Lily Allen reveals how Dreamland character resonates with her
The pop star makes her television acting debut in the new comedy-drama.
Lily Allen has opened up about how the character she plays in brand new comedy-drama Dreamland resonates with her, as the series premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
The series follows Mel O'Sullivan (Allen), who returns to her close-knit family in Margate after time spent working abroad – but little do they know that she's keeping a devastating secret.
Freema Agyeman co-stars as Mel's older sister Trish, who is the least forgiving of her past stunts as she has been going through a tough time of her own, with their feud being a key focus of the series.
Allen told RadioTimes.com that the dynamic was relatable to her: “She has a really complicated relationship with some members of her family, and I have complicated relationships with some people in mine.
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"She bottles things up, she’s not very good at communicating her feelings and I think that's where she gets into a lot of trouble really. She feels all these things really strongly but doesn't share them with anyone."
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She continued: "So she's her own worst enemy. But I hope that in 10 years’ time she's going to be the happiest person in the world.”
The character of Mel is still trying to recover from a terrible mistake, which could render her unsympathetic to some viewers, but Allen wants viewers to look for the grey areas in the story.
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“I hope that I've done her justice, that people will realise that just because somebody does a bad thing, doesn't mean they're necessarily a bad person," she said.
"Especially in this day and age, when it does seem to be quite black-and-white. Like, you’ve done a bad thing, you are cancelled. I felt for everyone involved.”
The Dreamland cast and creative team is primarily female, which Allen added was "very refreshing" after so many years spent working in the male-dominated music industry.
Dreamland is available on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW on Thursday 6th April 2023 – sign up for Sky TV here.
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