Having transitioned between BAFTA-Award winning show People Just Do Nothing and the highly acclaimed crime-comedy series The Curse, Allan “Seapa” Mustafa and Steve Stamp are becoming one of the UK’s most loved comedy duos.
Their boundless synergy has won them a legion of fans who recognise them as both individuals and a partnership offering a refreshing approach to comedy. Their most recent work, Peacock, follows Andy Peacock – played by Seapa – a body-positive coach who simultaneously tackles the world of social influencers, modern-day dating and masculinity through a comedic lens. His approach to his job and life is organically humorous, considering his lack of filter, which has an unparalleled influence on everything around him.
A positive response to the first series in 2022 made way for series two which now available to stream on BBC iPlayer. An all-star cast includes Emily In Paris’ Lucien Laviscount and a new addition, Top Boy’s Saffron Hocking, who plays Andy’s rival gym instructor. The series marks another landmark point in their careers as they continue their mission of cementing their legacy as a writer-actor duo.
As they gear up for their KuruptFM 10-year-anniversary headline at Brixton Academy in September, I caught up with them fresh off an epic Glastonbury performance to talk all things Peacock.
I wanted to ask how Glastonbury was and what it felt like to be back out there, performing and doing your thing?
Steve: “It was amazing. We were thrown straight into the deep end, as soon as we arrived at the festival we basically went straight onto the stage. Because a lot wasn’t open yet, the crowd was insane, and I’m still in slight shock. I’ve spent the past couple of days cuddling my dog to recover.”
Seapa: “Still recovering but it was worth it. It was quite overwhelming, when you look back at the videos. People were saying there were 25,000 people in the crowd but you don’t feel like that at the time when you’re on stage. It was good playing on Thursday whilst everyone’s still receptive.”
Steve: “We also got a chance to play after Ruff Squad on the Risky Roadz stage, which was amazing to be on the same billing as them.”
Seapa: “It wasn’t amazing for me because I lost my voice halfway through.”
Steve: “We can always re-do your voice in post-production.”
You’re headlining Brixton Academy for the 10th anniversary in September, are you extra gassed for that off the back of Glasto?
Seapa: “Yeah deffo, i’m well excited. Sometimes when you don’t do it for a while you think, will people be receptive? Do I still know how to do it?”
Steve: “There’s a sweet spot where you don’t want to do it too much but you don’t want to not do it enough where you’re uncomfortable. We’ve done a few shows recently which has given us chance to iron it out so we can go into this show ready to shell it.”
Congrats on the release of Peacock, really enjoyed the series! How are you feeling about it post-release?
Steve: “It’s nice for it to be out and for people to be watching and enjoying it. We have got lots of really nice messages. There’s always a massive delay between filming and when it comes out. Even after the edit this time, we finished the grade, music etc, but then sat on it for another few months because the BBC wanted to release it at the same time as the Euros.”
Seapa: “Yeah man, the feedback has been good, nice to get it out and it feels like people are enjoying it. I feel blessed to be a part of it. Series one feels so long ago and it was only three episodes. It really does feel like this series is the real start of it. Way more feedback, way more people connecting with it.”
At the premiere a few weeks back, you played episodes three and four, which are at the heart of the series. In episode four, Andy has a breakdown after his relationship fails. Steve, what did you want viewers to take away from the arcs around modern-day dating and relationships?
Steve: “It’s interesting because Andy – where we left it – was in a good place. He had met someone he was getting on with and it would be nice to see him in a relationship a few months down the line which is where we start the series. Realistically on the other hand, as much as we wanted Andy to experience being in a relationship, we couldn’t believe Georgia [his in-series girlfriend] would want to be with him because he’s such a nightmare of a man. We were led by the character and we knew that Andy’s journey would mean that he would struggle to stay in a relationship. The idea of him bouncing straight from the relationship onto the [dating] apps is a common re-bound approach and it’s quite easy to switch back into looking for someone again without re-configuring what’s happened. We knew that would feed into his neuroses and gym stuff with him trying to get his revenge body.”
In that same episode, it really highlights the different types of parenting attributes and the approach of young parents. I’m interested to know what made you explore that as a theme and how you got to the point of doing it so accurately.
Steve: “My friend Ben Murray – co-writer of the series – just had a child and moved out to the suburbs, so he’s been doing the Spooner journey a little bit. I’ve also got a niece and have seen my brother move out of London and settle down. That change was interesting and tied into the themes of the show of people growing up and growing apart in different directions which we played into. Also, the cast gave us different perspectives and ideas; Sophia who plays Blue, told us about mums needing to pump enough breast milk to last until the drugs wear off which is something we hadn’t even thought about. It ended up being the main plot!”
There’s a lot of emphasis on gym culture, mental health, toxic masculinity. Seapa, did you face any difficulties putting a comedic touch on a character that engages with such sensitive themes?
Seapa: “Not really because it’s all character-led. We spent so long working on who Andy is as a character. He always comes from a good place and you get a lot of stupidity from his child-like approach to things so I feel like it always comes from a good place with him. For example, using mental health to get more customers for his class is essentially him wanting to be more liked when ultimately it’s not the best way of doing it.”
Steve: “Also, I think we always try to steer away from being too preachy and too on the nose about the messages of the show. No one likes to be told what to think or feel. It’s interesting to use Andy to explore the things that you shouldn’t be doing, as a person with no filter.”
Question for both of you? Do you see any specific likenesses between you and the character you play in the show? If so, what are they?
Steve: “I’ve got no eyebrows in real life.”
Seapa: “To be honest, Andy is a walking internal monologue and a lot of us can relate to being insecure and going about things the wrong way. We usually edit that part out of ourselves so there’s probably a bit of Andy in all of us.”
I feel like Andy’s main antagonists are himself and Kara, but I wanted to ask what the potential direction would have been for him and Joe Wicks? Is it beef or would they become friends?
Seapa: “I think Andy’s beef with Joe Wicks is a silent war and only exists in his head as I don’t think Joe knows he exists. If they bumped into each other at a convention or event, Andy would be pent up and Joe would be very confused.”
You both have a natural synergy having already smashed it with PJDN and The Curse . How do you find working together?
Steve: “I don’t like doing things as much if it’s not with Seapa. In work terms, not sex-wise.”
Seapa: “We’ve tried the sex stuff and it doesn’t work. It’s a special bond when it comes to comedy, first of all, we have a good connection as friends so we share similar taste in comedy. Secondly, we have a foundation of how we work together so we don’t have to start again. I don’t need to translate anything as he always knows what I mean.”
Steve: “There’s a good honesty and comfort knowing we have each other’s backs in all situations so it feels like “our show” kind of thing. I think everyone wants it to be our show when we work together and people have trust in us as a pair. We are definitely strongest together.”
Seapa: “Also, there are so many voices and notes in the process from all directions, which is good and useful when it’s already comfortable.”
How do you find it working with people who aren’t necessarily friends? With other talented actors such as Lucien, Saffron and Thomas?
Steve: “It’s amazing! I’m involved in the casting so we’re selecting the best people for the dynamic on set and the people that are able to work the way we work. We’ve always made sure we cultivate a squad of like-minded people who are funny and it’s crazy to see things come to life. There are people like Saffron, who I watched on Top Boy and was already a massive fan of, that are now coming onto our show and are being funny which isn’t something we never necessarily knew. It’s exciting. Also, Jo Joyner in the read-through had us all falling about and we thought wow, we’ve got something here. It’s a magical part of the process seeing it all come together.”
Seapa: “It’s easier when there’s two of us that can bring that to other [TV] sets and welcome people into our way of working and it always ends up feeling family vibes and everyone relaxed enough to bring it to the table and be funny. But no one is funnier than me.”
What’s it like to be on set? I imagine it being incredibly fun and you guys having a laugh but does it ever get serious and intense?
Seapa: “Not from our side of things. It’s obviously stressful behind the scenes with the director and production, but we like to make sure that doesn’t leak onto the set and that we keep it comfortable for all creativity to be free and fun. I’m always up chatting with people to keep the vibe up, which really helps people bring their A-game and be comfortable.”
Steve: “From my perspective as the writer on set, there are moments where you feel the scene isn’t right and it might not look how you wanted it to and that stuff happens less on sets where you have a great team. Those are the stressful moments where you’re having to re-configure something. For example, if the end of the scene isn’t funny enough, we’ll have to find a new ending. That’s where it’s good having these talented people to play around to unlock ways to fix it.”
I was told that there were a few final changes to the scene where Tom was punching the pizzas. How important is spontaneity when working on something like this?
Steve: “It’s so well organised, so I’m not going to undermine it and say it’s all really spontaneous. But in terms of acting, the way we like to work is to allow a degree of spontaneity for people to react in a genuine way to their character, which is where you get the funny, unexpected gems in comedy. It’s a bit of spontaneity in the middle of a very well-oiled machine with really hard-working people who keep everything on point.”
Seapa: “Violently organised chaos.”
Steve: “Seapa is the chaos.”
Steve, I heard there was some additional footage that didn’t make the final cut in your sex scene? Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Steve: “There was a shot of my arse that we thought would be funny as a visual which was a lot of effort. I was getting a fake tan every week and then had to wear a sock on my penis and put a ball between us which the intimacy coordinator worked out. And then we didn’t even use it in the end!”
Were you both getting spray tans every week?
Seapa: “Yeah! Because of the nature of being a gym guy, we’d have to get spray tans to look better. Every week, the poor lady had to look at us in tiny Y-fronts and spray us, which we got used to. The first time was intense, standing in front of someone you don’t know.”
Steve: “She became our best friend by the end of the shoot.”
If there’s one thing from each of the characters that you’d implement in your own lives what would it be?
Seapa: “Maybe cutting out the carbs. I need the revenge body as my own body.”
Steve: “I think maybe just going to the gym.”
Whats next for you both? Is there anything else you are working on currently that you can speak about?
Seapa: “Everything is in development so we can’t speak about. We’re just getting things ready for the headline show in September mostly.”
Lastly, i’ve got three random questions to finish: What’s the question you always get asked?
Steve: “Always have to tell the back story of People Just Do Nothing. There’s a documentary about it on iPlayer. Go watch that instead.”
Seapa: “Who’s the most similar to their character on People Just Do Nothing.”
What is your most unpopular opinion?
Steve: “I don’t care about Harry Potter, I haven’t read or seen them.”
Seapa: “I don’t care about The Matrix and watched it the other day and faded out of it.”
What piece of advice would both of you give to your younger self?
Seapa: “Work harder on your creative endeavours earlier instead of pretending you’re doing them. Also, don’t worry, you’ll end up winning a BAFTA and it’ll be fine.”
Steve: “Don’t overthink things too much and see what happens. Don’t stop yourself from doing things by being too careful.”