Katherine Parkinson has "big wellies to fill" in the stage version of ‘The Good Life’.
The 41-year-old actress is set to star as Barbara Good – who was originally played by Felicity Kendal – in the stage revival of the BBC sitcom, which ran for four series from April 1975 to June 1978.
When it was suggested Felicity "became a sex symbol" off the back of the show, Katherine told The Observer newspaper: "That’s not what I’ll be offering, obviously. I’m a decade older than she was and I’m not sure that’s within my power.
"I’ll just try to be funny and tell the story. They’re big wellies to fill but we’re not competing with the original, it’s very much a reimagining."
However, ‘The IT Crowd’ star has always been a big fan of the 73-year-old actress and feels the original series is still relevant today.
She said: "I used to like the jeans Felicity Kendal wore, as well as her performance. I find that era of comedy so appealing … It does feel relevant now because self-sufficiency could be the way to go.
"It was so radical at that time but now growing more and consuming less seems the sensible thing to do."
Katherine is hoping to switch things up on stage by swapping characters to play Margot – who was originally played by Penelope Keith – at some point.
She added: "She’s so funny. Maybe we could all swap parts each night. I could play Geraldine the goat as well. There’s a talk of a real goat, which would be great. I’ve a lot of time for goats. I love goat’s milk products. That could be my conversational starting point with Geraldine."
Katherine Parkinson has ‘big wellies to fill’ taking on Felicity Kendal role
