Diane Morgan has candidly shared that she sees a lot of herself in Mandy Carter, her character on the BBC.
Having won audiences over with her deadpan humour as Philomena Cunk and her role as Liz in Motherland, Diane Morgan has become a household name for her portrayal of the delightfully eccentric Mandy on BBC2.
Mandy, who first appeared in a different guise on Sky’s Rovers, resonates with Diane’s own pre-fame life, filled with its fair share of chaos. Diane often infuses her personal mishaps into Mandy’s hilariously disastrous job endeavours.
“A lot of them are inspired by things that have happened to me. I’ve had a number of jobs that I’ve been fired from,” Diane reveals. “Some I haven’t even lasted an hour in. Acting’s about the only job I’ve lasted more than a week in. So I have to stick with it.”
The similarities don’t end there; just like Mandy, Diane confesses to being somewhat driving-challenged. “I haven’t passed my driving test. Although I have done 1000s of hours of lessons. I just don’t think I’m one of nature’s natural drivers,” she admits. “I’m waiting for self-driving cars to kick in now.”
At 49, Diane hasn’t shied away from discussing her driving woes, still without a driver’s license to her name. Reflecting on her lengthy and costly journey to learn to drive, she told the iPaper in 2020, “I’ve been learning to drive for about a year now. Automatic not manual, obviously.” She added: “I’ve spent so much money learning to drive I could have got a private chauffeur by now.”
In 2022, she even reached out on social media to seek guidance from her followers, posting: “Serious question: can anyone recommend an intensive residential driving course? (for automatic not manual). It’s for me so they need to be very patient!” However, it might take some time before she’s cruising on the roads.
Meanwhile, the latest season of Mandy showcases our favourite wildly unpredictable protagonist, Mandy Carter, as she navigates a series of unsuitable jobs and perplexing life decisions.
“There’s more of the same Mandy madness,” reveals Diane Morgan. “She’s still being forced to do jobs she doesn’t like and isn’t good at.” This unique blend has resonated with audiences, even leading to some unexpected lifestyle shifts.
“I’ve heard that at least four of them have turned vegetarian after watching an episode of the last series where Mandy gets a job in an abattoir,” shares Diane. “So that’s good. Especially for cows.”
What makes Mandy resonate with viewers? “I suppose it’s always nice to see someone have a worse time than you and still come through without serious mental health issues of HR getting involved.”
And if you’re hoping for Mandy to turn things around, don’t hold your breath. “Nothing would happen if she suddenly could do a job well,” Diane points out.
“It would just be Mandy sitting at a desk. She’s learned nothing. Just keeps making mistakes, like all of us. That’s what makes her charming.”
Away from the cameras, Diane infuses her principles into the production. “We decided to use only cruelty-free make-up products that haven’t been tested on animals,” she reveals.
“We informed all the actors about our decision and none of them had any objections. Most were surprised to learn that some products aren’t cruelty-free. Some popular brands still test on animals and people aren’t aware of that.”