Phoebe Waller-Bridge reveals she originally planned to star in Killing Eve
The showrunner and Fleabag creator was going to be one of Villanelle's victims
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is as accomplished an actor as she is a writer, having won universal acclaim for starring in and creating Fleabag, and showrunning spy-drama Killing Eve.
But while her witty repartee was clearly heard in Killing Eve’s razor-sharp dialogue, Waller-Bridge’s on-screen presence was missed.
However, the 33-year-old has revealed she was originally going to appear in the show’s first series – as one of Villanelle’s victims.
Speaking during the winner's press conference – after the drama picked up three prizes at the Bafta TV Awards – Waller-Bridge explained, “We talked about it! They were going to kill me!
“But by the time we were writing it, I’d weirdly written myself out of the casting bracket.”
However, Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer, who scooped the gong for Leading Actress at the ceremony, joked that there’s “still time” for her to meet her demise in the TV series.
“I’d love to be murdered by Jodie,” Waller-Bridge added, jokingly.
Waller-Bridge has since stepped away from the hugely successful Killing Eve, focusing her attention on helping to write the upcoming Bond 25 film.
Instead, the show is now being looked after by former Call the Midwife star Emerald Fennell.
“It was [a brave decision to leave], but it’s also a wonderful thing,” Waller-Bridge explained. “Emerald is such a badass. It was painful and hard as you’re moving away from a familial project, but I’m still there and around and seeing Emerald just take it and run with it like that, it just feels cool to hand things on and have other people’s input.”
On the second series – which is currently airing in America and will soon broadcast in the UK – Waller-Bridge continued, “It’s fantastic. It’s brilliant because it’s Emerald’s voice which is so unique, and there’s no sense in trying to get her to do what we’ve done before.
“There was a real sense from the whole company for her to come and bring your stuff and your talent to it and it really does. Her voice and her roar is very evident in it and that’s what gives it this amazing energy.
“And the cast brought it the same kind of glory that it did before.”
Killing Eve returns to BBC1 and BBC iPlayer soon
