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Privacy NoticeIn the gruesomely satirical drama Generation Z, a bunch of elderly care home residents turn into flesh-eating zombies following a chemical mishap, developing a particularly nasty craving for teenagers. The six-episode series features acting legends Sue Johnston, 80, Anita Dobson, 75, and Robert Lindsay, 74, as the zombified pensioners, marking their first foray into the world of zombie antics. Anita, who portrays Janine in the show, confessed, “I’ve never done anything like this before,” and shared how she decided to embrace new experiences: “I thought, at my age, I should give everything a go. I sent my husband [Queen guitarist, Sir Brian May] a photo of me from the set when I was a bit bloodied up and he couldn’t speak, he just asked, ‘Is this my wife?’”.
Anita plays Janine who ends up being a flesh-eating zombie
She also recounted a hilariously gory incident on set: “I also had a baptism of blood on my first day when they over-packed a blood bag and it went everywhere. It was in my eyes, up my nose, in my ears – everyone got soaked. The walls were soaked and everyone was hysterically laughing.” Sue, who plays Cecily, revealed that the show has already caused quite the buzz among her circle: “The show caused a stir among my family and friends,” she said. “Certainly more than any other part I’ve done. I don’t know quite what they’re expecting, but there’s a lot of interest.” In the series, Sue’s character Cecily becomes the leader of the infected group, guiding them through the woods to evade the army called in to handle the situation. The younger generation, dubbed Generation Z, are initially oblivious to the chaos until Anita’s character Janine gets infected and goes on the attack.
Sue reveals she spent hours in the makeup chait getting prosthetics
Anita, who stars as Janine in the show, delved into her character’s psyche, explaining: “When it comes to Kelly, Janine just wants to infect her so they can be together – she doesn’t want to kill her,” She also described Janine’s journey after becoming infected: “After Janine gets infected, she goes through the motions of horror and wants to know what’s happening to her. But suddenly, she finds all the things that she felt when she was young. There’s a desire to go out there and do things, to stand up for herself and she’s got the power to do that. Janine’s completely fearless and doesn’t want that to change.” The cast dynamics were interesting, with a clear divide between the baby boomers and Generation Z actors. Robert shared his experience working with the younger cast members: “They’re like aliens! ” he exclaimed. “They talk a different language. I didn’t understand anything. The series is such a satire of life under the threat of a virus or an infection and it says a lot about kids, not that I enjoyed working with them very much – that’s a story for another time. I’d suggest something and they looked at me like I’d just crawled out of the floor.”
Janine’s granddaughter Kelly is played Buket Komur
Robert, who portrays Morgan, spent a significant amount of time filming in less-than-ideal conditions: “I spent most of my time in an old abattoir in Newport,” he revealed. “Morgan supplies recreational treats for the Generation Z kids and he grows it in his cellar. It was depressing – all the actors longed to get out of there.” He also teased a potential twist involving his character: “My character goes through a big transformation and he knows a lot more about the virus than anyone else. My character goes through a big transformation and he knows a lot more about the virus than anyone else,” Robert shares. “Ben [writer/director Ben Wheatley] altered my character after I agreed to join the project. I initially thought I was playing the hero, then something unexpected happened.” As the virus spreads and the older generation become more zombified, the makeup department really upped their game. “I remember catching a glimpse of my reflection and it was horrifying,” Sue recalls, chuckling. “By the end, I had a prosthetic forehead, cheeks, nose, mouth, and neck. I found it quite claustrophobic, but also liberating. I thought, ‘I can never look worse than this.’” Robert chimes in, “I went down to the costume department to see the spare body part they made for me – it was my torso – and saw Sue, who was attempting to make a phone call. Of course, she was trying to use face recognition and wondering, ‘Why won’t my phone work?’”.
The three actors praise the extras for completely transforming and committing to their zombie roles
The extras were equally committed to their roles. “The supporting artists were fantastic,” Sue praises. “They embraced all the makeup from day one and when they had to eat a man, they savoured it! They brought laughter to my day because they were so dedicated to every action.” “They were terrifying,” Robert concurs. “They really gave it their all. At one point, I almost asked Ben to ask them to tone it down.” Watch Generation Z on Sunday 27 October, 9pm, Channel 4Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnDramaSue JohnstonAnita DobsonRobert Lindsay
