This interview took place prior to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
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Last year's first season of Heartstopper made overnight stars of its young cast, and with the second season now just over a week away, Charlie actor Joe Locke has opened up about how the "overwhelming" reaction to the Netflix show affected him.
Speaking about the show ahead of season 2's release, Locke said it would be easier to answer the question of "how hasn't my life changed since season one", rather than how it has.
Locke continued: "Everything sort of changed, I think. My day-to-day life has changed. My habits have changed. How I see the world and how I act, it's all changed.
"Most of it for the positive, some not so positive. I'm well aware that I'm my childhood dream. Sometimes it gets quite overwhelming and you just have to remember that. Otherwise it can be a lot."
Joe Locke and Kit Connor in Heartstopper season 2. Netflix
The new season of Heartstopper will see Nick and Charlie navigating their new relationship, while Tara and Darcy face unforeseen challenges and Tao and Elle work out if they can ever be more than just friends.
It will be based on the third volume of the graphic novels by Alice Oseman, who has herself admitted that "there’s not enough in the book to take a whole season of TV" and explaining that there therefore "had to be a lot of creation of new stuff".
Meanwhile, Locke's co-star Kit Connor teased that this season will see the characters face more "obstacles" in the upcoming episodes.
He said: "Everything happens so fast in the graphic novels, but in the show, we want to lengthen the storylines, therefore more obstacles have to cross our characters' paths.
"This season, Nick wants to come out to the world, but faced with his nasty brother, his mostly absent father, and his laddy mates, soon finds that it's not as easy as he initially thought."
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James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
