Olivia Colman reveals mind-boggling truth behind drug scenes in BBC’s Great Expectations
OLIVIA Colman has confessed that she loved ‘smoking opium’ in the BBC’s brand-new adaptation of Great Expectations.
The Oscar-winning actress, 49, plays Miss Havisham in the epic six-part drama, which starts on BBC1 on Sunday.
Adapted for television by the creator of Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight, it’s a very modern take on the famous Charles Dickens tale.
As well as sex scenes, it also features drug-taking, with Olivia’s character smoking opium, an addictive Class A drug that’s illegal in the UK.
But in an interview with TV Mag, the actress has revealed the mind-boggling truth about how those scenes were filmed.
She says: “The opium smoking, that was fun! The bit you burn was caramel, actually, because it bubbles so beautifully.
“Sorry to ruin that for you!”
Olivia is joined in the cast of the drama by Fionn Whitehead as Pip, Shalom Brune-Franklin as Estella and Ashley Thomas as Jaggers.
She is the latest in a long line of actors that have portrayed the iconic shunned bride on screen, including her “good mates” Helena Bonham Carter and Gillian Anderson.
But Olivia’s portrayal of the wealthy spinster is more terrifying than ever before.
The wedding dress Miss Havisham has been wearing since being jilted at the altar is, according to Olivia, “rotting from the inside”.
She says: “It’s exquisite. There’s mould growing up the costume!”
Great Expectations begins on Sunday March 26 at 9pm on BBC1. TV Mag is available for free every Saturday, only in The Sun