Missing Nicola Coughlan from your screen? You’re in luck. Following the renewal of the brilliant Big Mood, the star has revealed she is continuing her relationship with Channel 4 by fronting one of the platform’s award-winning I Am… episodes – announcing that she will appear in I Am Helen in collaboration with celebrated filmmaker Dominic Savage.
The anthology series, which has previously starred Kate Winslet, Letitia Wright and Gemma Chan amongst others, is known for tackling topics that face women such as motherhood, relationships and identity. Each lead actor works directly with creator Dominic to develop the story for their episode, often using improvised dialogue.
Sharing a post on Instagram to announce her news, Nicola described her predecessors as an “incredible roster of women who’ve led this series”, adding: “It’s an absolute honour to be part of telling the next ‘I Am…’ story alongside Dominic Savage — a singular talent and a storyteller deeply committed to exploring the breadth of the female experience. To follow in the footsteps of the brilliant women who’ve collaborated with him on this series feels truly surreal, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be embarking on this journey.”
Not much is known about I Am Helen, though Nicola has been confirmed to be starring alongside Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole to tell the story.
The last I Am… series, I Am Ruth, starring Kate Winslet as a struggling mother to daughter Freya (played by her real-life daughter Mia Threapleton), was met with great acclaim – with Kate winning a BAFTA for Best Actress and the episode winning Best Single Drama.
Photo Courtesy of Channel 4.
Speaking of the process of creating the drama, she told The Independent: “I knew he [Dominic] created the story with the lead actor and that everything was improvised. The idea of that was fascinating and terrifying all at the same time. Not one word that comes out of our mouths is scripted. Every single thing we say we made up on the day in the moment. Nothing is written on a piece of paper.”