Laughing Through Life

Two Doors Down star Arabella Weir on the strange, painful joy of telling the truth for laughs and rogue spiders

- by RACHEL McCONACHIE

ARABELLA WEIR has barely joined the call when the conversation is immediately derailed - not by a probing question, but by a spider.

“Oh — sorry, I just got distracted,” she says. “I was fluffing up my cushion while we were talking and found something enormous in it.”

A moment of panic later, “A massive spider! I’m not saying I'm the sort of hippie who can pick it up with her hands, but thankfully my housemate isn’t here, or he’d have to be sedated. It was that big.”

That kind of unexpected, unfiltered honesty - equal parts funny and real - is exactly what Arabella Weir brings to everything she does, whether it’s writing about her mother, unpacking decades of sexism or playing the long-suffering Beth in the BBC's Two Doors Down.

And fans, take note: the show is back this year with a new Christmas special.

“We start shooting quite soon,” Arabella says. “It’s always hilarious filming a Christmas episode in warm weather. Everything has to be dressed up for winter and you're sweating in scarves and jumpers.”

And, yes, she promises it'll be as comfortingly chaotic as ever. “It’s very much what you'd expect: the usual high jinks and ritual humiliation of Beth and Eric,” she adds. “Nobody sets fire to anything or gets a facelift - don’t worry. We're all really excited to be back.”

While she’s tight-lipped about any plot details - “I’m obviously not allowed to say much about the show. Annoying, isn’t it?” - her enthusiasm is clear.

“I wish I could tell you more,” she admits, “but I give you full permission to ring me back when it airs.”

Although she lives in London, Arabella says she feels very much at home across Scotland and is “back up the road” as much as she can be.