Exclusive: House of Guinness cast talk Cadbury's, Nandos, a sibling group chat and splitting the g-ossip filming the latest Netflix hit

Take the mega-success sibling corporate rivalry of Succession, dial the clock back 200-odd years, throw barrels of booze into the mix, and get Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight on writing duties. The resulting brew would probably be something that tastes a lot like Netflix’s new period drama, House of Guinness.

Charting the true-to-life backstabbing history of drinks industry giants Guinness, the Netflix exclusive promises power struggles, extravagance and an A-list cast that includes the likes of James Norton, Jack Gleeson and Louis Partridge. And we caught up with them all — pull yourself a pint of the black stuff and settle in for some behind-the-scenes insight on filming this year’s most hotly anticipated drama.

House of Guinness | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

Watch On

1. They have a lot of love for Irish slang - but there are some favourites that didn’t make it in

“The name’s Guinness, of course there’s going to be fecking trouble. What an opening line,” James Norton - a familiar face from the likes of Happy Valley, Grantchester, and McMafia - laughed. He's playing the Guinness family's henchman and head of the distillery Sean Rafferty.

"My favourite line of Rafferty’s is when he says 'shut your mouth or lose the use of it.' which I love - I kind of want to use it in life but I think if I did it in the street I would just get laughed at.”

'What’s the craic?' was a top favourite from Anthony Boyle (Say Nothing) and Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes), who play eldest brother Arthur Guinness and Edward Guinness respectively. Danielle Galligan (Shadow & Bone), taking on the role of the formidable and indomitable Lady Olivia Hedges, wished there had been a "doxy" or a "bowsy" sneaked in there.

2. Despite the core family four, it's the women’s stories that are the heart of the show

You know that any show that opens with James Norton doing a (fantastic) Irish accent saying "of course there's going to be feckin trouble" is going to deliver some equally awesome lines throughout. And, you know, it's Steven Knight. Any writer who is penning the next Bond film is sure to have crafted some crackers.

“Choosing a favourite moment or line is like asking me to choose a favourite child!” writer and creator Steven Knight laughed.

“I think Aunt Agnes’ line: 'How absurd, a woman with a plan' - that represents a lot of the reason the drama happens; there are a lot of smart capable women who are in a society where they’re not allowed to do stuff,” Knight explained.

"There is so much going on politically, within the family, that you have to pick your way through all that - we believe there is more to come…”

Season two anyone...?

3. The mix of modern music was just was important as keeping in the traditional Irish language

You may think that a series set in 1868 would only be filled with some traditional Celtic and folk music, but within one episode, you'll be tapping your foot along to some Kneecap and Fontaines D.C to name a few. According to Knight, this had a deeper meaning more than just good tunes.

“My theory is that human beings haven’t really changed for a thousand years; they’ve got the same emotions, anger, madness, flaws - they’re just in different situations, different clothes," says the Peaky Blinders scribe.

"I wanted to mix the modern sensibility with the clothes. Have an audience that sees themselves and recognise themselves in the characters, just wearing different clothes, and I think the music really helps with that."

4. Before the Guinness dynasty, Steven Knight considered a Cadbury Family biopic

There are a lot of fantastic families who could become the basis for one of the best Netflix shows, and given how much the public inhale them (think The Crown, Victoria), it's not entirely surprising that Knight was already sizing up other behemoth dynasties and rootling around for a story. And it turns out he struck, well. brown before he landed on the black stuff.

“I wanted to do [a series about] Cadburys, because they were from Birmingham," Knight revealed. However, we won't be salivating over the screen any time soon, as unfortunately he ran into a major snag when researching it. The issue was, "the Cadbury family never did anything wrong, so I had to abandon that," Knight confirmed.

Just THINK of the set snacks...

5. All the cast were hankering for a Cillian Murphy cameo

Cillian Murphy is not only the man of the moment but also the meme of the moment; that blinking video, the legendary side eye, and the fact that he’s a seriously good actor - it’s no wonder everyone loves him. And it turns out that it’s not just the good old public who can’t get enough of him, the cast of House of Guinness would have loved a Cillian cameo too.

The only thing quicker than a bullet leaving a gun is Steven Knight’s answer of “Cillian” to our question "Which Irish actor would you have loved a cameo from?” proving that the Peaky Blinders brotherhood is still going strong.

Similarly Niamh McCormack who plays the feisty and crafty Ellen Cochrane - was 0.2 seconds slower than Steven, immediately opting for Cilian Murphy. “Maybe it’s a bit too stereotypical ‘cause of the whole Peaky Blinders, but I love Cillian Murphy,” Niamh confessed. “And I feel like he’d slot into the world really well.”

“Maybe we could have a House of Guinness x Cillian Murphy / Peaky Blinders?” Ben mused. “Season Two?...”

Personally, we mooted the idea of a spin off titled House of Murphy’s, exploring the rise of Ireland’s second favourite stout, with Cillian Murphy in the starring role, obviously. After all, they could be his ancestors… right? Let’s get the Who Do You Think You Are team on the phone.

Other favourites included Liam Neeson (“with a top hat” of course), Brenden Gleeson, Dohmnall Gleeson (obviously playing the same character but younger and older), a Fiona Shaw moment, and Barry Keoughan. “Can we get Saorise Ronan in? Playing all the parts, just House of Saorise Ronan!” James Norton and Danielle Galligan suggested.

6. The onscreen siblings are like a family IRL

We all have a friend that we class as family, and there are a couple of milestones which signify you have made it said family status with someone. Think celebrating a birthday, playing board games, Sunday roasts, and crucially, performing a questionable rendition of We Are Family by Sister Sledge at midnight at some kind of wedding. The usual. Turns out, the onscreen siblings have actually done all of those, pretty much.

A birthday was celebrated together - although, sadly without a Colin - many board games were played, pub quizzes completed, Sunday roasts smashed, and they even belted out a good verse of a classic banger at the wrap party. Bosh. “I’m not a singer - I hate Karaoke,” Fionn O’Shea, revealed - you'll recognise from playing Jamie in Normal People, and takes on the role of youngest brother Benjamin Guinness. “But there was a band at the wrap party, and we sang.” He turned to co-star Emily Fairn, who plays Anne Guinness, for confirmation about the specifics.

“Let’s hear it for the Boys, that song came on," Emily reminisced, "Anthony [Boyle] was signing and dancing Let’s hear it for the boys,” with his fellow on-screen brothers. Which is basically one step down from belting out We Are Family at a wedding at midnight with your siblings, a couple of drinks (Guinnesses) down. A family if ever we heard it.

And of course in the modern day and age, there is no bigger sign of a family than having a group chat - it’s the new modern milestone. Whilst they had a main one for the whole cast and crew (creatively titled, “Guinness”) there was a second one for the on-screen siblings called Sibs - although in hindsight they were wondering if it should be renamed Baby Guinness. And yes, the cast all poured pints of Guinness at the wrap party - although they were tight lipped on who did the most perfect pour.

7. If the cast got to make a foodie spin off, they’d make a House of Nandos

Whilst Steven Knight was looking into the lives and loves of the Cadbury family, some of the cast were eyeing up equally iconic franchises. There was a lot of love for Guinness spin offs - after all there is some seriously whacky history behind the Guinness Dynasty - including a Baby Guinness and the classic Irish Coffee, but ultimately, it was the House of Nandos they'd tackle next

“A Portuguese man with a passion for Chicken,” Anthony suggested: “Anthony Boyle is Javier Nandos, Louis Partridge is The Chicken,” the pair laughed, imagining the spin off.

“Maybe House of Nesquik," Louis suggested, but ultimately it was agreed there’s just no topping a Nandos.

• Ballet, Botox, and Being a runner for Tesco: 15 things we learned about Corey Mylchreest in The Pub Corner