Jamie Demetriou’s year in TV: ‘I’m not shutting the door on Stath Lets Flats’

The actor on taking a pause, watching The Masked Singer with his flatmate, and why Mare of Easttown knocked his socks off

Jamie Demetriou, 34, started his career in student comedy, performing at the Edinburgh fringe. His TV roles include parts in Toast of London, Fleabag and the Apple TV+ series The Afterparty, which debuted in 2022. In 2021, the third series of his Bafta-winning comedy Stath Lets Flats – about an incompetent letting agent – aired on Channel 4. He stars in the series alongside his sister, Natasia Demetriou. Demetriou won the 2022 Bafta for best male performance in a comedy.

How did it feel to see Stath Lets Flats get so much acclaim for its third run?
I was so terrified of the response to series three, because I had a really hard time writing and shooting it, and you assume that’s going to be conducive to a bad product. The feeling of relief I had that it wasn’t a disaster was overwhelming. As for whether it’s the end of the show, I think there’s more to that universe. I’m not shutting the door on it. But I said I was taking a pause, which got construed as me taking a career break. I was working on the series for 10 years, so I’m just trying to work out what I want to do next.

Jamie Demetriou with his sister, Natasia, and Christos Stergioglou in Stath Lets Flats
With his sister, Natasia Demetriou, and Christos Stergioglou in Stath Lets Flats. Photograph: Jack Barnes/Channel 4

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing your job?
I’d like to design clothes, even just for myself, because my shape doesn’t always lend itself to the things I like. I could develop a brand called B, for men with big bums – I’d go on Dragons’ Den and give them my side profile.

What show had you gripped during the last year?
Mare of Easttown knocked my socks off. It was one of the most morbid things I’ve ever seen, but it embraced its characters’ flaws in a way that felt inherently comedic and satisfying, with loads of juicy twists and turns.

Who do you watch TV with?
My flatmate, Olly, though he loves a bit of The Masked Singer. I would never watch it on my own, but when he’s around, it rubs off on me.

Sign up to our Inside Saturday newsletter for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the magazine’s biggest features, as well as a curated list of our weekly highlights

Have you ever been mistaken for anybody else?
When I was starting out I did vox pops for a late-night TV show. I went to interview this guy, and before I’d even said anything he went: “Poor man’s Sacha Baron Cohen.” I immediately broke character.

Who is the most famous person in your phone contacts?
My sister.

Stath Lets Flats is available on All 4. For more information about the Virgin Media Bafta TV Awards, visit bafta.org

Contributor

Hannah J Davies

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Lolly Adefope’s year in TV: ‘We made a sex tape in Shrill – some of the noises I made were unacceptable’
The Ghosts star on loving Real Housewives, why Vigil made her cry, and what made The White Lotus perfect

Hannah J Davies

11, May, 2022 @2:00 PM

Article image
Jamie Demetriou on the return of Stath Lets Flats
As the Bafta-nominated sitcom returns, Jamie Demetriou and co talk about creating 2019’s funniest sitcom

Sam Wolfson

17, Aug, 2019 @5:59 AM

Article image
Hot property: Jamie Demetriou on the rise of Stath Lets Flats
In the first of a series exploring the stage origins of hit comedies, the actor remembers creating the delusional letting agent at Bristol University

Rachael Healy

28, Jan, 2021 @6:00 AM

Article image
Bimini’s year in TV: ‘During lockdown, Drag Race gave people hope and laughter’
The drag queen on hating sport, being mistaken for Katie Price, and why Buffy the Vampire Slayer was their awakening

Hannah J Davies

09, May, 2022 @2:00 PM

Article image
Jodie Whittaker’s year in TV: ‘Even if there are 13 more, I’ll always have been the Doctor’
The actor on the Doctor Who WhatsApp group, being a foodie who can’t cook, and why she’d like a part in Lord of the Rings

Hannah J Davies

08, May, 2022 @10:00 AM

Article image
Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s year in TV: ‘Three quarters of what’s on Channel 4 News makes me angry’
The Channel 4 News presenter on being mistaken for other people and impressing his kids by interviewing KSI

Hannah J Davies

10, May, 2022 @2:00 PM

Article image
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù’s year in TV: ‘I watched a few bad things where the women are just victims’
The RSC actor on his lockdown hit Gangs of London, his love of football, and his dislike of isms, schisms and phobias

Hannah J Davies

12, May, 2022 @2:00 PM

Article image
Lorraine Kelly’s year in TV: ‘It’s a Sin was my actual life, except we were in Glasgow, not London’
The presenter on loving the Russell T Davies drama, interviewing George Clooney over Zoom, and why Naked Attraction turns her off

Hannah J Davies

09, May, 2022 @9:00 AM

Article image
‘It’s a lovely flat, there’s no willies’: Stath Lets Flats finds humour in the housing crisis
The new channel 4 series based around a dysfunctional letting agency feels like the perfect parable for our fractured Brexit age

Hannah J Davies

26, Jun, 2018 @8:00 AM

Article image
Suranne Jones’s year in TV: ‘I read Vigil and said: I want to be airlifted into a submarine!’
The Gentleman Jack star on traumatic roles, being mistaken for Davina McCall, and the thrill of making her hit naval drama

Hannah J Davies

07, May, 2022 @2:00 PM