One Day star Leo Woodall has spoken candidly about why one of the show’s most instantly-iconic scenes was actually a bit of a nightmare to film.
Leo plays Dexter in Netflix’s hit adaptation of David Nicholls’ much-loved story, sharing the screen with Ambika Mod as Emma.
The show revisits the two characters on the same day each year, to chart their unconventional love story, which begins the day after their graduation from Edinburgh University, with a stroll up the hill Arthur’s Seat.
However, there’s one reason that filming on the real-life Arthur’s Seat was a little less idyllic for Leo than his on-screen counterpart.
“The hardest scene to film, for me, was a day on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh,” the former White Lotus star recalled to Elle. “We were at the top of this big, big, almost mountain. And I had food poisoning. So we had to do the entire scene with me… you know… really not having a good time.
“But I couldn’t come off the mountain because we’d lose all the day [of filming]. So, I just had to kind of plough through.”
“But it was a horrible experience,” he added with a laugh.
Fortunately, Leo’s co-star Ambika had a rather different version of events.
The This Is Going To Hurt star is a comedian and writer as well as actor, and revealed during a recent Graham Norton interview that in 2019, she was struggling after a stint at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
“On the last day of the Fringe, we climbed Arthur’s Seat and I remember it as a terrible time. I was not loving myself or my life,” Ambika shared.
“Then cut to almost exactly three years later and I am filming in Edinburgh at Arthur’s Seat playing the lead in a Netflix series of my favourite book.”
She added: “It felt very special. A full circle moment.”
One Day is available to stream now on Netflix.