Linda is back for a second series of The Change sowing seeds of revolution in the forest with a star-studded cast from the worlds of comedy and acting.
Paul Whitehouse, Omid Djalili, Liza Tarbuck, Jerome Flynn, Jim Howick and Mackenzie Crook are among the big names involved in the surreal Channel 4 show this season.
Written and created by Bridget Christie, the comedian also stars as Linda a 50-year-old menopausal woman who leaves her suburban life in Swindon to return to her roots in the Forest of Dean and find a new lease of life.
Packed with eccentric characters, outsiders and misfits and set in magical surroundings, Christie has described it as “Shirley Valentine meets Deliverance“.
Linda must face the consequences of her actions in series two (Photo: Jon Hall/Expectation TV/Channel 4)Linda is a 50-year-old, working-class, married mother-of two, who thought she was suffering from early-onset dementia after forgetting what a shoe is called.
When she learnt she was actually going through the menopause, she decided to throw off the shackles of her home life and the three-and-a-half million minutes of “invisible work” she had done over the years by doing something for herself.
She dusted off her old Triumph motorbike and headed to the forest to reconnect with the person she used to be and to find a time capsule she had hidden up a tree when she was 10.
While there, she became caught up in the local community of eccentrics, artists, eel fisherwomen, musicians and misfits and discovered a bigger sense of purpose and new-found friendships.
But the truths she has hidden about herself soon come back to haunt her. In the second series, Linda finds she has some explaining to do. She is now faced with the repercussions of the lies she’s told the forest community.
And the arrival of husband Steve, who wants to bring her home, makes Linda’s future in the forest look uncertain.
However, she’s come a long way since being mother/wife/homemaker Linda Jane Jenkins of Swindon and she feels her journey is far from over.
After being made Eel Queen for a day, something’s changed in Linda and revolution is afoot.
But little does she realise what a huge impact this decision will have on the town… and Steve.
Who is in the cast of The Change?
Bridget Christie plays the leading role of Linda (Photo: Jon Hall/ Expectation TV/Channel4)
Bridget Christie stars as Linda, who as she hits the menopause at 50 and decides its time for a change.
Christie, who also created and wrote the series, said: “When we first meet Linda at the start of series one, she is working at around 40-50 per cent of her potential, and we had to start there in order to go on the journey with her.
“By the end of series two, she is certainly getting there – but is still not at full throttle.”
The comedian and actress, 53, has toured with 13 solo stand-up shows and won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show in 2013 with A Bic For Her. She has also appeared in It’s Kevin, Anna and Katy, Cardinal Burns and Ghosts.
On radio, she has won awards for Radio 4 series Bridget Christie Minds the Gap, Bridget Christie’s Utopia and Mortal.
Susan Lynch
Susan Lynch plays Agnes (Photo: Jon Hall/Expectation TV/Channel4)Susan Lynch plays Agnes, one of the Eel Sisters running the cafe in the forest.
Discussing her return to the character, she said: “Agnes is as spiritual as she is earthy. She’s loyal, funny, and devoted to family. But I draw a line with eels, I would have absolutely nothing to draw on there. “
The Northern Irish actress, 53, has stared in the films Nora, Beautiful Creatures and Downton Abbey. On television, she has appeared in Happy Valley, Save Me, Northern Lights and A Thousand Blows.
Laura Checkley stars as Theresa (Photo: Jon Hall/Expectation TV/Channel 4)
Laura Checkley stars as Theresa, the third Eel Sister who appears in series two. Asked to sum up her character, Checkley said: “Don’t mess with her!” The actress and comedian, 44, is well known for playing Louise in the BBC series Detectorists. She has also appeared in King Gary, In My Skin, Brassic and This Country.
Tanya Moodie
Tanya Moodie is Joy (Photo: Jon Hall/Expectation TV/Channel4)Tanya Moodie takes on the role of Joy, an artist, feminist, folklore specialist and a DJ at the Forest FM radio station.
The Canadian actress, 52, will be well known to television audiences for her roles as meg in Motherland and Agatha Wilson in A Discovery of Witches.
On film, she played General Bellava Parnadee in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Delia in Empire of Light. The cast of The Change also includes:
Monica Dolan as Carmel (Sherwood, W1A) Omid Djalili as Steve (The Infidel, His Dark Materials, The Letter for the King) Jim Howick as The Verderer (Horrible Histories, Sex Education, Ghosts) Paul Whitehouse as Tony (Harry Enfield and Chums, The Fast Show, Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing) Sonny Charlton as Ryan (Maxxx, The Alienist) Jerome Flynn as Pig Man (Game of Thrones, Ripper Street, 1923) Liza Tarbuck as Siobhain (Upstart Crow, Watching, Mount Pleasant) Rich Keeble as Trevor (Rivals, Not Going Out, The Emily Atack Show)Seasons one and two of The Change were filmed in the historic Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.
Christie said she chose this as the location for her show because as a child growing up in Gloucester in the 1970s, she spent a great deal of time there and “it holds a very special place” in her heart.
She described the show as “a love letter to the Forest of Dean and to women, borne out of my childhood memories.”
The actress said: “It’s a unique part of the world, both in terms of its outstanding natural beauty but also in that it has a very specific identity – one that is very hard for people to understand unless they’ve been there.
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“It hasn’t been gentrified because of its transport links and it hasn’t been overdeveloped because of strict planning laws, so it has this timeless quality to it.”
As a child, she said it always felt a little bit American to her, partly because of the pine and redwoods but also because of the way people dressed.
“Men would be wearing checked shirts and baseball caps or cowboy hats and I always remember an old Chevy parked up somewhere”, she said, “This is why The Change has that slightly Americana feel to it, whilst at the same time being quintessentially British.
“I took a lot of inspiration from films of that era, like Deliverance and The Deer Hunter, where the sense of place and community is so integral to the story, where you think of the landscape not just as a location, but as a character too.”
Filming took place in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire (Photo: Jon Hall/Expectation/Channel 4)Speaking about the production of the second series, she said: “Where we filmed was so beautiful, really magical. Sometimes you’d turn up on set and the light through the trees was just stunning.”
Some filming last summer also took place in the Welsh town of Chepstow, which is close to the border with Gloucestershire and sits in the Wye Valley.
When is The Change season 2 on and how many episodes are there?
The Change returns to Channel 4 for a second season on Tuesday 25 March. There are six half-hour episodes in the new series, the first two will be airing on Channel 4 on Tuesday at 10pm and 10.30pm. The remaining four episodes will be shown at the same times on successive Tuesdays. All six are also available to stream on channel4.com.
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