Beaver Falls is the tale of three best friends who depart dreary Britain in favour of the sunny US with dreams of experiencing the ultimate carefree summer. They somehow manage to somehow blag jobs as camp counselors at an elite American summer camp, though things don’t always work out how they plan… Cue plenty of misadventures involving the pursuit of girls, the annoying kid campers they get matched with and of course, the never-ending trials of friendship.

Following on from its successful first series, E4’s colourful creation that fills that the gap left by the likes of The OC and The Inbetweeners, the show is back for a second outing this summer. This time around however, expect new characters, life beyond the Beaver Falls Camp and naturally, a whole lot of hilarious drama.

In a dimly lit basement bar in London’s Farringdon, 1883 caught up with the three leads, Sam Roberston (Flynn), John Dagleish (Barry) and Arsher Ali (A-Rab) ahead of the launch of the brand new series to talk about what’s in store. However Sam is no-where to be seen… yet.

1883: So is he always late?
John: Sam is mostly-annoyingly-late. Like when it’s 6am and you’re waiting in the car!

1883: Ah we see. So what was it like filming the show in South Africa? With zebras and springbok wandering the set, were you partial to going on an official safari on your days off?
John:Ha, yeah it was cool. Though we didn’t have much time to go on safari. I did have a look at some moths on my balcony though.
Arsher:I took a picture of a moth being devoured by wasps. I was quite happy with that one.
John:Yeah that was amazing. In South Africa, the wasps there are huge.
Arsher:Yeah so big they carry passports.
John: And go around with baseball bats.

1883: Back to the filming…
Arsher: Yeah so the three of us were filming practically everyday Though we did have a lot more time this year round what with all the new characters.

1883: Let’s talk about the new characters.
Arsher: Well Mac is Rachel’s new husband and is played by Tom Austen.

1883: Who unfortunately couldn’t be here today…
Arsher and John: He’s in Paris!
John: What a jammy bastard. I’d love to go to Paris, but it’s just so bloody expensive. You can only stay there for couple of days until you’re bankrupt.
Arsher: He’s doing an American crime show out there for 5 months with Jean Reno. He was saying every episode is based around Paris landmarks, so he’ll literally be seeing all the ins and outs of the city.
John: It’s a bit Agatha Christie isn’t it? Murder at the Eiffel Tower… Abduction at the Louvre.
Arsher: But yeah, so in Beaver Falls his character is married to Rachel and A-Rab doesn’t know that obviously. So it’s a bit of a shock when he gets there. He’s a real All-American guy if you know what I mean?
John: Bobby has brought him in as the Beaver Falls’ basketball team is rubbish and Mac is kind of like a basketball superstar. There’s a rival camp you see. It’s a bit like Rocky when he’s up against the Russian… you know where they’ve got all the amazing equipment and facilities?
Arsher: Nice basketball courts and all.
John: And Beaver Falls is kind of like the poor man’s version.

1883: What about the other characters?
Arsher: Well Hope is another new character. She’s part of the same bunk as Rachel and she’s a little bit…
John: Mental?
Arsher: Unhinged… She is obsessed with Rachel in a really weird way, which kind of borderlines her becoming a nemesis later on.

1883: And the third new character?
(At this point Sam slides into the booth, as if on cue)
Sam: The third one is PJ, who is the daughter of the owners of the camp. That doesn’t deter Flynn from pursuing her though. It’s quite interesting with PJ. Flynn gets a bit deep with her. She grabs him by the balls, both literally and metaphorically. She’s playing with him really…. She’s quite a sexy, sassy character. Got as much of an attitude as any of the guys. She’s different to anything Flynn’s ever experienced before.
John: She’s kind of like the female equivalent of Flynn.
Arsher: Except she looks like Juno.
Sam: Yeah she look like Ellen Page!

1883: So can you reveal any more of the upcoming storylines? What’s the deal with Flynn’s terminal illness?
Sam: Well he’s lost the ability of his right arm. So I’ll be scrutinizing my acting abilities with that one! So he’s in a cast for the first couple of episodes, claiming that he’s been in a car accident. So still in denial…

1883: Does everyone soon find out?
Sam: Well it comes out eventually and it looks at how he deals with it.

1883: Have your characters grown up much since the first series?
John: Yeah I think Barry’s grown up quite a bit. Obviously last year, Barry was a virgin and by the end of the series, he wasn’t... Ash is still scarred from walking in on us during that scene last year.
Sam: Did you?!
Arsher: Not in real life! In the show!

1883: Is it quite awkward filming those sort of scenes?
John: The first five minutes of filming those scenes are as awkward as hell. But after that it’s just funny. It’s ridiculous really…
Arsher: They do close off the set though, it’s not like everyone is crowding around you.

1883: Do you ever just find yourself bursting out laughing?
John: Oh yeah- that or you’re completely silent.
Sam: The very first scene between PJ and I was also the first scene to be filmed of the whole series. And it was a sex scene. Probably the most full-on sex scene I’ve ever filmed. So that was a bit awkward because we hadn’t developed a relationship yet. But it probably worked out for the best because we didn’t know each other and we just went for it.
John: They do that a lot, positioning scenes like that quite early on.
Sam: I suppose it breaks the ice.
John: And you don’t know how well actors are going to get on so by the time it comes to doing a sex scene, they could end up hating each other.

1883: It appears we’ve gone on a bit of a tangent… So how have all your characters developed since the first series?
John: Well Barry comes back this series thinking it’s a sure thing with Kimberly (Barry’s love interest from the first series who he lost his virginity to). They’ve been emailing, Moonpigged and whatever. Then much to even Barry’s surprise, she is actually up for it when he gets there. So last year was all about Barry trying to get laid, while this year it’s about him coping with a proper grown-up relationship and that’s where the humor comes!
Arsher: As for A-Rab, he comes back and obviously Rachel is now married. But he seems to give less of a shit this time round and is more up for doing mental things. He’s the one who feels like they have to make the most of America while they are there. Last year, everything pretty much revolved around the camp. Where as in the new series, even from the very first episode, we leave the camp.
Sam: Flynn has changed quite dramatically since the first series. First series, he was really carefree, really into girls, not at all into his emotions. He was in denial and running away from everything. But in this series, he comes back and is a lot more philosophical about things and more accepting of his illness. Then he really falls for a girl for the first time in his life.

1883: So ultimately where does the future lie for Beaver Falls?
John: Miami! Ha, nah the series definitely finishes with a satisfying ending this year but it’s kind of like with a new beginning as it were.
Arsher: Not to give too much away but it opens up a lot more.
John: A second series is harder to get than a third series as it’s all about establishing a following. So we’ll see.

1883: But you’re all up to keep going?
John: Yeah definitely. I mean it’s a great show to work on and it’s almost like chasing the eternal summer with filming. We leave for South Africa in January and get back to the UK just as the weather picks up here. You can’t beat that!

Beaver Falls starts Monday the 6^th of August at 10pm on E4.

Photography by Karoliina Barlund
Fashion by Lindsay Robertson
Grooming by Polly Mann
Fashion Assistant Jasmin Behr Fazeli
Interview by Aideen Shannon