Doctor Who star Anita Dobson wasn’t immediately sold on playing a zombie in horror comedy Generation Z.
The actor, also known for the role of Angie Watts on EastEnders, portrays pensioner Janine in Ben Wheatley’s Channel 4 miniseries. After being bitten, her character develops an appetite for human flesh that’ll be hard to control.
“It’s a slow process,” Dobson explained in a chat with Channel 4. “She’s hungry, she doesn’t know how to deal with her granddaughter, she can’t explain the feelings she’s got, but she’s slowly turning into something.”
“There were lots of nuances in the script,” Dobson continued, explaining that while Janine becomes “disgustingly horrible and has a desperate need to eat anything that gets in her way”, she still feels love for granddaughter Kelly (Buket Komur).
Boasting an ensemble cast, also featuring Sue Johnston, T’Nia Miller, Robert Lindsay, and Lewis Gribben to name a few, Generation Z proved to be an interesting gig for Dobson, who said she discovered new parts of herself thanks to the role.
“I got a message from my agent saying that something exciting had just come in the inbox. I read it and thought: ‘I’m not sure about this’,” she said.
“So we had a little chat, then I spoke to Ben Wheatley, who was so lovely and sweet and unassuming, and a diamond to work with – you can’t imagine all this stuff comes out of his head!
“So I just thought, I’ve never done this before, maybe I’ll find out things about me in the process of doing it – which I did, actually.
“You may be older, but there are still good parts out there. You’ve just got to be open to them.”
Dobson recently appeared as Mrs Flood in Doctor Who, with the mysterious character initially introduced as Ruby Sunday‘s neighbour.
“You will find out more about her as we go along,” Dobson told RadioTimes.com in June, teasing there’s more to Mrs Flood than meets the eye.
