‘A lot of the negative comments aren’t constructive – it’s not actually about the show,’ the actor said (Picture: ITV)
The Bay star Elóise Thomas has opened up about what it’s been like to join the gripping ITV drama, dealing with negativity on social media and the intensity of the scenes in season 4.
The fourth outing for the programme written by Daragh Carville has continued to uphold its reputation for enthralling its audience, this time centering around the Metcalf family, who suffer a terrible tragedy when a fire rips through their home.
Elóise stars as Izzy Metcalf, a rebellious teenager who’s grappling with the fractured relationship that she has with her father, Dean Metcalf (Joe Armstrong), as Family Liaison Officer Jenn Townsend (Marsha Thomason) keeps tabs on them all amid a puzzling investigation.
During a recent conversation with Metro.co.uk, Elóise explained how ‘important’ it is for an actor to ‘check in with their body’ when filming scenes of a serious nature, and how communication with her castmates was key when becoming absorbed in the story.
‘There was a lot of communication. I would speak with Tom [Taylor] who plays my brother. We did a lot of talking about how we would actually feel if we were in this situation. A lot of the scenes are very visual so it was really easy to get into it because the atmosphere around you is so realistic to what was happening,’ she said.
Elóise found herself particularly moved by the one-on-one scenes that she took part in, which were ‘very emotion-based’, such as the interactions she had with Joe as her on-screen father Dean.
The actor has been ‘excited’ to see fans enthusiastically tweeting about the new season (Picture: David Reiss)
‘The intimate scenes, the one-on-one scenes, which are very emotion-based – they moved me a lot. It was all very amazing, but I found those ones moved me a lot more than the very dramatic ones,’ she stated.
‘You start to realise, god this is really this is really heartbreaking for these young kids and this father to be going through this. They already have quite a broken dynamic anyway, so it’s just so complicated to work through for all of them.’
The actor described the ‘strange relationship’ that Izzy has with her dad, outlining: ‘So when the scenes were a bit more vulnerable it was quite emotional. They’re just trying to work through something while both grieving this loss.’
Izzy has a ‘strange relationship’ with her dad Dean as they cope with the aftermath of a tragedy (Picture: ITV)
One of the biggest challenges Elóise faced when being cast in this production was mastering the accent, and so she turned to people on set, including members of the crew, to check that she was pulling it off.
Considering the Metcalf family endure a horrifying experience in the series, off-screen, Izzy and the other actors playing her siblings made sure to keep things ‘silly and fun’, so that it wouldn’t ‘feel too real’.
‘Ultimately, it’s a job, especially when you’re so young and playing a role that’s so serious. I think it’s important to make sure the atmosphere is light afterwards,’ she remarked.
‘Just ignore those other comments,’ Elóise said of the negative people online (Picture: David Reiss)
Over the past couple of weeks that The Bay has been on, Elóise has enjoyed seeing fans tweeting their thoughts and theories about the show using the designated hashtag,
While she acknowledged that it ‘seems really positive so far’, she also noted that on Twitter, ‘you get some negative people’.
‘You just have to ignore it because I think overall, you can sense the buzz, which is really nice. People are really enjoying it and that was a big group effort to put on the show. Twitter, I guess, is so unfiltered that you just kind of have to put blinkers on,’ she said.
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Opening up about how the other members of The Bay’s cast also deal with trolls, she added: ‘I’ve seen some of the castmates talk about it on social media, just to ignore it. I think a lot of the negative comments aren’t constructive, aren’t very nice – it’s not actually about the show. It’s just very unfriendly. So I think there’s just no point focusing on it.
‘I think one of the most important things about The Bay is that it reflects society, in that it is diverse and it has all these stories and it represents a whole community of people. I think that’s something to be embraced and celebrated. Just ignore those other comments.’
The Bay is available to watch on ITVX, and returns next Wednesday at 9pm on ITV.
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‘A lot of the negative comments aren’t constructive – it’s not actually about the show,’ the actor said.
