![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1715-The_Cage_Drop_in_01.jpg\")
Image: BBC \/ Element Pictures \/ James Stack<\/p>\nSheridan Smith: When we shot in the casino for days on end, all the cast and crew went so crazy because there\u2019s no natural light. You genuinely get that feeling of madness, you know? And it\u2019s designed for that reason.<\/p>\n
MS: We got to meet both sides of the casino world. Morally, it\u2019s, I suppose, the last step before illegal behaviour. Some people are just there for a bit of fun, but some might be there to flush some money, who knows? But it\u2019s a place people come together and either win or lose a lot of money.<\/p>\n
Read more:<\/p>\n
Will we be on the side of your characters?<\/p>\n
SS: My character is losing her house, she\u2019s got a kid and she\u2019s a single mum, she\u2019s taking care of her nana with dementia. She would do anything for her family, so you totally relate to why she\u2019s doing it. Even more so at the moment with the cost of living crisis. It\u2019s nice to play a character so layered and flawed, because we all are. They\u2019re everyday people that the audience can relate to \u2013 and even if whatever they\u2019re doing is morally wrong, you\u2019re still rooting for them because you want them to win. Because what would you do in that situation? You understand why we\u2019re both doing it.<\/p>\n
MS: Like Smith said, because the characters are so relatable and human, moral lines get quite blurred. They\u2019re not snatching handbags off of the elderly, but they\u2019re still robbing. But then, they\u2019ve got reasons for robbing. These are good people doing bad things because of certain circumstances. So you\u2019re rooting for these good people who are doing something quite naughty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n
Image: BBC \/ Element Pictures \/ James Stack<\/p>\n
When we read about this, we thought it might be a bit lighter after the heavy emotional content of 2025\u2019s I Fought the Law \u2013 but five minutes in and you are screaming from a rooftop, Sheridan.<\/p>\n
SS: I know. Me and my dramatics. I love that it\u2019s more of an everyday woman, but even though it\u2019s kind of make believe and not a real person \u2013 with the added pressure of having to tell someone\u2019s real life \u2013 Tony\u2019s brilliant at darkness. But the pay-off for those dramatic scenes and the heavy stuff is so much bigger when there\u2019s the farcical caper of the whole thing going alongside it. When those moments hit, they\u2019re quite powerful. But it was great to be able to do some comedy as well.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Get the latest news and insight into how the Big Issue magazine is made by signing up for the Inside Big Issue newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n And Michael \u2013 you were on the floor in an office surrounded by pills and bottles before episode one was out.<\/p>\n MS: As humans, we all feel like shit sometimes and because Tony\u2019s done such an amazing job, we can connect with these characters. Because they are so human. As actors, we\u2019re blessed to be able to have a go and explore all these emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n How do you see the state of play for UK drama at the moment?<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n SS: I feel proud, with Adolescence<\/a> and what Stephen<\/a> [Graham] and Hannah<\/a> [Walters] have done with Matriarch Productions to give working-class people opportunities, and doing a story that\u2019s so important. It\u2019s something everyone\u2019s facing \u2013 I\u2019m a parent, Michael\u2019s a parent.<\/p>\n MS: I don\u2019t always understand the landscape of how British TV is going, but like Smith was saying, when I see some of the work people like Stevie and Hannah are doing, and being able to work with people like Tony [Schumacher] and Smith here, I\u2019m just so grateful to be able to do this for a living. I owe everything to the Television Workshop [in Nottingham] \u2013 where I could go for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n SS: Those places are so important. Because where me and Michael come from, there aren\u2019t drama schools like RADA. I\u2019ve moved back to the village where I grew up, so it\u2019s something I think about a lot. I go to my old school and see the shows \u2013 there is talent up here. But they don\u2019t always know where to go. Kids need places to do drama. It\u2019s hard times, and acting is a form of escapism and a way to get your feelings out.<\/p>\n Did you know each other before The Cage?<\/p>\n MS: It was good old [actor] Russell Tovey who introduced us.<\/p>\n SS: And Michael\u2019s just got funny bones. So I knew he was going to be hysterical to work with. We\u2019ve got separate storylines but as the show goes on, we\u2019re kind of in it together like a really bad Bonnie and Clyde.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n The Cage is on BBC One on Sunday nights and available to stream on iPlayer<\/p>\n Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this?\u00a0Get in touch and tell us more<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Change a vendor\u2019s life.<\/p>\n Buy from your local Big Issue vendor every week \u2013 and always take the magazine. It\u2019s how vendors earn with dignity and move forward.<\/p>\n You can also support online: Thank you for standing with Big Issue vendors.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sheridan Smith: When we shot in the casino for days on end, all the cast and crew went…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[742,146,40074,8565,85,1037,46,411],"class_list":["post-422970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-drama","tag-entertainment","tag-from-the-magazine","tag-gambling","tag-il","tag-interview","tag-israel","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/35-birthday-subs_FINAL_v3_800x250.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Subscribe to the magazine<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0support our work with a monthly gift<\/a>. Your support helps vendors earn, learn and thrive while strengthening our frontline services.<\/p>\n