As Britannia returns we talk to stars David Morrissey, Sophie Okonedo, and Zoe Wanamaker

Filming of the third instalment was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s finally landing on Sky Atlantic and NOW this month.

For those that haven’t seen it before, think exciting fight scenes, larger-than-life characters and plenty of dark humour.

Joining the show is Sophie Okonedo, 53. The actress – who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Hotel Rwanda – plays Hemple, the wife of General Aulus (David Morrissey). A force of nature, she heads to Britannia to investigate why her husband has failed with a mission: to capture the chosen one, Cait (Eleanor Worthington-Cox).

Her character is also very “jealous”, says Okonedo. “What motivates her is definitely power. She’s a lady with a very big appetite. She’s very hungry for lots of things in life; power, passion.”

Okonedo says filming during a pandemic presented its own problems. “Suddenly you’re not in Wales, you’re in a studio in Wembley – changes like that just weren’t anticipated. You didn’t quite have the landscape that you wanted, but everybody was in the same boat, trying to accommodate.”

Another captivating female character in Britannia – which is set in a terrifying world of mythic Celtic tribes and mysterious druids, and explores a clash of civilisations and religions – is the fierce Queen Antedia, played by Zoe Wanamaker.

Wanamaker – best known for the TV series My Family and Shadow and Bone, as well as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – feels shows like Britannia do a great job of having women of all ages in leading roles.

“When you get to over 26, you start getting older parts; you’re somebody’s mother or auntie,” says the 72-year-old. “But more and more, particularly with American television, there’s been a big push for a lot of women producers as well now, which is fantastic.”

Discussing her long and fruitful career, Wanamaker says she’s always been “picky with parts” from the outset.

“Sometimes decisions to do something cause me angst and I turn it down. So I’m very careful about what I do. But usually it’s got to scare me a little bit. The play Constellations that I just finished, that scared the hell out of me.”

There’s a lot of action in the third series of Britannia and Morrissey was involved in one particularly big battle scene. “It was at night, it was cold, we were very exposed, we were in a massive field,” he says.

“You just have people rolling around on the floor, and I was looking at everybody thinking, ‘I can’t believe people are doing that’. Of course, all the crew is in their North Face [outdoor clothing company] and I’m rolling around in my Roman skirt. It was absolutely freezing.”

So was he able to switch off? “As an actor, I’ve often been asked, ‘Do you take your characters home?’ And I usually say, ‘Well, I take my hair dye home, but not much else’,” he quips.

“If you’re doing a scene again and again and again where you’re breaking down, and you’re having to tap into emotions that are very upsetting, then what I’ll take home is the fact that I’m knackered.

“I might take home the fact that I’m feeling a bit grumpy because I’ve had a tough day at work, but it’s not as highfalutin as the fact that I need to tap into this thing, and I have to be in it all the time, it’s just a case of being physically tired.

“Lots of people have that in their jobs; if you have a demanding job, then sometimes you come home and you don’t want to be frivolous or have a chat. People deal with it in different ways.”

Britannia season 3 will begin on Sky Atlantic and NOW on August 24.