Killing Eve actor Jodie Comer thought the BBC series wouldn't be a hit in the UK

She also spoke about the second series having a 'different energy'

(BBC)

Killing Eve actor Jodie Comer has said she doubted whether the BBC America series would be a success in the UK.

The show was first broadcast in the US, before later being made available to the UK audiences via BBC iPlayer.

Despite being a critical and commercial success across the pond, Comer – who plays the old-blooded assassin Villanelle – was worried Killing Eve would flop in her home country.

“It was so crazy, and wonderful,” she told The Big Issue magazine. “It is lovely there is such a buzz. I have never been part of a show that has had such an enormous response.

“Even after it was a hit in America, the pessimist in me was saying, what if the Brits hate it? But they didn’t. They loved it. Even in my family, I can tell they genuinely love it and it’s not ‘We’ll have to watch this because our Jodie’s in it’. My dad has watched it so many times.”

The eight-part series – which was co-written and executive produced by Fleabag‘s Phoebe Waller-Bridge – received overwhelmingly positive reviews and was nominated for a Golden Globe for best drama television series.

Comer, 25, who co-stars alongside Sandra Oh, said the second series, which is in the final stages of being filmed, will have a “different energy”.

She said: “The show on the whole does have a different energy, which I think is important. But it has the same humour and dark moments.

“What I like about Villanelle is she makes people question their own morals. You relate to her in ways you wouldn’t admit to. We all have these dark corners of our minds. Phoebe just brought them forward into the light and we have to face it.

“And maybe this is just because I am a woman, but another thing that is exciting about Villanelle is that she doesn’t use her sexuality. She is never in six-inch heels and a tight catsuit luring men in through her sexuality.”