Russell Tovey, actor, podcaster, self-described “art nerd” and owner of the most charming ears in showbusiness, is not showing me around his home. Instead, over Zoom, the Being Human, Him & Her and The History Boys star freezes and jitters as I try to make out the painting behind him. Tovey lives in an enviably spacious Shoreditch loft decked out in art and sculptures. I’m not saying I’d love to break into it, but I’m also not not saying that. There are blue nudes. Blocks of colour. Abstract scribbles. Artists upon artists crawling over exposed brick like expensive ivy. But Tovey is also getting a new kitchen fitted, and his wifi keeps cutting out.
“I’m having a bit of a drama,” he tells me, his Essex accent thick and riotous. “I might have to jump up in a sec because there’s been a gas leak.” He pads from room to room for a better signal, our conversation stilted, the drive-by art a soupy blur. “Mate, should we do a phone call?” Dammit.
