On the whole though the dialogue side of Jill seemed to come out
On the whole, though, the dialogue side of Jill seemed to come out quite easily. I really don’t know quite what it is.”The idea that Jill is part of Davis’ unconscious has titillated many observers, some of whom have analysed it as anger directed at women, while others have discerned a contempt aimed at men. “I think that’s very true – I mean, not consciously,” says Davis “I didn’t think about that until it was pointed out But Abigail’s Party is one of my favourite things. I do think there are easily people as evil as Jill around – you know, you read the papers and watch those Tricia-like shows.” In fact, Jill bears a certain resemblance to another sacred monster – Beverly, from Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party. For a start, she has created such a striking monster in Jill “I’m not entirely sure where Jill came from,” she says. “I knew that I thought a hairdresser was a good idea, but the rest just came from nowhere.
“I don’t know if you can understand it if you haven’t seen the first series. I tried to explain what’s been going on, but that’s not my strongest point.” Is she afraid that bewildered newcomers to Nighty Night will be wondering what all the fuss was about? “I was glad that there wasn’t much hype around the first series going out – I hate that pressure and that’s what I’ve been feeling on this one,” she says. “The worst fear is that it’s just not very funny and that it won’t work.”Despite Davis’ natural modesty, there seems little fear of that. But with a chutzpah that would have embarrassed even Dallas scriptwriters, she has resurrected the lot of them, and relocated their “shenanigans” to Cornwall.”We needed somewhere seasidey for Cath to recuperate, and Ibiza was suggested, but that’s not very Cath,” Davis says, although new viewers may not comprehend such nuances of character. How Deluxe is to be hived off has been much debated in the investment community. Meanwhile, she meddles in the marriage of her MS-suffering neighbour, Cath (played by Rebecca Front), and husband Don – played by Angus Deayton, in a role that may help to restore his credibility.
In the final episode of series one, Jill married Glenn (Mark Gatiss from The League of Gentlemen), while bumping off several of the characters – Davis claims she can’t remember which. “I’ll be happy if it’s as good as, but I’m fearful that it’s worse. But that is very much my nature.”
Nighty Night, for the uninitiated – and that probably includes most people – is a gleefully dark sitcom (a “sick-com”, Davis dubs it) about an evil suburban hairdresser called Jill (played by Davis), who, discovering that her husband, Terry (played by Kevin Eldon), is ill, starts to tell people that he’s dying of cancer. She even admits she’s not very sure whether the second series of Nighty Night is any good. “I certainly don’t think it’s better than the first series,” she says. From being seen as a versatile support actress serving the likes of Chris Morris, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, Davis is now recognised as a major comedy talent in her own right.