Their art club on Channel 4 inspired millions last year. On the eve of series two they talk about hitting their 60s, lockdown, therapy… and Grayson’s missing alter ego
Interviewing Grayson and Philippa Perry is a bit like sticking your hand into a basket of kittens: they’re playful and fascinating but you can never be quite sure where one ends and the other begins, or whether they’re going to nip. It’s the run-up to the second series of Grayson’s Art Club, and they’re sitting side by side in what must currently be the world’s best-known artist’s studio.
More than a million people a week tuned into the Channel 4 series last year, and I’ve joined the couple on Zoom to talk about the imminent second season. Grayson has positioned himself half off screen and Philippa’s hand keeps popping into view, trailing a red thread. What are you doing, I ask? “Let’s say I’m doing the mending,” she replies, briskly.