Tom Durant-Pritchard interview
The Windsors is back for a third series. With Richard Goulding unavailable for filming due to other commitments, Prince Harry looks a bit different this series. Here's a chat with the 'new Harry', Tom Durant-Pritchard.
What was is like joining the cast?
It was wonderful. They're a lovely family, it's a real family environment. They're such a great, talented group of comedians and actors.
It was wonderful. It was one of those ones where before I started I was a bit nervous, because it sounds quite daunting. But then as soon as I walked through the door everyone was so lovely and so nice to me and made me feel at home immediately. All my fears vanished almost immediately. It was great.
What can you tell us about what's in store for Harry this series?
It's a little bit exciting... so we've got Harry and Megan a little further down the line. We've got a feud between Harry, Meghan, Wills and Kate and we've got the whole storyline between them, the Fab Four. There's more of Harry and Meghan's life together.
Any romance with Pippa...?
Well Pippa is definitely back and in true soap style everything's slightly fictitious but... it's up in the air. She's around and they do see each other but you'll have to wait and see what happens.
A lot of your scenes are with Kathryn Drysdale. Do you enjoy working together?
She's wonderful. I've watched her career for years and she's just a fantastic actress. She's a lovely person and really, really funny so it's just been a real treat.
What about working with the other cast?
Harry Enfield has always been a comedy hero of mine so that was incredible. It was one of those weird things where, you know how they say not to meet your comedy heroes, but then you do meet them and they're actually nice. He was wonderful.
And Hugh Skinner just makes me laugh all the time. He's ridiculous and wonderful. The way he says things... there was one scene he did and he had to say the word banana but he kept pronouncing it in the strangest way and I think it ruined a whole morning's filming because we all corpsed for about an hour. Oh my God, that was impossible.
Is there anyone else in the cast that makes you corpse?
It would either be Hugh Skinner - he didn't have to even do anything funny, just having him in the room would make me laugh and I couldn't keep myself together - or Morgana Robinson. Both are impossible to keep a straight face around.
You're not doing an impression of him but did you do any research into the real Prince Harry?
Yeah. I did do some research. The joy of this show is that it's so current that the research is just on the news every day. He was just around a lot so I absorbed a fair bit of it. But it is satirical. It's soap style, so it's not a real impersonation, it's a tabloid version of who he is. It's a fun version of the media perception of Harry as opposed to a real impersonation of a person.
Which of Harry's scenes or storylines have you enjoyed doing the most?
It's a tough one. They've all been really enjoyable. But all the scenes I've had with Kathryn as Meghan, seeing their relationship grow. We leave Harry as a sort of ruggerbugger newlywed at the end of the wedding special, and we've now got a new, sort of domesticated, returning from a health spa, barefoot Harry. It's been really enjoyable to see if he manages to adapt to his new life as a yogi.
What do you think of the real Prince Harry?
I think Prince Harry, if I was going to give you my honest opinion, is probably my fave of all the royals. Now that I've played him I've got a real soft spot for him.
If you could be any member of the royal family who would it be?
I mean I'd rather not be any of them, but if I did have to one you might as well go whole hog. I'd rather be the Queen.