With her smash hit Starstruck exploring fairytale romance and what happens next, the comedian breathed new life into the sitcom. But, as the series returns for a third run, she’s now wondering whether it’s done more harm than good
“Aloof, mysterious and totally chill.” That’s how Rose Matafeo would have me describe the fundamental facets of her character. It’s unconventional, yes, but somehow we’re jointly workshopping opening lines for this interview. “And then something about how I held a lot back, and was impossible to read – a totally closed book,” the 31-year-old New-Zealand-born comic suggests, momentarily straight-faced, before bursting into another round of rich belly laughter. It’s a Thursday in July and we’re perched on stools outside a cafe in an east London park, deep into our third cumulative hour of discussions.
Barely two weeks earlier, we had spent most of a sunny afternoon talking over a swanky central London lunch. From the best goodie bags she’s received from recent TV chatshow appearances (The Kelly Clarkson Show: cookies, candles and a Clarkson-branded travel mug) to various iterations of existential dread (where is home? What is fulfilment? How to thrive with Eeyore as your personality type?), the breadth of ground covered felt extensive. Then, out of the blue, Matafeo suggested we meet again. Now, in a floral dress and sunglasses, she’s prodding at a brie and pear baguette, trying to articulate precisely why she wanted to continue the conversation.
