Nolly, ITV's three part drama from TV legend Russell T Davies, has just dropped on ITVX. It tells the story of Noele Gordon – actress, presenter and gay icon.
While a lot of the show focuses on her achievements and her time on Crossroads, the final episode ends on a tragic note with a dying Noele in Venice and later in hospital.
Augustus Prew, who plays co-star and best friend Tony Adams, spoke to Digital Spy exclusively about the heartbreaking ending as part of our Rainbow Crew series.
"That day, that scene in the hospital, was my first day of duty," he recalled.
Related: Doctor Who's Russell T Davies explains how Star Trek inspired the "next stage" for the show
"That's the first thing we did, her death scene. They really were soulmates. That sense of togetherness... He was everything to her. That final sequence, it's just the ultimate melancholy. It's beautiful that they had this and it's tragic that it got cut short. She died way before her time. It's gut-wrenching really.
"I was on my own for the hospital, that little segment, but by the Venice stuff, when we're in the restaurant, that was one of the last scenes we filmed. So by that point, Helena and I had become the bestest of friends and it sort of replicated the relationship between Nolly and Tony.
"I didn't want to cry too much during this. It wasn't like, 'How are we going to tap in?' It was like, 'How are we not going to tap in? And how do you temper this so it's not too much' It's Britain in the late 70s, early 80s. We're not a culture that's known for our emotional attachment, shall we say?"
He explained that the scene was the final thing that he filmed with Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Noele, after working together for three and a half months.
Related: Russell T Davies wants Edgar Wright to direct a Doctor Who episode
"That scene was a goodbye for me and Helena, as well. It was one of the last things we shot, the bit where she's looking out over the balcony. That was the last scene of the whole shoot. I'm off camera, but I'm sitting next to her holding her hand.
"All of us, not just me and Helena, but the whole crew. All of the cast. Russell, Peter [Hoar, director], everyone. We were all there. We become so close by that point. It really was a Summer of Love.
"It's very easy to do those things because we've we've done the legwork. We'd all connected in a really authentic way, which is not always the case, so it was pretty magical."
Nolly is now available to stream on ITVX.
Best Entertainment and Tech Deals
Coronation Street X Joanie - Gilroy Retro Newton And Ridley Sweatshirt
Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer and resident Welsh person at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016.
In his time he's covered a host of live events, interviewed celebrities big and small and crowbarred a countless amount of great/awful (delete as appropriate) puns into articles.
A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe's main interest is in video gaming. Although particularly a PlayStation gamer, he plays across Xbox, Nintendo and PC/Steam Deck, and likes to keep tabs on many games he's not got the time to play.
Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish (which you really should do).
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
