Diane Morgan and Ann Droid cast reveal how a “silly comedy about a slightly rubbish robot” accidentally became more poignant and human

Ann Droid is a comedy about Sue, a grieving widow and Linda her outdated care robot who gets things very wrong and causes chaos while also teaching Sue how to love life again.

In a world where AI is looming larger and ever present, Ann Droid asks the question: what is replaceable and what is not? As funny, as it is poignant – Ann Droid tells the story of an unlikely friendship between Sue (Sue Johnston) and Linda (Diane Morgan) a social humanoid robot, created to keep elderly people company and monitor their health.

Ann Droid airs weekly on BBC One from Friday 17 July at 9.30pm and launches on iPlayer at 6am the same day.

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Diane Morgan (Linda the Ann Droid Robot)

You are back with a brand-new show and character – can you set up Ann Droid for the audience at home and tell us what people can expect from it?

It's set three years in the future where robots have been rolled out to care for the elderly, when their children aren't around to look after them. I play Linda, an Ann Droid robot who is reconditioned and strikes up an unlikely friendship with widower Sue, played by Sue Johnston. 

Where did this idea come from - was there anything that inspired this story in particular?

I read a story in the paper which said that apparently they were rolling them [robots] out in Japan and I told Pippa my producer and we started laughing about it. It was also inspired by the time in lockdown when I decided to send my mum a tablet so she could do online shopping - she reacted like I'd sent her a nail bomb.

You have a great cast attached - how was it working with comedy royalty in Sue Johnston and reuniting with Paul Ready?

I was a fan of Sue's from The Royle Family and I'd worked with her on Cockfields, so I knew she was easy to work with and a great comic actress. Paul's funny, he's very good at physical comedy and he was who I had in mind for the role when I was writing it, so it's great he's doing it.

So you wanted Sue and Paul for their roles when you were writing them?

Yes, I did have Sue in mind. I mean the character's called Sue so that's a big clue.

You co-wrote the series with Sarah Kendall - how is the writing dynamic when you do it together as opposed to writing by yourself? Does it make the process harder?

It's less hard because we really make each other laugh. We've known each other from the days we were both doing  the stand-up circuit. We share a sense of humour and she's got a great sense of structure.

Can you tell us what the preparation was like to become a robot, and where did Linda’s voice come from?

I worked with Dan O'Neill, who was movement director on Humans, another show about robots, to help me get the walking right. There are several robots in the programme and the modern ones have voices like Siri or Alexa but because I'm reconditioned, I wanted a more retro robot voice.

When filming what would you do to get into the mindset and physicality of becoming Linda?

I had to bend my knees and go into a certain posture that was sort of a neutral pose. It really hurt my back!

What would you use an Elder Care robot if you could?

I haven't got kids so I'll probably end up with one feeding me soup!

There are some incredibly touching and poignant moments in the series - not what you would necessarily expect from a comedy – was that a different kind of writing to what you are used to?

That sort of accidentally happened. The more we wrote the story and realised it was about grief and looking after elderly parents it started to become more poignant. And then when Sue was doing it, it started to have heart, which was incredible because that's not what we set out to do. We thought it would just be a silly comedy about a slightly rubbish robot.

What do you think of AI and the role it has in society? Do you think you're somewhat predicting the future and how AI can and will be used moving forwards with this series!?

I definitely think we'll have robots looking after us in the future. Whether they'll end up killing us or not I can't say. That's none of my business.

Linda at times feels like a real person with real feelings, does this robot have a heart?

No, of course she doesn't she's a robot. But stick a pair of plastic eyes on a computer and you want to believe it’s got emotions.

Sue Johnston (Sue)

Tell us about your character Sue in Ann Droid?

Sue is a really ordinary, nice woman who’s lost her husband and is grieving.

The series starts with her falling and I recognise an awful lot of her in me, which I think is the age thing - because losing your balance and falling over - when you get to my age it’s sort of par for the course and she’s defensive about it because she’s very independent and doesn't want to be looked after.

She thinks she's fine but she's in denial about her loneliness, grief, and age, She's a very warm and lovely woman, dealing with all these things, which an awful lot of people deal with so I feel that she's just very real.

What made you want to take part in this series?

I wanted to be part of it because Diane wrote it and I'm such a fan and a friend of hers, so when she sent me the script, it was just joyful and I thought ‘yes, thank you very much, I’ll have that!’ It's wonderful and I just love all the characters, they are all well written and they're all people you know, and find along the way, so it’s just really funny.

There's also a lot of love in it, there's such a warmth and friendship about it all, and that comes from Diane's writing, which says a lot about how she is as a human being. It's a very special script.

You touched on this earlier, themes of loneliness and grief are going to be relatable to so many people that watch this - did that stand out to you on the page when you first read the script?

Yes but probably not as much as it did when you start working on it, and when you start playing a scene, and certain things happen to you when you start thinking about it. It was more the humour of it that I took on board first of all, and a lot of the human aspects and the sadness then came in which is funny because comedy isn’t supposed to be making you cry!

But I think that that's the humanity in it, and that there are people in it who are lonely -but is a robot the right thing to help you with your loneliness? Strangely, it sort of works.

Sue and Linda's relationship is fun, touching, and unlikely - did you have any favourite scenes that you filmed together?

I think the scenes in the first episode where I unwrap her are great. There were some great scenes that we all did together on location in the charity shop where everybody involved nearly bought up the entire charity shop. I've got several pairs of jeans and a lovely bag. It was all a delight, hard work, but a delight.

Would you use an elder car robot if you could?

No, not unless it was Diane Morgan.

Do you think we're somewhat predicting the future with a show and how AI can and will be used moving forward?

Oh gosh, yes. I'm so glad that the show is coming out soon because I kept panicking when I saw that robots had run in marathons and I was thinking - it's all advancing so quickly, if you don't get the show out, somebody else will do it, so I'm really glad it's coming up, because we want to be on top of it.

What do you think of AI and the role it has in society?

It scares me, I'm old and technology baffles me. Even as it stands, it baffles me, so with AI I think you can't close your mind to it, because it can do some brilliant things like detecting illness but then you see the danger of it when you see people being identified and recreated by it and putting words into their mouths that shouldn't be there. The danger of it all worries me.

What was it like working with Diane Morgan?

She's just wonderful and such fun, and we're both huge dog lovers, so most of our conversation was about our dogs, and she'd have her dog on set, Bobby - I couldn't bring mine on set, because he’s too big and bouncy.

And what was it like working with Paul Ready?

Oh, he is great. I didn't know him before, but he's so funny, and such a lovely guy. So it's very easy to think, this is my son, and I love him - you know, easy as pie to love him. Which I did. Well, I love Di, too. And my very best friend, Margot Lester is also in it, playing Phyllis so it was very special programme to work on.

Sue, you are comedy royalty - what character have you played that stayed with you the longest or one that you would most like to revisit if you could?

I suppose The Royle family is an obvious one. I did a thing many years ago called Goodbye Cruel World, with Alun Armstrong it was a about woman with Motor Neurone Disease and I'm really proud of that, but I've loved everything I've done. I'm very happy and I just love the variety I've had. I feel very blessed, but to revisit I'd just love to be on that sofa again with Caroline Aherne really.

What's your favourite memory of filming The Royle Family?

Oh I've got so many memories! There's a memory of us sitting on the sofa one Thursday afternoon, feeling a bit tired, and Caroline going to Johnny Rushton the producer “I think we're all a bit flat. I think we need a bit of champagne” and the champagne came! Only Caroline could do that, and perhaps Diane Morgan.

Where do you get your stamina and drive from to still be consistently working?

I think it's genetic but I feel very privileged to work, and do the work that I love, so that keeps you going, and as soon as I stop, I get a chest infection, so get me another job, quickly!  

Is there anything you feel you still want to achieve?

I just want to carry on working and being a good happy person - and a Liverpool supporter.

Finally, why should the audience tune in to Ann Droid?

Because they're going to love it. I feel that this is different - there's humour, there's love, and it's heartfelt, so fingers crossed that people will feel that.

Paul Ready (Michael)

Tell us about your character in Ann Droid?

I loved playing Michael. On one hand he is totally self-serving, which comes out in his relationship with his mum, Sue. On the other, he is totally lacking in self-worth. And these things get him into a lot of trouble in his life.

You've been reunited with Diane Morgan for this project, how was it working together again?

This is the fourth time we’ve worked together. The first was in a programme called Utopia. We didn’t have much to do together then but I immediately thought she was brilliant. Although she would not feel that. Then there was Motherland. Then Mandy. Now Ann Droid. I love working with her. Apart from her being brilliant and incredibly funny as an actor, I love being on set with her. As I have worked on the things she has created, what I’ve really appreciated is how much she has trusted me to look after the characters she’s written. It’s a gift. It’s very freeing to feel that trust.

And what was it about Ann Droid that made you want to take part?

Diane asked me if I wanted to do it, and that was enough. I’m only half joking. I always know that what Diane creates will be funny, clever and have a brilliant integrity. I loved the premise of the piece. When I read the scripts I was laughing out loud. But at the same time I loved how light on its feet it felt and how it was able to touch on big questions about connection, loneliness, ageing, and, of course, the question we’re all asking - what happens to your droid when you no longer want it?

How would you describe the relationship between Michael and his mother Sue?

I think Sue is incredibly forgiving of Michael. Always seeing the good in him, even when that’s quite hard to see. Of course, Michael takes advantage of that big time. He is incredibly self-obsessed but ultimately, he hasn’t grown up. He still needs his mum to look after him.

At times your character is quite selfish and unlikeable in this show - do you like playing characters like that, or do you prefer the kinder, more affable ones? 

I love playing the whole gamut really. Yes it’s really enjoyable to play someone like Michael, but no one is simple. No-one is wholly good or wholly bad, so I try to look for the contradictions in a character. Yes Michael is selfish, but he also wants to be loved. He’s just looking in the wrong place.

Did you have any favourite scenes to film?

Di and Sarah wrote so many great scenes for Michael – I enjoyed embarrassing myself playing the gig in the music shop. For me having to sing in front of people like that is a challenge. Even as a joke. And it was awful in the best way.

Would you use an elder care robot if you could?

If it was Di yes, or Rylan. But otherwise, no. Having said that, I read an article about AI being used to combat loneliness in the elderly the other day, so give me a few years. Apart from that, if it could help tidy my house, particularly my kids’ room I’d be very grateful. How much are they?

Do you think we're somewhat predicting the future with the show and how AI can and will be used moving forward?

I have no doubt we will all have robots to look after us and do various tasks. And then they will rise up and kill us.

What do you think of AI and the role it has in society?

This is a serious question to me and what Ann Droid does brilliantly is look at it in the most entertaining and enjoyable way.

On one hand there is a narrative that says people will be replaced by AI and we have no choice because this is the future. In this scenario, people lose their jobs and a sense of purpose, whilst inequality becomes even worse, as wealth becomes concentrated in the hands of an even smaller few. 

Another version is where AI works in partnership with humans in more and more areas of life. Of course we are already using it everywhere and it’s doing incredible things – for example in medical and climate science.

Whatever happens though, I think it’s important for humans not to give up their thinking and creativity to AI. Or to allow it to replace actual connection between each other. I think we can see the dangers of that in society right now.

Finally, why should people tune into Ann Droid?

I think the show is very funny, very hopeful, with great characters, and, through the relationship between Diane and Sue, it is also very poignant. It becomes about what connection to each other means, in this life. There’s something very human in Ann Droid.

Sarah Kendall (Co-writer and Cass)

What inspired the core idea behind the show? 

This idea was very much Diane’s. AI and robotics are in the public conversation at the moment, particularly the jobs that robots will be doing in the near future. Employing robotcompanions and carers doesn’t feel like science fiction anymore, this show explores the nightmare scenario where that robot is Diane Morgan.

What did yours and Diane’s writers room look like?

I would say roughly 60% of the time is Diane, myself and our producer Pippa talking about the show and anything robot adjacent. The other 25% is Diane and I talking about the Golden Age of Hollywood. 15% gossip/miscellaneous. 

What do you think drives the main characters, and do they evolve over time?

Our main character Sue (the incredible Sue Johnston) is grieving the loss of her husband and trying to figure out how to move forward without him. Linda opens up her world and helps her live a better life whilst absolutely doing Sue’s head in. 

There are some incredibly touching and poignant moments in the series - not what you would necessarily expect from a comedy – was that a different kind of writing to what you are used to?

Not really, I think no matter what genre you’re in you have to keep it emotionally true. This is first and foremost a comedy, but that sits comfortably alongside quieter moments of grief and sadness. If we minimised those elements I think we’d lose the richness of Sue’s journey and her moments of triumph.   

What were the biggest challenges in co-writing this show?

I think we’re all on the same wavelength with our comedy tastes, and we’ve all worked together on other projects. The challenge is always time. There is never enough of it. 

And how difficult was it to write a robot character and everything that goes with Linda compared to a human character? 

There are certain rules when writing Linda: she’s hyper-logical, she has no feelings, and her reason for existing is to make Sue’s life better and keep her safe. 

We also decided early on that Linda is a cheaper model of robot. There are much more sophisticated and expensive robots in our world, Linda is definitely the Commodore 64 of therobot market.

From page to screen have the characters changed much since initial conversations and early drafts – if so, how?

Not hugely, we’re really lucky that we had a pretty clear idea of casting early on. 

Did you partake in any research on previous shows that have focused on robots to help prepare for this?

I would say the bulk of our research was watching clips of current robot technology. The clunkiness of it is really amusing, but you can see that it’s getting more sophisticated quickly and we will be slaves to these metal overlords in 12-18 months.   

Do you have any fun or surprising behind the scenes moments?

Turns out I am a natural at truck driving. That’s not fun, but it was surprising. 

What do you think of AI and the role it has in society? Do you think you're somewhat predicting the future and how AI can and will be used moving forwards with this series!?

I think that without guardrails in place, AI will render us incapable of thought and consume the last of our drinkable water. And whilst that is hilarious and heartwarming, we don’t really touch on that in this show. 

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