BAFTA TV Awards 2021: Jodie Comer Says She’s Had ‘So Much Fun’ Playing Villanelle Ahead Of Final Season

Jodie Comer has been keeping viewers on the edge of their seats as the psychopathic assassin Villanelle in the critically acclaimed series Killing Eve since 2018.

As fans await the upcoming fourth and final series with bated breath, BAFTA nominee Jodie has revealed some of her favourite moments from the most recent season and how she feels about bidding farewell to the iconic character.

"I just had so much fun," Jodie tells Tyla. "I've been in such strange funny situations and I've met some amazing people, I think that's what I'll miss the most. I'm interested to see where series 4 goes."

Series 4 was announced in January 2020, with the BBC subsequently confirming it would be the last for Eve, Oksana "Villanelle" Astankova and the rest of the gang.

Reflecting on three years of Villanelle, Jodie adds: "I think I learned on this job [that] as long as there is truth in what you are saying, acting can be big and it can be bold and it can be in your face and it can be a bit ugly. It can be all these different things."

In the lead-up to the 2021 British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA) on Sunday, Jodie - who has been nominated for a Leading Actress award - has been reflecting on Villanelle and Eve's cheek-to-cheek dance during an emotionally intense ballroom scene in season 3.

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"The ballroom scene in series 3 was kind of a huge moment for them and when we were figuring out the dance and the physicality," she says. "It all just fit together like a puzzle and that was the most physical they've been with each other which was beautiful. It's not like we had to think about it, it just was. You just feel it."

Jodie's real-life friendship with co-star Sandra Oh is also one of the things the former My Mad Fat Diary star cherishes about the Killing Eve.

"She's been incredible to me considering where the show started," explains Jodie. "I remember people saying to her, 'This show could be kind of a big thing, we're just warning you so you can prepare yourself,' and she always put her arm around me in that way."

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The third series sees Villanelle return to her family home in Russia, where she forms a bond with her shy brother Pyotr and her half-brother Bor'ka, who is an Elton John super-fan.

She also reunites with her mother Tatiana. "I think for me what becomes more important, as this show continues, to move the character forward," says Jodie. "Exploring her background and not [to] necessarily provoke sympathy towards her, just to understand her a bit better, was really exciting to me."

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When she's not playing a deadly assassin on screen, Jodie loves nothing better than a box set binge. But what is her show of choice? "Normal People, I May Destroy You... seriously every show in this category has got me through [lockdown].

"I'm also obsessed with Call My Agent on Netflix. That's something that I'm really enjoying as well. It was an incredible year for television."

Topics: TV and Film, Killing Eve, Jodie Comer