‘Well, it was a long time ago,’ I say.
‘But I’ve seen clips and I know she was incredible,’ Róisín continues. ‘I mean, the hair!’
‘The hair was amazing,’ I agree.
‘And she’s sofunny!’ says Róisín. ‘You know there’s a supercut of the home-invaders storyline on YouTube? It’s brilliant.’
‘Oh wow, I’d love to watch that again,’ I say as the canteen doors slide open.
‘I watched the episodes where she saved Barbara from the cult too,’ says Róisín. ‘Seriously, when the cult leader tried to exorcise Ma Cusack and she laughed in his face I wanted to applaud!’
‘I think I did applaud,’ I say. ‘God, Honoria Quigley is such an amazing actor.’
‘The best,’ agrees Róisín.
‘I was so sad when I heard she was leaving,’ I say. ‘But I get why she decided to call it a day. I suppose you get tired, playing such a big role for so long.’
‘Oh, she didn’t decide to leave,’ says Róisín.
‘Sorry?’ I say, but we’ve reached the counter.
‘An Americano, please,’ says Róisín.
Once I’ve ordered my coffee I say, ‘What did you mean just there, about Honoria not deciding to leave the show?’
‘It wasn’t her choice to go,’ says Róisín. ‘She left because Bernard didn’t renew her contract.’
‘What?’ I stare at her in confusion. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Oh, yeah,’ says Róisín. ‘Have you met Des Smyth, the sound guy?’
‘Not yet,’ I say.
‘He’s lovely. He’s been here forever. He’s the first person who told me about the Honoria stuff, but all the olderNorthsidecrew who were around in those days backed him up. They loved her. Bernard getting rid of her is one of the reasons they all hate him.’
‘But …’ I’m totally baffled. ‘But if Honoria wanted to stay, and the crew and the cast all loved her, and’ – most importantly of all, as far as a TV programme is concerned – ‘if theaudienceloved her, and they definitely did, why did Bernard let her go?’
Ma Cusack is the best and most beloved characterNorthsidehas ever had. This doesn’t make any sense at all.
‘Well, it’s typical Bernard,’ says Róisín.
‘In what way?’
‘He let her go because he thought she was getting too popular,’ says Róisín. ‘At least, that’s what all the old crew say.’
‘Toopopular?’ I say.
‘Yeah.’ Róisín gets her Americano from the counter and takes a sip. ‘I know. It’s insane. And from what everyone says, she wasn’t a diva or anything. But Bernard was … well, he had this whole “no one can be bigger thanNorthside” thing. You know? “The show doesn’t need the actors or the writers, the actors and the writers need the show.”’
I do know. The ethos is basically the same on many long-running TV dramas like this. But …
‘But to get rid of the show’s biggest character …’ I say.
‘That’s Bernard for you!’ says Róisín. ‘He hated the fact that she’d become such a big star. Like, it was one thing he couldn’t control.’
‘So he fired her,’ I say. ‘Even though everyone loved her and she made the show better.’ I’m reeling.
Róisín shrugs. ‘Pretty much. Seriously, he’s an egomaniac. The sooner he retires the better.’