The Penguin's Colin Farrell promises dramatic showdown: "It's well-earned"

Farrell exclusively told RadioTimes.com: "They have a history, which is explored in particularly in episode 4, which is mostly Cristin’s episode.

"We go into her backstory, and we see very vividly why she is the Sofia that we meet at this time in the present and what she has been put through and how she's been kind of subjugated and treated with extraordinary, immense cruelty.

"We share history, and we share a very particular event that took place as well, and there was a certain betrayal that happened between the two of us.

"No prizes for guessing who betrayed who - I betrayed her trust, to a certain extent. I don't think I knew exactly the gravity of the consequences that were going to be inflicted upon her [but] I'm not sure that would have changed Oz's mind if he had known."

Farrell added: "There's a closeness also between the two of them. They are two sides to the same coin, in many ways.

"They both come from extraordinary pain and very kind of deeply troubled backgrounds. And they all have aspirational dreams of what they think the world should be and how they should be treated within that world.

"But there's a collision that happens throughout the end of the season, there's a crash that takes place between the two of them, and it's well-earned, the way it was drawn. She was a dream to dance with, Cristin, and she was amazing as Sofia."

Even after just one episode, The Penguin, which is set one week after the events of The Batman, has received widespread acclaim - but some fans were a little disappointed to discover that Robert Pattinson, who played Bruce Wayne/Batman in the film, won't be appearing.

Explaining why, Farrell told IGN: "This story takes place over five or six weeks, so it seemed to make sense to the creatives, to Matt [Reeves] and to Lauren [LeFranc], that he didn't need to appear in this.

"And it's a very different side of Gotham, as well. Not that Batman doesn't get his hands dirty in the shadows, of course, but it's a very, very different part of Gotham that I've never seen before. It's really the underbelly of the city and it's down in the gutter."

The first episode of The Penguin is already available to watch on Sky and streaming service NOW, with new episodes out every Monday - find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.

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