What can you tell us about Piggy?

Piggy is the voice of reason within the group. He is, I would say, the responsible one who wants to keep everything calm and have rules. A lot of the boys go feral when they get stranded on the island. They just want to run around hunt, kill and make food. Piggy’s the one who tells everyone that we have to have rules and be calm. It doesn't end well for him though, because the boys don't react well to that.

What was your audition like?

I loved it. I did a self-tape, where I had to say if I were stranded on a desert island, who would I want to be stranded with and why? I said I would want to be stranded with the West End cast of Les Mis, because, you know, who else? Then they called me back, and it was another self-tape. That time I read one of the scenes for Piggy, then I had a Zoom meeting, then they brought me in in-person and I met a few other boys. We went in and all read a group scene together. The last audition was in front of Nina Gold and Jack Thorne. About a week later I got a call to say I’d booked the job!

What did you learn about acting from the experience?

Marc [Munden] taught me a lot about acting. He would explain to me how it needs to be a little more natural and just how you would do it regularly, rather than when you're on stage where it's very dramatic and exaggerated. Marc taught me how to be very natural and I really appreciated that.

What was a typical day like on the shoot?

On a typical day we would get picked up from the hotel in the van with our chaperones, and drive to the resort world where production was set up. When we got there we’d put our costumes and the makeup on. We would get on a boat that would take us to beach, kind of like an island. We would shoot and then we'd go back to the hotel, and do it all again the next day.

Is there any of David in Piggy?

Absolutely, I think there's a lot. I'm very like Piggy. I like to think I'm responsible but I'm not as much as he is. I can have a laugh and a little bit of a muck-about, but still be responsible in a way. I feel like we are quite like each other.

What can you tell us about Piggy’s relationship with Ralph?

I think it's a complicated friendship. At the beginning of the story, when they first meet, Piggy admits to Ralph that the bullies at school always called him Piggy. Ralph promises not to tell, but then he ends up telling everyone. At the beginning Piggy is a bit ‘off’ with Ralph, but as the story continues they go through a lot together and they really become really close.

What is Piggy’s relationship with Jack like?

Piggy's relationship with Jack is not good from the beginning. Jack meets Piggy and immediately judges him and starts picking on him. I don't know if Jack's doing this intentionally, but he would try to be friends with Ralph when he knows that Ralph is Piggy's only thread to hold on to, and then Jack just really goes against Piggy. Jack ends up ordering for Piggy to be killed - sorry, spoiler alert! They don't like each other.

What’s Piggy's relationship with Simon?

Piggy's relationship with Simon is a bit of a weird one because I don't think Piggy's that fussed by him. But Ike [Talbut] and I, we have a lovely scene together where we're walking up a hill and singing together. Piggy and Simon have that little connection of both being outcasts on the island. But I feel like the first thing for Piggy is that Simon is friends with Jack… and Piggy's not fussed with anyone who's friends with Jack. Piggy has a connection to Simon, but I feel like they both don't really realise it.

What can you tell us about Piggy’s moments of music in the series?

There is a little bit of singing in the series from myself and Ike [Talbut]. There was this performer called Groucho Marx in the '50s, he sang all these comedy songs. There are loads of films featuring him, and Marc [Munden] had me watch those films in prep for the shoot. They were very good, I enjoyed them. In the story, Piggy has obviously picked up on Groucho’s comedy songs and starts singing them to himself when he walks around the island.

What can you tell us about your costume?

I love my costume. It started off as shorts with braces, t-shirt and this really nice red jumper. Eventually, Piggy would use it as a pillow. I had a windbreaker at the beginning, which when we were filming was really hot, it was roasting. Then Piggy uses his windbreaker as a mattress – he’d make a bed out of his clothes basically, it was a really nice touch that he does that. By the end he's just wearing shorts and a vest, that's all he has left. The boys start off with these really clean clothes, they have their ties, jackets and stuff, but by the end they're all ripped and they're shirtless running around. It's a big change.

What would you like viewers to take away from the series?

I would like the audience to take away from Lord of the Flies that you can work together. I feel like that's what Piggy would say as well. It can work out if people just listen - and listen to everyone's ideas rather than that one person who everyone idolises. In the case of Lord of the Flies, that’s Jack. Everyone idolises him because he is smart and he's a leader. Whereas, if we listen to what everyone has to say, it could have all worked out fine.

What advice would you have for children who would like to know more about acting?

Anyone can do acting, no matter where you're from or your background. I'm very grateful for this experience and will remember it forever. I've made lifelong friends on it.

Lots – including "Return to Paradise" season 2, "Hope Street", "Once Upon a Time in Space", "Mary at 90: A Lifetime of Cooking", "In My Own Words: Frederick Forsyth" and "The Ridge".