If you found out the world was going to be obliterated by a comet in 34 days, what would you do?
This is the quandary posed in new Sky 1 comedy-drama series You, Me and the Apocalypse, which sees a host of characters attempting to make it to an underground bunker in, er, Slough.
Leading the show is Mathew Bayton, best known as one of the troupe behind the TV adaptation of Horrible Histories (renowned for being as loved by parents as it is by their kids), who plays identical twins with opposite personalities.
“[Ariel]’s a bad guy,” Baynton explains. “He’s an evil guy, and that’s always a thing to relish as an actor. I really enjoyed that, but at the same time I felt huge empathy towards Jamie. He is character who, every bad thing that could possibly happen to a character happens to him.”
On set, his fellow cast members – including Pauline Quirke and American actor Rob Lowe – saw him as more of a ‘Jamie’ than an ‘Ariel’.
“I was like, well that’s a pretty good sign that they see me as the nice guy and not the psychopath,” Baynton laughs.
Meanwhile, the challenge of playing two characters in the same show wasn’t too taxing for Baynton’s diverse talents.
He smiles: “I’ve done loads of shows where I play tons of characters, so playing two was actually like, ‘well, that’s only two’.”
You, Me & The Apocalypse, Sky 1, 9pm
