10 April 2024 – Evie’s a chameleon to her surroundings; masking as a carefree feminist for Ranesh, the fun-loving party girl for her uni mates, but also the silly, nerdy and easy-going sister to Nina – her real self. However, Evie can sometimes end up getting muddled in her performances, showing up her human fickleness and inconsistency – something that Nina gets very confused by. How can you think ‘the wedding industrial complex is predatory capitalism’ whilst also insisting all your bridesmaids wear designer dresses? Nina will come to learn over the series that not all of Evie’s contradictions are falsities, but that Evie doesn’t know what she wants. As distant as Evie begins to feel to Nina due to the wedding, they always find and ground each other.

In your own words, what is Dinosaur about?

Dinosaur follows the story of two sisters, Evie and Nina who’s played by my lovely friend Ashley Storrie. It’s kind of a love story about these two sisters who have grown up as best friends, just glued to each others sides. They’re pretty much chalk and cheese, they are not the same person, but they just click, and they just get each other so well. Evie then meets someone, Ranesh, and completely falls in love, and is ready to make that commitment. It’s about how that change is going to affect Evie’s life, but also Nina’s life, and this life that they have together. I love their relationship so much and it has been genuinely just such a joy to do this with Ashley. I just think the world of her and we have had so much fun and genuinely, the thought of not seeing her every day actually breaks my heart a little bit which I think is absolutely what Evie and Nina are both feeling. It’s definitely going to be a huge change for them. They live together, they have a very very set routine that they’re both super comfortable in.

Do you have a favourite moment or scene within the series?

One of my favourite moments in the whole show is we get to see them (Nina and Evie) working out together, which they do in matching outfits, and it just cracks me up and we had to do it so so many times and we just giggled so hard that day. I remember coming away from that day in particular, just so filled up.

Would you say you’re similar to Evie in any way?

I do actually see quite a lot of similarities in me and Evie. I think the way that Evie feels about her sister, I can absolutely relate to that. I would do anything for my sisters, they are so so important to me. Her frantic energy, definitely, I can relate to it.

Tell us about Evie’s whirlwind relationship with Ranesh?

Evie and Ranesh’s relationship is really sweet. It feels very young, like puppy love, and they’re just infatuated with each other and it’s so beautiful. I’ve had such a wonderful time working with Danny, who plays Ranesh, and we had a conversation about how much we just love their relationship because it’s so sweet and they clearly are so so mad about each other. You’ll see in the beginning that Evie’s maybe not being quite so honest about who she is. She really wants to be the woman that this man loves and so withholding these parts of herself that she maybe doesn’t deem worthy of him, but that’s not sustainable and she’s going to have to let those parts out and that’s a risk that she’s going to take and hopefully it’s going to pay off.

What was it like filming in Glasgow? Were there any standout moments?

I’d had a real calling to home this year and was so desperate for the opportunity to work in Scotland and then when it was the opportunity to work in Glasgow on this piece, I was like ‘Oh please.’ and I remember sending my tape off then going in to do some chemistry reads with Ashley and just having so much fun. Ashley’s just amazing and the scripts were so sweet and funny, and made me laugh and made me cry. Sisters in Scotland, perfect mix. I just get really proud when stuff comes out of Scotland, especially out of Glasgow, and to be a part of it was just so cool and overwhelming. I’m from East Kilbride, went to school in the West End, and Glasgow is just my most favourite place ever.

I think one of maybe the most special moments was filming at Kelvingrove. That was, oh my gosh, so cool! It was night-time, we were the only people in this massive, gorgeous place and I felt like a five-year-old. I just wanted to play hide and seek and absolutely was not allowed. I have a really clear memory of me when I was younger on a day out with my family to Kelvingrove, which was one of the best days of my whole life. So, getting to film in there was just wild.

You have a great cast. Tell me a little bit about what it was like working with them?

This cast… honestly, I genuinely may end up dying because I love them so much. We have just been so lucky. Everyone is so kind, and generous and so, so funny. We all just really like being together and I kind of became Social Secretary of Dinosaur which I absolutely love. It’s been a bit nuts working with some Scottish icons but they’re just so kind and everyone’s so supportive. Everyone just wants everyone to be really funny and it is just the most joy ever when we’re doing a scene and then we cut, Greg turns and has a wee giggle at you. It’s crazy.

How do you think viewers at home will resonate with Dinosaur?

This is something quite new to come out of Scotland, I don’t really feel like we’ve got anything else quite like Dinosaur. I think that worldwide people are going to connect with this because it’s just real, it’s fresh. Its family and love, everyone can find something in it for them.

What do you hope viewers will take away from the series?

What I want people to take away from Dinosaur is to fully embrace who you are and all the people around you, flaws and all, and to take the risk. You know, sometimes it pays off.

Three words to sum up Dinosaur?

Three words I would use to sum up Dinosaur are wholesome, chaotic, and it’s two words, but just bloody lovely.

About Dinosaur

Dinosaur (6 x 30) is a Two Brothers Pictures (Fleabag, The Tourist) production for BBC Three, BBC iPlayer and BBC Scotland in partnership with All3Media International. Dinosaur was commissioned by Jon Petrie, Director of BBC Comedy and Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning for BBC Scotland. It is based on an original idea by Matilda Curtis. The Executive Producers are Sarah Hammond, Katie Churchill, Harry Williams, Jack Williams. Catriona Renton is Co-Executive Producer. The Director is Niamh McKeown and the Producer is Brian Coffey. The BBC Commissioning Editors are Emma Lawson and Gavin Smith.

Dinosaur will air on BBC Scotland from Sunday 14 April, BBC Three from Tuesday 16 April and BBC One from Friday 19 April.

All episodes will be available on iPlayer from Sunday 14 April. It is also available on Hulu in the US.