HP: I didn’t watch the last season, I only watched the first five…oh, she’s the army girl.

 

B&TF: Yes, she’s the army girl.

 

HP: Yeah, maybe, maybe. I think Sam’s got more humor that Tasha. Tasha took everything a little bit too seriously, didn’t she? No, I honestly don’t think there’s a comparison. As far as comparison between Frankie and Shane, I feel sorry for Ruta (Gedmintas) because I’m a gay woman and I see type of Shane and Frankie in any bar I go to. It’s not that we were trying to create a Shane character. There’s just that kind of gay girl out there and Ruta did an amazing job with Frankie.

 

B&TF: There’s always Shane-kind of girl everywhere. Even on “The Real L Word” they were comparing Whitney to Shane because she sleeps with everybody.

 

HP: Yeah, but it’s also that look, that style that sort of says, “Oh, I just got up and just thrown my kit on and left my hair like that”, you know?

 

B&TF: You could look like Shane if you wanted to.

 

HP: Yeah (laughing), exactly. So the comparison will always be there but I think ultimately, it’s a totally different show.

 

B&TF: What are similarities and differences between Sam and you?

 

HP: I’m not as cool as Sam, which is unfortunate.

 

B&TF: But you are funnier. She would never do that “show-off” stuff you did on stage or tell sad but hilarious hamster stories.

Heather Peace at L8 – ©L-Word.com

HP: No, she wouldn’t (laughing). Sam’s like everything I’d like to be but she’s just properly cool. She thinks before she speaks unlike me who tends to just stick my foot and get myself into trouble, saying things I probably shouldn’t. She’s a lot more controlled. I just see where the mood takes me. I’m a little more spontaneous, I think, than Sam. But there’re obviously some elements of her in me and certainly physicality, the way she holds herself and everything else is me.

 

B&TF: Do you think “Lip Service” would have been received differently if “The L Word” hadn’t been aired before?

 

HP: Absolutely. Well, to be honest, maybe we wouldn’t get the following had “The L Word” not come through. I think because “The L Word” had finished, people were hungry for something else, so in a way, it gave us a foot up.

 

B&TF: How come it’s only six episodes and you had to fit so many storylines in such a short time?

 

HP: Unfortunately, that’s just the way British drama rolls at the moment. British drama used to be eight episodes or sixteen, like “London’s Burning” was sixteen, right until its last series went to eight. Pretty much all British drama now runs in six episodes. I wish it was longer, I do. I think the writer, Harriet (Broun), must really struggle to get everything packed in what she gets. The only upside of it is that because it’s BBC, you do get full hour where with “The L Word” there were only about 40 minutes long. With “Lip Service” you do get full hour of drama.