For Kiri Flaherty’s first series regular role, she plays Little Karen in the Apple TV+ series The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin. Kiri works alongside a cast including Noel Fielding as Dick Turpin, and it has been announced that The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin has been renewed for a second series, with Kiri reprising her role. In 2020, Kiri played Bernadette Flynn in the short film PADDY, with the film winning Best Short at the Catalyst International Film Festival the following year, and during her screen career so far, she has worked on numerous commercials. We recently spoke to Kiri about being in the cast of Apple TV+ series The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, having Little Karen as her first series regular role and playing Bernadette Flynn in short film PADDY.

You play Little Karen in the Apple TV+ series The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, how would you describe the character?

Hi, how are you? Thank you so much for having me. Little Karen is very smart even though she is quite young. She is a strong, independent, quirky and sharp-witted character. Little Karen is also very caring and always looking out for Dick, to whom she often offers advice. She owns the local pub The Ruin and runs it well, keeping her customers in line despite their rowdiness from time to time.

Can you tell us about the series and who do you think will enjoy watching it?

The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is a comedy series set in the 1700s.

The real Dick Turpin was known for his brutality and that’s where the similarity ends. Over the course of Season 1 in this TV series, Dick (played by Noel Fielding) sets out on a series of wacky and absurd made-up adventures with his gang and various rogues and crazy adventures along the way.

It is a brilliant show that the whole family can watch. It is a step back to old TV series that were just good, silly humour. It has a couple of adult jokes, but it’s so cleverly written by Richard Naylor, Jon Brittain and Noel Fielding, that they will go straight over younger kids’ heads. It is so much fun to watch and, every time you rewatch it, you pick up on a new gag. The array of talent on this show ensures a fantastic blast of comedy.

How did you feel finding out you’d booked Little Karen for your first series regular role?

I was so happy and excited, especially with it being my biggest role. I had done several auditions for this over several weeks. As actors know, it is not uncommon to do an audition and not hear back, so after almost two months, when my agent rang me, I thought it was another piece of script to learn. Well, I might have been in Galway many miles from London but I am sure I could be heard there screaming with excitement. It took a little while to calm down… actually, I don’t think I ever did, the script looked so brilliant, and the cast and the role of Little Karen. It was a very exciting time.

How did you prepare for the role and what is Little Karen like to play?

Little Karen is fun to play. She is quite like me in a way. To start with, I researched Dick Turpin – he wasn’t good at all, he was a real rotten apple. I checked out life in England in the 1700s to get an idea of the lifestyle and ways of people.

I prepared for the role by reading my scripts multiple times to see what the atmosphere for that episode was like and to see how the other characters interact with Little Karen. From there, I built up how Little Karen might be in that scene. I have trained in method acting so I found it great for getting in and out of character.

What is it like getting into costume/character and how do you find the experience on set?

It is really cool because the show is set in the 1700s so the costumes are very old style. The mix of old English noblemen with frills and wigs and the regular Englishmen in their rough potato sack-like pants and shirts. My costumes were long-layered dresses, quite dirty and tatty in look, of course typical of the women’s clothing then. The set was fantastic, it really helped build an atmosphere and the old world feeling, which really helps with setting the scene and getting everyone fired up for filming. Working with such a big crew is brilliant, they are the real stars, all experts in their own fields. We started out filming in the world-famous Pinewood Studios then on to Troubadour Studios, plus some amazing locations. Next stop will be our new home at Elstree Studios in London, I can’t wait!

What is it like working and filming alongside the rest of the cast, which includes Noel Fielding as Dick Turpin?

It’s an amazing experience, they are so kind and talented, Noel is just the kindest and sweetest person anyone could work with, and so are the rest of the cast. I was so excited when I first met Hugh Bonneville and, of course, the first thing I said to him was “Hi Mr Brown” as I had always loved Paddington. Oh, I am still living that one down. 😊😊

I was also so excited when I first met Marc Wootton, who played Mr. Poppy in Nativity!. A few weeks after I went back to school after filming the pilot/Episode 1, our teacher put on a Christmas movie, and out of every movie she picked Nativity! and I couldn’t say that I knew Marc. Let’s just say I took a lot of bathroom breaks during it.

There are so many fantastic people – Mark Heap, Dolly Wells, Ellie White, Greg Davies, Jessica Hynes, Diane Morgan, Ben Palmer… I know I am missing more and the other stars: the crew. By the end of the filming of the first series, I had so many new friends, many of whom I message and keep in touch with frequently. Even now I still sometimes pinch myself.

It has been announced that The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin has been renewed for a second series, how has it been seeing the response to Series 1 and what are you looking forward to for returning to film new episodes?

The response to Season 1 was amazing. It received a lot of very strong positive reviews from some of the big giants in TV and media publications. There was a huge buzz, and it created great excitement amongst TV viewers who were longing for something different and entertaining. When it was announced that Season 2 was happening, I was so thrilled. I can’t wait to film new episodes and to be part of all the new crazy adventures as they are brought to life. I can’t wait to meet the new guest stars and who knows what locations we might end up on.

In 2020, you played Bernadette Flynn in the short film PADDY, can you tell us about the film and what was it like to work on?

This was another fantastic project. We had a very short turnaround time so after a lot of prep we got down to filming. The family move from Ireland to the UK. It’s the late 1970s in London and a new generation is asking questions and finding answers. It’s called PUNK, and it doesn’t matter who or what you are or where you’re from. The film was produced by Keith Bogue and Maeve McGrath, Maeve also plays my mum in the film. In 2021, PADDY won Best Short at the Catalyst International Film Festival under the direction of our amazing director Roisin Kearney. We are all so proud of this achievement.

We understand you have also been part of numerous commercials, can you say about some of the ones you’ve been involved with?

Yes, I did some commercials. The most memorable was one that I did for a well-known insurance company with Harvey Keitel. It was his last commercial for that brand. He was so kind; I was very young at the time so I said to him “Do you do much of this?”, he laughed and he told me he had done a few movies but I had to wait a few years to watch them. My parents still won’t let me watch them!!! 😊

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

My mum always said I could sing before I could talk. Mum’s friend owns Performing Arts School Galway and she always said “when Kiri is three years old, send her to me”, so off I went and loved it. A friend of the family suggested I do an audition for a TVC so I did, I got the part and fell in love with all things filming. The rest is history. I love, love it and want to keep doing it for ever.

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

Of course, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is my favourite. I also enjoy the Harry Potter films and my favourite TV shows are Stranger Things and Wednesday.

How do you like to spend your time away from acting?

When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, I also LOVE shopping, computer coding and trips to the cinema.

Have you been given any advice over your career so far that has stuck with you?

A number of years ago, my dialect coach said to me, “Do the audition to the very best of your ability, walk away and forget about it, it’s now in the laps of the Gods (The casting directors 😊)”.

Do you have any further projects coming up that you can share, and what are you hoping the rest of the year brings?

At the moment, I’m focusing on Season 2 of The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin and I hope that it will be as successful as Season 1. Who knows what the rest of 2024/2025 will bring.

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