One Day star Jonny Weldon has opened up about the heartbreaking ending of One Day - and more specifically - his final scenes with Leo Woodall, and how it made a big change from the hugely popular David Nicholls novel. Warning, major spoilers ahead…
The actor plays Emma’s first boyfriend Ian on the show, and opened up about the scene where Ian travels to Dexter’s home to comfort him on the anniversary of Emma’s death. He explained: “In the book, it's a written letter, but that moment is a really interesting part of Ian's journey, because he spends so much time feeling like if only he could get Emma.
“If only he could understand what's going on with Dexter. If only he could get this. If he could get a gig. If only… it's like happiness is just out of reach and then at the end, he's moved on.
“I don't know what they kept in the show but, he's married, He has kids, and he has a more togetherness, and Dexter looks like he has more togetherness earlier on, and at the end of that stage, he's deeply depressed and struggling.
“I certainly did feel the pressure, but it was very nice to have that part of Ian's journey as well… That's one of the great things about the book. Their lives. They're human and they're complicated and they're multifaceted and fundamentally very relatable.”
Despite the very emotional scene, Jonny joked that it wasn’t quite heartbreaking to film, explaining: “We had to stop because there was a bloke with an angle grinder next door!”
One Day follows a couple’s on-and-off relationship over 20 years, and Jonny opened up about the challenges of making the filming work after going from playing a man in his early twenties to his late thirties within the space of one week.
He said: “My first day on set was working at the Mexican restaurant where I had my first line. My very first scene in the show was my first day and that was helpful because I was nervous, I was new and I was keen. Ian, on his first day at the Mexican restaurant, is nervous and new, and he's keen to help.
"But then about four days later, they'd added prosthetics on my eyes to make me look older and heavier and aged me up and then I was suddenly going to be late thirties with an older Dexter within the space for four days so it was quite an interesting way to start, and there was pressure.”