Courtesy of the BBC press Office:

Russell Tovey plays George, a down-to-earth hospital porter who every full moon transforms into a blood-thirsty werewolf.

He explains that there is much more to Being Human than the supernatural element.

"There's so many layers to it – it's not just about a vampire, werewolf and ghost – it's about three people struggling with life and trying to cope, which everybody can relate to. I would describe it as a kind of This Life/Cold Feet/Buffy."

After the response to the pilot Russell couldn't wait to be back on board for a full series.

"The response was amazing – I've never been involved in anything that has got that sort of reaction. My friends watched it and even said that's the best thing I've been in! There were whispers and rumours that a series was on the cards after the pilot, so when I got the official call it was incredible."

On reading the scripts Russell was instantly excited about the journeys that scriptwriter Toby Whithouse takes the characters on.

"With Toby's writing you're completely like 'wow, where did that come from?!' Everything is just brilliant; when it comes down to one-liners, or a situation and everything is just off-centre and quirky and suits the piece."

When describing George, Russell explains: "He's a screwed up fellow but he's also got a heart of gold, he's a sweetheart and he doesn't want to hurt anyone. I think people will find him a bit odd but he's a very endearing, loveable guy.

"He just wants to be normal, and I suppose a lot of people in life struggle with this if they're somehow different. They just want to be the norm but the point is, what is the norm?"

George couldn't be any more different to his laid-back flatmate and best friend Mitchell, but it's these differences that make the relationship work.

"He loves Mitchell to pieces – but he has a problem with him in the fact that Mitchell seems to be sorted and cool and calm and collected, whereas George is this neurotic Jewish, slightly camp at times, guy! They have a kind of odd couple relationship."

His relationship with Annie is slightly more complicated, as Russell explains.

"It's complete sods law to George, moving into a house to be normal and then there's a ghost there! So I think for George his relationship towards Annie is slight resentment and a slight annoyance. He's always battling against her being around because it doesn't fit his quota of what he wants to be the norm."

Transforming into a werewolf for the series was a multi-stage process involving Russell, a seven foot animatronics werewolf, two prosthetic heads and a prosthetic torso.

Talking through the transformation Russell says: "It starts off with me, then me with fake teeth and contact lenses, then I've got hair laid on to make my face look hairier. The next stage is me with a prosthetic neck, then there's two different prosthetic heads and a prosthetic torso. It's mad, when we were watching a playback of it I thought 'is that me? Oh no that's the head!' because it looks incredibly real!"

There was one element of filming that Russell took time to get accustomed to: "I'm naked a lot so you're running through the woods and there's a 20 strong crew watching you and it's cold! I'm playing a Jew in this but I'm not Jewish so I don't think they'll ever be showing any full frontal shots – I'm not that method!

"Once you've been filmed naked once you become normal with it. I filmed one scene and they gave me the option to film it with my clothes on and I just said 'Let's do it with the clothes off, eh?'"

Courtesy of the BBC press Office:

Lenora Crichlow plays insecure ghost Annie, who meets George and Mitchell when they move into the flat she shared with her fiancé – which she subsequently died in.

When she first read the scripts Lenora was intrigued by the idea behind it.

"It was pitched to me by my agent as a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire sharing a house, and I thought 'that's a bit out there!'"

But the combination of an original story grounded firmly in real life immediately impacted on Lenora.

"I thought it was really funny and it was a script with heart. It's really quirky and light in some places, but it's got quite a dark undertone. It's just a really fresh take on dealing with life."

Lenora believes that the characters are also very appealing, and that everyone will be able to tap into some part of each of them.

"All the characters' unusual qualities are grounded in real stuff – addiction, self-esteem, anger, love – all of them are dealing with being human just on a really extreme scale."

Lenora's character Annie goes on a major journey throughout the series, as she explains.

"Annie's very unsure when we first meet her. She's confined by routine and other people's approval, and she's quite insecure and vulnerable, and a little bit needy because she's at the whim of so many things outside of herself.

"But slowly as the story unfolds she has to start to toughen up and prove herself. It's a really nice journey and one I think a lot of women will relate to."

Annie and Mitchell share a very strong relationship which Lenora describes as almost paternal.

"Mitchell is the father figure or older brother of the house, he's kind of in charge and Annie looks to him to make sure everything's ok. He gives her a lot of reassurance and she feels safe in his presence. He's so old, he's been there, done it all, he seems to be a bit more knowing. He's there for Annie, he's her rock."

Lenora can't really say the same for Annie's relationship with her other flatmate, George, which doesn't start off on the best footing.

"Annie's relationship with George starts off a bit tetchy – if there was a family dynamic they would be brother and sister. There's some bickering at first and they're sussing each other out. Then I think there's a pivotal scene where they are there for each other and put their differences aside – they find a common ground and can just relate to each other. They need each other now because no one else really gets it or understands."

Throughout the series Annie meets another ghost called Gilbert and another werewolf called Tully, and both characters teach her more about herself.

"She's really charmed and bowled over at the beginning by Tully, just the attention from a guy who's a very alpha-male type character, she gets a bit flustered."

"Her relationship with Gilbert is something a lot more tender – it's a friendship, it's not a crude thing at all. Annie has to let Gilbert go eventually and it's quite soft and tender and sweet – it's a different type of love."

On working with Aidan Turner (Mitchell) and Russell Tovey (George), Lenora says: "They're wicked! I couldn't ask for two better guys to be working with. We spend time together off set and on set – they're both brilliant and I love watching their work. I think we really have a lovely chemistry – I'm going to stop gushing now!"

Courtesy of the BBC press Office:

Aidan Turner, who plays effortlessly cool vampire Mitchell, says he was hooked on the first reading of the scripts for Being Human.

"From the first episode it really works. It's a great premise, it's all in the title really – it's very realistic situations and deals with tons of real issues. It's dark and witty – Toby is a fantastic writer."

What also appealed to Aidan was the sense of reality which shone through in the characters and the story.

"When tackling a supernatural subject I sometimes find it difficult to invest in the characters because they don't really exist – but there's so much heart to this story, so much reality to it, it's easy to relate to the characters.

"Certainly George, Annie and Mitchell because they are three normal guys, which is evident from the first episode. They're not flying around putting spells on people – they work in the hospital, live in a flat together, watch TV and go to clubs. I hope that people watching think, 'I'd like them to be my friend.' I think that's important."

For Aidan, the fact that Mitchell is a vampire was a big attraction to the role. "Everyone wants to play a vampire – it's something I've always wanted to play! It's just one of those parts. I look a bit like a vampire, I think someone might have said that to me before. Also when you research into vampires there are all these cults around the world that are influenced by them one way or another, so that was a really interesting aspect to discover."

The fact that Mitchell is a vampire, and has therefore been around a long time, makes him a complicated character to play. As Aidian explains: "Mitchell is 118 years old and to play someone like that is brilliant. With his maturity he has a certain kind of responsibility and a worldly experience that not all people have. He's not bothered by a lot of things – that side of him I aspire to be like.

"He's also like a father figure in some ways. I certainly think he's a father figure to Annie. He's the more mature person in the three-way relationship. Mitchell is the one where if something goes wrong, the others talk to him. I think he's just a cool guy."

On working with Russell Tovey (George) and Lenora Crichlow (Annie), Aidan says: "It's been brilliant working with Russell and Lenora, it's been an absolute joy. We got to a stage very quickly where we couldn't do a scene without bursting out laughing in the rehearsal!

"That's a good point to be at, we were really comfortable with each other straight away. I think everyone is perfectly cast – Jason who plays Herrick, Annabel who's Lauren, Dylan who plays Seth – everyone, it's all spot on."

Finally, Aidan believes that audiences will relate to Mitchell and his struggle.

"Everyone has a dark side that they don't expose too often – but when they do, you know about it."