For Mila Lieu’s first regular screen role, she plays Tang in Dodger – CBBC‘s prequel series to Oliver Twist – with Billy Jenkins as the titular character and Christopher Eccleston as Fagin. Dodger was nominated for three awards at the 2022 BAFTA Children & Young People Awards, which Mila attended alongside her fellow cast members, with the series winning the Best Scripted Award. Mila has played Tang over all episodes of Series 1 and the Specials, including the recent Coronation episode, in which Nicola Coughlan guest-starred as the Queen. As a voice artist, Mila had her first voice recording project in the animated series Little Baby Bum: Music Time, and she voices Wayu in Sea of Love. Also having stage experience, Mila made her professional debut in the 2019 tour of The King and I, and she has upcoming screen projects, having filmed for six weeks in Germany for the future cinema release of horror film Cuckoo, worked on a further horror film – Bad Things and recorded as Primrose in Isadora Moon. Recently, Mila talked to us about playing Tang in CBBC’s Dodger, making her professional stage debut in the 2019 tour of The King and I and working on the upcoming horror film Cuckoo.

What is Tang like to play in Dodger and how would you describe the character?

Tang is such a fun and enjoyable character to play. Despite being the youngest in the gang, she is very feisty and always tries to prove that she can steal just as well as the others.

Overall, I see her as a strong, resilient, determined young girl, who is always up for a challenge.

How much did you know about the Artful Dodger and Charles Dickens’ book Oliver Twist before auditioning for the prequel series and how did you feel finding out you’d booked your first regular screen character?

Before auditioning, I didn’t know much about Oliver Twist, but I had watched the film once. At that time, I was about eight years old, so I wasn’t into Charles Dickens’ work.

When I found out I had landed the role of Tang, I was overwhelmed with excitement as well as nervousness as I didn’t want to let them down.

Also, I had never been on a TV film set so that added to the excitement.

How is it reading the scripts for the first time and do you have a process for learning your lines?

The scripts were a delight to read as they were full of funny, witty lines. You can’t help but laugh every minute and this was the case at the table read.

Remembering my lines wasn’t difficult: I only had a few one-liners that I would add to the conversations. But that was fine with me as I didn’t have to worry about memorising the scripts/lines too much.

What is it like working alongside the rest of the cast, which includes Billy Jenkins as Dodger and Christopher Eccleston as Fagin, and being on set?

Working with the rest of the cast was such a joy and I had a very fun time filming because we all got along well.

Although we are all different in terms of our age and background, we really clicked together as “Fagin’s Gang” as we all brought something different to the table. I think Rhys (Thomas) and Lucy (Montgomery) had a clear vision of the gang in their mind when they started this journey and they did a brilliant job of bringing us all together.

What was it like returning to film the Special episodes as Tang and can you tell us about the recently released Coronation episode?

I was super excited to return as I couldn’t wait to film on set again. Moreover, when I found out Nicola Coughlan would be appearing in this episode, I was ecstatic! She was amazing in the Coronation episode and really brought the Queen’s personality to life. The new episode is about the gang getting back together and planning to steal the crown jewels.

How did you find the experience attending the 2022 BAFTA Children & Young People Awards, where Dodger was nominated three times and came away with the Best Scripted Award?

Attending the Children’s BAFTAs was a surreal experience that went past like a blur. It was overwhelmingly exciting: I was able to meet so many actors that I’d only seen on TV before.

When we were announced the winners for the Best Scripted, I couldn’t believe it! The rest of the night was the best night I’d ever had!

You are in the cast of the animated series Little Baby Bum: Music Time, what is the show like to record for and how is it performing the songs?

Little Baby Bum was the first voice recording I’d done so everything was a new experience for me. I remember the feeling of being nervous before the first session as I had no idea what to expect. However, when I met Sharon (Miller – voice director), she made me feel relaxed and reassured me what I was doing was good. The rest of the time recording was pure fun, and I loved the sessions where I would sing the nursery rhymes. I actually learnt quite a few new nursery rhymes!

We understand you voice Wayu in Sea of Love, how is it being involved with the series?

Wayu is definitely one of my favourite characters to voice as she’s so full of life and energy. This was my second voiceover job with the wonderful Sharon, who believed that I could inject a lot of cuteness and energy into Wayu.

Do you have a favourite aspect of working in voiceover and how is it seeing the completed animations?

What I love about working with voiceover is all the possibilities you can play around with your voice. You can choose how you want to bring a character to life by their facial expressions, their movements, their appearance and their voice. How they speak is so important as it shows what their personality is like.

Is there anything you can say about your time filming for the upcoming horror film Cuckoo and what are you looking forward to for the release?

Cuckoo was my favourite project I’ve worked on because I had the best six weeks working in Germany alongside an amazing team. I got to learn sign language for this role, which I really enjoyed, and I still continue to learn to this day. Starring alongside fantastic cast members like Hunter Schafer, Marton Csokas and Jessica Henwick was an absolute dream. I couldn’t have asked for a better on-screen family! I will always be grateful for Tilman (Singer) for believing that I could be Alma.

I am looking forward to seeing how people react to the movie and hopefully they will like it. Also, it’s going to be released in cinemas: I cannot believe I’m going to be on the big screen!

What do you remember from making your professional stage debut in the UK tour of the King and I in 2019?

The memories are a little fuzzy since it was a long time ago and I had only just turned six years of age at the time. I remember celebrating my birthday whilst on tour with the cast and crew of The King and I, that was pretty special. I loved the whole touring experience as I was always excited to pack my own suitcase and I felt like I was going on holiday with my friends.

It was the first time performing on a big stage in front of thousands of people and I remember being extremely nervous. However, as I did more performances, I got more used to it and by the last performance on stage, I didn’t want it to end.

How did you get into acting and was it something you always wanted to do?

When I saw my eldest sister Kami on the big screen, I was so excited and wanted to follow in her footsteps. I joined PQA when I was old enough and tried out for their agency. I booked my first job for a commercial just after that and I can remember being super excited as I got to film it alongside my sister and non-acting parents. Despite my nerves at first, I remember loving the experience and came away knowing that I wanted to continue doing this.

What are some of your favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch?

My top two films are The Adam Project and Marvel’s Shang Chi – I think my family is sick of me rewatching these films.

My favourite TV series are Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series. I am currently watching the recently released live-action series of Avatar and absolutely love it!! It is now my dream to play the role of Toph Beifong in this series as I loved her character in the animation series 😀

Lastly, my favourite theatre show is The Play That Goes Wrong. I love comedy and could watch it over and over again!

How do you like to spend your free time?

Since the Percy Jackson TV series came out, I started reading the book version and have been glued to all of Rick Riordan’s books. Whatever spare time I get in between reading, I practice my kung fu, piano and sing.

Do you have any projects coming up that you can tell us about and what are you hoping 2024 brings for you?

Last year, I worked on another voiceover project called Isadora Moon. I voiced a character called Primrose, who is Isadora’s fairy cousin. Hopefully my character will air on Sky soon!

I am also looking forward to the release of another horror film I had worked on between 2021-22 called Bad Things. I play a young girl called Lilly, and, like Tang, you wouldn’t want to mess with her!

For 2024, I hope that I will have more opportunities to work on more TV and film projects that will further improve my acting skills.

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