing horse handler, Mark, who put me at ease, and the training was easy enough. The horse was great, but I just found it really unpredictable on the day, wearing my outfit, riding over the hills, I was definitely nervous. I was glad to be up there with Niall [Wright], who plays Mac, because I know him from another job. He looked so cool up there, and then there was me hanging on for dear life, it was terrifying!

Did you enjoy filming a period drama?

It was a lot of fun, especially because I got to wear quite a range of classic period clothes as the story unfolded. They were pretty cool and I felt like a little Peaky Blinder, I loved it!

You were doing your GCSEs during filming – was that a tricky balance?

Yes, when this audition first came in I had to make a self-tape the day before my first GCSE drama exam. I had a lot on and I was stressed out, but I loved the role, so I literally did one take in my rubbish Yorkshire accent and sent the tape off. I got the job but I only got a 7 in the exam – it wasn’t the best possible mark, but I thought getting A Woman of Substance was the important thing! 

When we started the shoot, I would spend a couple of days up in Leeds filming, then I'd go back home for another couple of days to do exams. I did quite a lot of like revision on set, which was quite difficult at times – I’d be preparing for an emotional scene and also thinking about the themes of Romeo and Juliet!

Have your parents always supported your acting career?

Yes, touch wood I'm doing well in the acting industry – it’s madness and I don’t know how it’s happened but I’m loving it! My mum and dad have always encouraged me to stick with it, they’re so supportive, which is quite rare. Other parents are stricter with studying, but we’ve always known there are certain jobs that my disability prevents me from doing – a lot of my mates have gone into bricklaying or scaffolding, but that’s not something I could do.