Comedy legend Dawn French has confessed she was so determined to avoid starring in another sitcom that she considered inventing a 'terminal disease' as an excuse. The revelation comes ahead of her return to BBC One in a brand new series, Can You Keep a Secret?, which debuts on January 7 at 9.30pm.
The Script That Changed Everything
The Vicar of Dibley star, 68, was initially adamant about not taking on another traditional sitcom role. Her resolve was tested when first-time writer Simon Mayhew-Archer, whose father Paul co-wrote her iconic show, sent her a script. "I definitely didn't want to do a sitcom, that was for absolute sure," French laughed. She planned to read it and make excuses, even joking about feigning illness, but the quality of the writing forced a complete change of heart.
Simon, a producer on This Country, wrote the part of bossy Debbie Fenton specifically with French in mind, though he never truly believed she would accept. "I wrote it with Dawn in mind... And then, when she says no, you go to someone else. But by a total miracle, she was interested," he explained. The personal connection played a key role, as Paul Mayhew-Archer, who has Parkinson's, made a direct plea to French, telling her: "I know I shouldn't do this... but you know, I've got Parkinson's. I'm old now. I don't give a sh**. And it's my son."
A Morally Dubious Plot with Heart
The six-part series centres on French's character, Debbie, an overbearing mother and lawn bowler who finds herself in a morally grey situation. After her reclusive husband William, played by Friday Night Dinner star Mark Heap, is diagnosed with Parkinson's, their insurance claim is denied. In a bizarre twist, a doctor mistakenly pronounces William dead in their front room, presenting Debbie with a "sliding doors" opportunity to claim the life insurance payout. The catch? William is very much alive.
French describes Debbie as "a woman on a mission" who feels deeply wronged by the system. "The injustice of not having a payout from your health insurance when you have Parkinson's... You get shafted, and that's not okay. I mean, it's still fraud. Morally dubious, obviously," she admitted. The show explores how a family navigates this chaotic secret, with their son Harry (Craig Roberts) and his WPC wife Neha (Doctor Who's Mandip Gill) drawn into the cover-up.
Inspired by Real-Life Family Dynamics
Simon Mayhew-Archer drew direct inspiration from his own parents for the show's central couple, insisting they are "not loosely based, they're actually based on my parents." He aimed to capture the complex love within a family, even when its members make terrible decisions. This differs from the infamous 'canoe man' insurance fraud story, as Simon was more interested in how you "still kind of love them even though they're mad."
Mark Heap, 68, who was delighted to take the role ("Joaquin Phoenix wasn't available," he quipped), was praised for capturing the essence of Simon's father—"both caring and loving on one level, but also so detached." The role also came with a perk Heap enjoyed: "I get to eat lots of chocolate biscuits."
The series promises relatable, flawed characters and darkly comic situations, including a scene where French's character must kiss a stranger's corpse in a morgue to maintain her ruse. "I kissed a corpse and I liked it!" she joked, adding that kissing an actor she'd never met was odder than the premise itself. For the cast, the show's strength lies in its portrayal of family. As Craig Roberts summarised: "There's no such thing as dysfunctional family, there's just family."
