Martha Howe-Douglas interview
Martha Howe-Douglas talks about playing the lead role of Debbie in Yonderland...
Hi Martha. Who or what sparked the idea for Yonderland?
After finishing Horrible Histories, the six of us continued working together. Working Title gave us an office to brainstorm in, and we came up with an idea based on nostalgia really, shows and films we used to watch - I'm a big Labyrinth fan. There seemed to be a gap in the market for Yonderland, a nice family show with puppets.
How did it feel to land the lead role of Debbie?
It wasn't always going to be me that went through to Yonderland. We talked about it being a child or maybe a student, but it sort of made sense with me being the only girl among the boys and I'm really happy that it's me. At first, I wanted to play other parts as well, but now I love it. I love playing Debbie.
Did you feel any pressure?
Absolutely, because the whole show rides on whether people like Debbie. That was such a responsibility and I didn't want to let the boys down.
What can you tell us about Debbie?
She's a wife and mum and she's in that bubble of just being labelled 'wife' and 'mum'. That's why Elf comes to her and over the course of the series it becomes more evident that the trips to Yonderland give Debbie a confidence boost, a distraction from the everyday boredom of her life.
The relationship between her and Elf really grows as well. He's like a child and she cares about him. Debbie's a nice person, but she's got a lot of fight. She's not a walkover, she'll stand up for herself.
In showbusiness they say never work with animals or children. What about puppets?
We were full of admiration for the puppeteers because they have to get their bodies into such mangled-up positions for such long periods of time. I genuinely don't know how they do it, especially during the first block of filming when the set floor was made from sand. It was awful. We were all coughing and spluttering, and they had to keep coming and wetting the sand to keep it down. Imagine how tricky it was for the puppeteers - they were way closer to the floor than we were.
What obstacles did you see coming before making the show?
The puppets were our biggest worry. We conceived them and then we told the workshop what we wanted, but saying what you see in your head and then having that translated onto a piece of paper is very difficult. There was a lot of to'ing and fro'ing with that. And, personally, I kept thinking about the fact that my main co-star was going to be a puppet.
Apparently, the test for an actor is if they talk to the puppet rather than the puppeteer. One day towards the end of filming, the boys had gradually started to peel off and I was alone with Elf. I came out of my dressing room, he was sat there on the table with the rest of the puppets, nobody had their hand up him, and I went "alright?" I just thought 'I've lost the plot, I've absolutely lost the plot'. I told the boys and they loved it. He became my mate.
Your character is in a fish-out-of-water situation. When was the last time you were in such a situation in real life?
Whenever I go on any jobs I feel a bit like that. We were spoilt on Horrible Histories because we were a family and, every year, you'd go back and you'd have the same crew.
Portals aside, what's the most surprising thing in your kitchen cupboard?
A mousetrap. I'm convinced I've got a mouse.