How Andrew Scott inspired the Fleabag series two Quaker meeting scene
Creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge has revealed the inspiration behind Fleabag's feminist revelation in a silent Quaker meeting
Fleabag series two, written by and starring Emmy winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge, is widely considered practically perfect, from every side-eye and sly quip, to Fleabag's partings with first her sister Claire, and later her beloved Priest.
But there are a number of stand-out and memorable moments from the series, including the silent Quaker meeting that Fleabag and Priest (played by Andrew Scott) both attend, where our heroine wonders aloud whether she wouldn't be such a feminist if she "had bigger t**s".
Well, it turns out that the scene was inspired by a real-life meet-up between Waller-Bridge and Scott, when they first discussed the possibility of the Sherlock actor playing Fleabag's love interest.
The pair were in Soho when, as Waller-Bridge recalls, "[Scott] turned to me: 'I want to show you something.' He walked me down Haymarket and we turned into a small door that boasted a sign: Quaker meeting. There was no-one there, just a few signs to remind you not to talk in the meeting room." Writing in Fleabag: The Scriptures, which includes new writing in addition to the collected filming scripts, she said: "We walked into the room, sat there alone, the two of us, breaking their only rule for another hour.
"When we eventually left, he turned to me: 'Let's do it.' We filmed the Quaker scene in the same place we'd met that day. Andrew brought more to this character than can be summed up in words."
She added: "He even insisted on the character saying 'I love you too' to Fleabag at the end, and thank God he did."
Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, is published in hardback (£20) and eBook on 12th November. A small run of signed, limited edition copies with pink sprayed edges are available to pre-order from Waterstones.
