Ruby Speaking, a fresh, six-part comedy series for ITVX, previewed its first two episodes last month at a sold-out screening at Bristol’s Watershed cinema.
Co-creator and lead actor Jayde Adams may have been nervous about showing it to her home audience, but it is fair to say that the sitcom went down a treat. “You were great,” Adams said to the audience. “I mean, I was better, but you were brilliant. Thank you.”
Lucy Lumsden, executive producer and MD of Yellow Door Productions, approached Adams about making a show seven years ago. “I was very lucky to spot Jayde, and it really was a kind of epiphany moment, of just feeling that Jayde’s got a magic touch,” she said.
Ruby Speaking was inspired by Adams’s own experience of working in a call centre. When it came to shooting, Adams found she wasn’t alone: “Loads of cast and crew on this project have worked in call centres.”
Many of them were also united by the city in which the comedy is set. “There is no one more Bristolian than us four here,” Adams said, sitting among her castmates Joe Sims, Dan Hiscox and Kiera Lester. “The noise when we’re talking to each other is indecipherable.”
Some of the talent was found thanks to call-outs on Adams’s social media. “It was amazing to see how much talent is in this city,” she said. Hiscox, who plays Craig, described his casting process succinctly. “I was at a bus stop... and now I’m here.”
Even the costumes are influenced by Adams’s roots. “I know [Bristol] and I know what the women look like in it…. We wanted to reference how wonderfully colourful and creative this city is.”
Discussing auditioning, Sims said: “The environment that you guys fostered in the room was excellent, it allowed you to be creatively brave.” This open-door policy continued during filming. Adams said: “If someone felt their voice wasn’t being heard, they could come and speak to me.” The positivity shows on screen, suggested Sims: “There’s something about this show that is inherently good. It’s a hug.”
“Every TV show is about everyone leaving to find their fame and fortune,” said Adams. “We wanted to make a show about all the people that stay behind and keep the lights on.”