Zoë discusses playing a 'colourful', 'dangerous' princess in Mr Selfridge

21 January 2015 00:23

With the start of Mr Selfridge's third series now just days away, there is plenty of press coverage about Zoë joining the cast of the lavish costume drama as a Russian princess, Marie Wiasemsky (called Marie de Bolotoff in some articles). Perhaps most notably, Zoe is pictured on the cover of My Weekly – her second magazine cover this month, after Woman & Home a few weeks ago – and sheds light on the mysterious princess in an interview with the magazine.

'Marie is quite a character. She's colourful and a bit dangerous,' Zoë emphasises, adding that the princess's background is troubled. 'Like a lot of aristocracy she fled Russia after the Bolshevik revolution and she ended up in London after, we think, a time in Paris. She has four children by her divorced husband and wants the best for them, but her love of spending money means she has run up a lot of debt.'

It looks like episode one's wedding between Princess Marie's son, Serge, and the eldest daughter of wealthy retail entrepreneur Harry Selfridge, Rosalie, could be the answer to the Russian aristocrat's money troubles. But as Zoë points out in her interview with TV Choice, harmony between the heads of the two families is far from guaranteed: 'Harry is unsettled by her, and he mistrusts the marriage.'

Perhaps Harry is right to have reservations about the princess, who is no more careful with other people's money than her own. Interviewed by the TV Times, Zoe reveals that '[Marie] doesn't think anything of charging everything to Harry's account'!

In the Metro's Mr Selfridge feature Kara Tointon (who also makes her debut in series three, playing Rosalie Selfridge) suggests that Marie is an enigma who makes a big impression on everyone she meets. 'Zoë’s character is quite full on,' she remarks, adding: 'We'll get to know her as the series goes on about why she is how she is.'

Speaking to the Total TV Guide, Zoe explains why she identifies, to some extent, with Marie's experiences in Mr Selfridge. Zoë recalls visiting Selfridges department store with her mother. 'I remember the old wooden escalators and the pharmacy on the ground floor. It was there specifically for Americans in England, which is what we were. So I can understand what being an émigré is like, just being a stranger.'

Also in the Total TV Guide, Jeremy Piven (who plays Harry Selfridge) praises Zoë and offers insight into her approach to filming. 'She’s brilliant,' he emphasises. 'She stays in her accent when we're not filming, and it's not to be pretentious but to do the best job she can.' He also praises her in an interview with the Gloucester Citizen, describing her as 'really fun' and 'very hard-working'.

For more insights into the new episodes of Mr Selfridge, you might like to watch ITV lifestyle programme This Morning's interview with Amanda Abbington (Miss Mardle). She emphasises that series three 'definitely takes a darker turn' than previous episodes, and speaks highly of the 'amazing bunch of actors' in the drama. Meanwhile, Kara Tointon echoes her praise in an interview with ITalkTelly.com: 'the whole bunch of them have been really really great'. She adds that filming with Zoe and the other cast members is very enjoyable.

The magazines mentioned above are widely available to buy from UK retailers; some also have digital editions available to purchase online. The highly anticipated third series of Mr Selfridge begins on 25 January. Episode one will be broadcast on ITV1 at 9pm.

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