This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

There’s been a break since the last series of Ted Lasso. How is this incarnation different?

Rex Hayes: This version is about a women’s football team, the Lady Greyhounds, and the differences between men’s and women’s football. We learn a lot about that, and how there are really specific differences for women’s players. But it’s not that different. It’s still the same show.

Aisling Sharkey: This season has the same energy as season one. It’s light-hearted. It’s feel-good. But the subject matter is really important. I can’t speak for England, but growing up in Ireland we had some great footballers in our primary school, but there was no girls’ team. The only girl who ever went on to play professionally was a girl who used to play on the boy’s team in primary school and secondary school, because there wasn’t a team for her. Now she’s a pro, which is class – but she’s probably getting paid pennies.

Tell us about the characters that you play?

Rex: I play Siobhan, and she is a twin sister to Niamh, played by Aisling. And we are members of the football team. That’s all I can really tell you, to be honest!

Aisling: I’m the younger sibling, which says more than enough, even though they’re twins. Twin politics plays a part.

It’s hard enough to find someone who’s the right fit for a role, but you also had to match each other as twins. What was that like?

Rex: In the audition, I said my line and Aisling started really taking the piss out of what I just said. And I was like, “I’m not having that.” Partly as the character, and partly as Rex. I started giving it back and I think that got us the job.

Aisling: On the first day on set we had to beat each other up. We went, “Hi, nice to meet you, everyone,” and then we were scrambling on the floor. My stud went into Rex’s leg and gave them a huge bruise. It was like, “straight in, no kissing!”

Rex: We both have little brothers and I’ve definitely drawn on that relationship with Aisling. It’s hard to imagine her as not my real-life twin now. It’s quite bizarre that she actually isn’t!

Were you football fans already?

Aisling: In Ireland, we have Gaelic football and it’s like a political thing to support Gaelic football or soccer. My ex-boyfriend was also a referee, so I was going to so much s**t university football! I spent so many mornings on a pitch with a runny nose and getting a cold. So I’ve seen a lot of football.

Rex: I’ve supported Liverpool my whole life. I’ve also played football for most of my life. I stopped playing when I was 12 years old, because I couldn’t play with the boys any more. If I’d had a team to play for, I might have been a footballer in a different life. Now I’m living out that dream, but without having to give up doughnuts! It’s lush.

I heard there was a boot camp to turn the actors into believable football players. How was that?

Aisling: Oh my God, I had the most fun ever. I was like: “I love football! I’ll be fine!” Then the first day, I was dogs**t! I was really bad. Some of us are actors who play football, some of the team are footballers who can act.

Rex: I’ve got decent skills, I would say. But my ability on the ball and my fitness was definitely better when we finished filming compared to when I started.

Cristo Fernández, who played Dani Rojas in the earlier series of Ted Lasso, has now actually gone pro. Could any of the Lady Greyhounds follow in his footsteps?

Rex: If Liverpool want to call me up as a super-sub for any of the next WSL season, I’m open. Just give me a call.

Some people say Ted Lasso made football a bigger sport in America. Could it do the same for the women’s game?

Aisling: That’s already happening anyway with the Lionesses. They win all the time. Also in America, women’s football – women’s soccer – is way bigger than it is over here, because the men’s soccer isn’t as good.

Rex: Yeah, it’s actually been far more popular over there for years and years compared to here in the UK. I feel like it will absolutely welcome new audiences and people to women’s soccer, in a way that season one to three of Ted taught lots of people about football in general. I happen to be a football fan, so this show was an easy sell for me, but I speak to so many people who are massive fans who don’t enjoy football, and fell in love with it via the characters.

You fall in love with human beings, and then by proxy, you want Richmond men’s team to do well. And I feel like that’s the same thing here. I think it will teach people a lot about women’s sport, but it’s also going to teach you about human beings.

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