Jace Lacob I’m Jace Lacob, and you’re listening to Making Sanditon, a special presentation of MASTERPIECE Studio.

The story of Sanditon was left unfinished when Jane Austen died in 1817 — and again in 2020, when the MASTERPIECE / ITV television adaptation was canceled after a single season on air.

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Diana No, no I won’t have it. Of course this is a setback, but I refuse to let you be defeated by it! Sanditon must not be allowed to founder and fall. We will find a way. We are Parkers. We stand together.

Jace But Sanditon fans know by now that the series — and the story of Charlotte Heywood and all her friends by the sea — is quickly coming back to your screens in March 2022.

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Rose I had always thought I’d be leaving at the season’s end, but now I’m not so sure…

Mr. Crowe So, you’ve found a reason to stay?

Rose Yes, I believe I have.

Jace Among the many people excited for that return is Rose Williams, the talented young actor who plays Charlotte. Rose has been a guest on this podcast many times before, and I’m happy to welcome her back as she wraps up filming the second — and third! — seasons of Sanditon.  

Jace So take me back in time now, what was your immediate reaction when you got the news that Sanditon would not be returning?

Rose Williams I remember it was with Belinda and producers and. We hadn’t had a confirmation either way, I hadn’t really thought about it. And then I went to see Belinda and she told me I was, I don’t know how I felt. I was disappointed, I guess in my head somewhere I created a tangent universe where we’d be coming back and I did feel disappointed. But also at the same time, it was quite soon after we finished. It was the same year, I think it was towards the end of the year, and I was just grateful for the experience. It was just readjusting. And as an actress, you kind of have to constantly do that, like getting your hopes up when you go to audition, and imagine yourself in the role and then it goes away or a project gets pushed or things change. So I’m kind of used to that feeling…feels like a combination of disappointment, but also grateful that I’d had the experience. And so, yes, a bittersweet kind of feeling, I suppose.

Jace I mean, for me, I was holding out hope that it would return until the sets were torn down completely. I mean, did it feel at that point like there was no possible way that the show would go on at that point?

Rose Yeah, I guess that when I heard that the sets had gone, sure, but it was kind of a conversation back and forth, maybe, and then it would dip in and out. So I did kind of hold a grain of hope that some will or way it might come back. And it was a surprise when I got the call to say that we were a go ahead for season two and three.

Jace So now we’re flashing forward to 2021. Sanditon returns to production not just a second season, but also a third. How did it feel that the show had been snatched from the grip of death and that Charlotte Heywood story would continue?

Rose Oh, amazing. It’s so much thanks to the fans and people that enjoy the show, and there’s such an abundance of support online with, particularly with the self-proclaimed Sanditon Sisterhood who were infinitely grateful for. And for me, it’s so fun because it’s such a collaborative, creative experience shooting a show. That’s why I enjoy so much as being part of the team and for them people to enjoy it, it just enriches the experience and just kind of makes it a full circle, especially when it comes to pieces of artwork and drawings or like, it was amazing the artwork that was organized in the bid to save the show. So it feels wonderful and like we’re we. It’s a very different feeling making a show that there is now an audience for in comparison to doing something from scratch, I suppose. And so, yeah, it was really, really amazing to know that there were people that enjoyed the story. And then wanted more.

Jace I mean, as you say you, you shot season one. No one had seen it at that point, a season two, season three, there’s now sort of a very invested audience. How has it felt to come back to the series, both with your cast mates and friends on set, but also to come back to Charlotte herself? Did it feel like much time had passed both for Charlotte and for you, Rose Williams? Rose It was really meaningful to me actually stepping back into the character after about a year and a half because my intention and a combined intention for all of us was for Charlotte to feel in this season and that she’s taken a step forward into womanhood in a new way. She’s matured through her experiences that we saw in season one. And it’s important to me to feel as if season one, season two and season three were significant chapters of her life as a woman, and so definitely brought a lot of my emotional experience from the past year to her and without giving too much away of w hat happens to the character? But it was really meaningful having that time between the end of season one and the start of season two, for sure.

Jace Before we hear more, let’s take a quick break to hear a word from our sponsors…

Jace So where do we find Charlotte Heywood when we pick back up with her at the start of season two?

Rose So we are a few months on and we’ve seen Charlotte at the end of season one going back to Willington and she’s been processing the her that she had and the relationships that she built with the wonderful characters in Sanditon and and we meet her again, being called back to town with the company of her younger sister, Alison, played by the exquisite Rosie Graham, who I’m so excited for everyone to see her performance, s he’s wonderful. And it’s almost like, Charlotte excitement and naivete has kind of now steps forth with her younger sister, Alison, who’s never been to a town like that before, and the roles kind of flip in that sense. And now Charlotte becomes the older sister who’s kind of seen it. So that was a really fun shift to play that and see the wide-eyed joy and excitement of Charlotte’s younger sister experiencing Sanditon for the first time.

Jace So now, Alison, is that sort of wide-eyed romantic that Charlotte was at the start of season one, given that, what is Charlotte’s motivation this season if it’s no longer finding love or encountering adventure?

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Clara How do you like Sanditon?

Charlotte Very much – though I have seen very little of it.

Clara Do you plan to try sea-bathing?

Charlotte I want to try everything there is to try.

Rose Number one, I think she’s missed her friends, all those relationships that she built as much as she adores her hometown, her village of Willingden, and the land in her family, and she has a responsibility to take care of her family. I think after spending time with the Parkers and Miss Lamb, of course, and encountering characters like Lady Denham I think she craves that exploration again misses her best friend, Georgiana Lamb, misses, have her friends, the Parkers and also, I think wants her sister to have that experience, she wants Alison to see what it’s like outside the farm as well. I think that’s one of her motivations, definitely for coming back and I guess we’ll will see, as this series goes, on the more reasons for her to stay. But she definitely wants to strive forward and continue to explore and dip potentially into the world of work.

Jace  You mentioned Georgiana Lamb, one of the central dynamics in Sanditon is the relationship between Charlotte and Georgiana. How did it feel to be reunited with Crystal Clark on set and how does Charlotte and Georgiana’s relationship shift in the second season?

Rose Yeah, amazing. I mean, really amazing. I think the last time, because Crystal went back to America, the last time I saw Crystal was and towards the end of 2019. So to come back and I think the first time I saw her, too, was when she was in costume as Georgiana, which is like fun and special. And the first scene that we shot — not to give too much away was in a lovely set, which was our tea rooms, introducing her to Alison, the younger sister. So that’s lovely for Charlotte to introduce Alison to Georgiana. But no, I think the relationship between George and Charlotte is potentially one of my, well, my favorite and relationship for the characters because they really learn from each other and through each other. And Charlotte, definitely in season one, is graciously educated by Miss Lamb. She’s never met anyone like her before. And it’s so meaningful how Charlotte’s eyes are opened up to the world around her through this gorgeous Antiguan heiress. So as we move through season two and season three, they both go through different challenges. There are different kind of emotional spaces in their life. That’s something that’s prominent and a core key throughout by season three and by season two and season three is this female friendship, which is one of Jane Austen’s most important themes, I think, and the number one, the sister relationships but number two, female friendships. And I think there’s a quote a Jane Austen quote that I’m going to butcher this and get this completely wrong. And the only something about ‘The only correspondence to be depended on is is women.’ But obviously, she’s an iconic feminist. So the female friendship means very much to me, and I’m really excited for the audiences to see how Georgiana develops and where her storyline goes, there’s real exciting twists and turns, and which I, as a watcher of the show, I’ll be. be excited to see her pieces that I’m not in with potentially some new characters. So, yeah, lots in store for Miss Lamb.

Jace Head writer Justin Young has described his vision of the Charlotte Heywood novel as a trilogy. Three seasons, if you will. No spoilers, but can you at least promise viewers — Will Charlotte finally get a happy ending by the end of these next two seasons?

Rose I would say that in the spirit of Jane Austen, that is a high possibility.

Jace It seemed as though Charlotte’s story would be left unfinished when Sanditon was initially not recommissioned. How does it feel that there will be a sense of resolution, then, for her narrative, after all that it won’t be left dangling?

Rose Yeah, fantastic. Absolutely brilliant, because I think it’s strange, like after I’ve finished doing jobs and with a character that you’re never going to play again. It’s kind of a strange process to put it away, but there was always that naggle with Charlotte. So and yeah, it’s fantastic to explore where where she goes. And I know that there is an end in sight for her that might be nicer than the end of series one.

Jace Finally, how would you describe season two of Sanditon in under five words?

Rose Windswept, joyful and spirited.

Jace Rose Williams, thank you so very much.

Rose Thank you so much. Lovely talking to you.

Jace Coming up next… the new men of Austen.

Alexander Vlahos I think he’s a peacock. I think he’s, yeah, a rock star. He’s quite brazen, I think, bold, ambitious, and yeah…a little bit mad.

Jace That’s Sunday, December 19, only here on MASTERPIECE Studio.

MASTERPIECE Studio is hosted by me, Jace Lacob. This episode was produced and edited by Nick Andersen. The executive producer of MASTERPIECE is Susanne Simpson.