I would love a spin-off of Emily in London

He’s eaten croissants by the Eiffel Tower, sipped espressos outside the Colosseum and now, could it be time for fish and chips on the London Eye?

Emily in Paris star Lily Collins has told the BBC she is keen on an Emily in London spin-off because “it would be so much fun”.

Collins, 35, has been living in London for the past few months as he prepares to make his West End debut in Barcelona.

The romantic thriller sees Collins play an American tourist who has a one-night stand with a handsome Spaniard, played by Money Heist’s Álvaro Morte.

Speaking after the show’s opening night, Collins tells me she thinks her Emily in Paris character, Emily Cooper, would love London.

“They would definitely go down Portobello Road and buy some antiques, obviously visit Big Ben and Hamleys toy shop.

“She would also definitely try to get into Buckingham Palace,” says Collins, adding that Emily would love to have tea with the king and “try to make the guards smile, but I’m not sure she’ll succeed to do”. that”.

The Netflix romantic comedy series follows the life of American marketing executive Emily Cooper as she works at a marketing firm in Paris. In season four of the series, Emily moves to Rome to open a new office.

The hit series has been renewed for a fifth season, but a filming location has yet to be announced.

Cooper’s potential love for London is somewhat based on Collins’ own thoughts about the city, which she says “feels like home”.

You’d imagine the A-lister enjoyed the finer things London has to offer, but it seems it’s the simple pleasures he enjoys the most.

“I love the subway, but I especially love standing in front of a double-decker bus and looking out the window.

“I don’t even have a plan of where I want to go, I just sit there and see all the sights and people.”

Collins, who will perform eight West End shows a week for several months, says she relaxes by “walking the dogs with my husband on Hampstead Heath”.

“I go there so often, it’s really huge and it actually feels like the country, even though you’re in London.”

A nature walk isn’t the only thing Collins does to relax; she explains that her pre-show routine includes listening to dance music.

“My makeup takes a while, so I sit in the chair with really loud dance music – it’s usually Dua Lipa, Lizzo music – but I’m trying to change it up a bit at the moment.”

Her colleague Morte, 49, says his pre-show ritual involves a very silly dance.

“I start dancing backstage as the audience enters the theater,” he says, adding that he likes to be nervous.

“I use my nerves to prepare myself to connect with the audience, and in Spain we have a saying that the day you go on stage without feeling nervous is the day it will be a bad show.”

The Money Heist actor, who is from Madrid, says that when he plays the arch-villain professor on the Netflix show, his goal is to “enjoy every minute of it and once the plan is set, just try to have fun.” .

Bess Wohl’s play received mixed reviews from critics.

Clive Davis of The Times awarded Barcelona two stars, saying Collins “struggles to bring his character to life”, while City AM’s Adam Bloodworth wrote that the actress “can’t save the meek with two hands”, also giving the performance two stars.

Completing a set of two-star reviews, Chris Wiegand of The Guardian he found the performances “acceptable” but said it was “hard to get invested in any of the characters”.

Other critics were more enthusiastic. The Telegraph’s Claire Allfree wrote that Collins was “one to watch”, adding that she and Morte “raise a rather dated person with two hands into something suitably affecting”, giving it a three-star rating.

Fiona Mountford from i gave the song five stars, calling it “one of the best things I’ve seen on stage all year” and praising Collins’ performance as “remarkable”.

Barcelona play at the Duke of York’s Theater until January 11