"I was furious when I found out she slept with him.
"They had this really good marriage. I threw my script to the floor in disgust."
The chemistry between Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig is just one of the reasons Episodes creeps up on you, and grabs you by the funny bone
Stephen Mangan is remembering how he felt when he got to the end of the first series of Episodes, and discovered that his on-screen wife Beverly (played by his old Green Wing mucker Tamsin Greig) did the unthinkable and actually bedded their Hollywood nemesis Matt LeBlanc, played by Matt LeBlanc.
The first series followed the husband-and-wife screenwriting team Sean and Bev Lincoln as they followed their hit show to Hollywood and tried not to sell out too much in the face of the west coast money-making juggernaut. Their worst fears were realised when studio boss Merc Lapidus (yes, really) replaced their lead Richard Griffiths with LeBlanc who, as seen, caused untold mischief in their lives both on and off-screen.
Matt LeBlanc and Morning Randolph are just two of the Stateside characters the Lincolns have to deal with
Series Two has just come to a bang-and-crashing finale on UK TV, has recently opened to positive reviews in the US and even the indignant Mangan has to admit that his on-screen wife's previous skulduggery has had a positive side.
"It's taken the storyline wide open and kept things moving," he agrees. "Anything can happen now - and already has."
Could he be referring to his extremely 'physical' comedic scene where Sean had to, almost unwillingly, succumb to the loving attentions of Pucks star Morning Randolph (only in Hollywood), to disprove her fears that her plastic surgery had made her face and jaw horribly unappealing?
"That certainly gave me the chance to pull a lot of different faces," Mangan remembers gleefully.
Series 2 of Episodes sees Matt LeBlanc do some soul-searching from his beachside mansion
The second series sees Sean and Bev dealing with the fallout of their broken marriage, while still working alongside LeBlanc. Was Mangan ever worried about scene-sharing with such an established star?
Mangan, one of TV's ever-brighter faces admits that was the case. "I knew Tamsin and I would be fine, but Matt... he's so famous and sooo... rich. How you can be all that and stay sane and normal? But he arrived, and it was just... phew.
"He doesn't take himself seriously. And everyone we've had to deal with in the States, 15 or 20 people, they just don't suck, so we've been very lucky."
The show is all built around the concept of these two innocents abroad, encountering the freaky money/snakepit of the Hollywood Hills. Does this tally with Mangan's real-life experience?
"Oh god, yes," he admits. "I went to see one manager in the States, who told me 'I'm your biggest fan, I've seen everything you've done... Simon."
Stephen continues. "He even did that crazy thing. Phone rings... 'that's Keanu on the phone.' It was apocryphal. It really is death by encouragement."
Episodes Season 2 is released today on DVD and Blu-Ray. Here are the gang in more pics below...