Bridget Christie on the return of The Change

Bridget Christie’s critically acclaimed comedy series, The Change – returns to Channel 4 on Thursday March 27. Here the comedian – who created the show as well as starring as Linda – talks about reclaiming the word 'witch', whether she feels compelled to write about issues affecting women ... and a surprising amount about fungi.

What was your reaction to the response to the first series?

I was absolutely over the moon. It was incredibly humbling to see so many people take the show to their hearts, from women, and men, creating their own chore ledgers to women making their own folk-art headdresses. 

When you put something out into the world you’ve absolutely no idea how it will land. It doesn’t matter how hard you’ve worked on something, or for how long, that side of it is completely out of your control. All you can do is your absolute best, make something you would want to watch yourself, and hope that it resonates with people. 

So yes, we were all overwhelmed grateful and relieved by the love for the show, and for Linda!

When did series two start taking shape, and did you have a clear direction in mind from the beginning?

I’ve always seen The Change as a multi-series project so a lot of the ideas and themes for series two have been there since the beginning. I always knew I’d be delving further into Linda’s and the supporting characters’ characters backstories, running with the chore ledger idea, exploring the role of women in society, within both historical and modern contexts, and continuing to explore and include the natural world as a metaphor for humanity/community.

In this series, I’ve used Pig Man’s wild boars’ truffles in order to shine a light on fungi, its vital role on the planet, and how we, as humans, might learn from its tenacity and collaborative processes in order to achieve contentment and purpose in life. 

A huge inspiration for me was reading Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life: How Fungi Makes Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, And Shape Our Futures. So, where rebirth, reinvention and transition were major themes for series one, series two focuses on acceptance, mortality, and the cycle of life. 

Series two also focuses on the witch trials and asks the question, 'What, or who, is a witch?'

Linda’s look this series has an Americana vibe—denim, trucker caps. What was the decision behind that?

Linda’s new look reflects the internal journey she has gone on. She’s finding her confidence in series two, both mentally and physically. She’d never have worn a trucker’s cap and cowboy boots back home in Swindon, where she was invisible, where she bought her clothes in the supermarket along with the week’s groceries. 

Linda hasn’t thought about what she looks like or what she wears since she had children, but away from the distractions of home, she rediscovers that part of her identity is how she presents herself. 

When we first meet Linda at the start of series one, she is working at around 40to 50 per cent  of her potential, and we had to start there in order to go on the journey with her. By the end of series two, she is certainly getting there – but is still not at full throttle.

In the opening episode, Linda is put on trial by the townspeople. Can you share more about the witchcraft themes in series two?

I wanted to explore it for a few reasons. Firstly, because even though we don’t put women on trial for witchcraft any longer, society is still judgmental, and fearful of, women who don’t easily fit into stereotypes.  Women who challenge the status quo, and reject authority, who don’t fit, speak out, don’t have or want husbands or children, old women, are precisely the types of women who would have been put on trial and executed. 

It was an abhorrent and tragic miscarriage of justice, and one that I feel has not been appropriately acknowledged or apologised for. 

I also wanted to explore ideas around women’s intuition, our power and mystery, and how, instead of the word ‘witch’ being a derogatory term, it is in fact, a compliment to be called one, which is exactly what I told a misogynist bus driver earlier this year.

What parallels do you draw between the treatment of women during the witch trials and  today?

We haven’t moved on that much. You only have to put Elon Musk, Jess Phillips and ‘evil witch’ into a search engine to find the parallels.

How important is it for you to use your comedy and writing to shed light on issues?

I found that the older I got, the more I wanted, as an audience member or viewer, to be made to think as well as laugh, and so I started writing comedy about things that were important to me. 

I’m not sure that I ever feel obligated to write about issues concerning women, but if women do feel seen and heard by the things that I talk about then that’s obviously great.

Linda gets a tattoo in series two that says, ‘May all your transitions be joyful’  Why does this resonate with you?

I’ve reached an age – 53 – where I’m aware of the passage of time and so try and live life to the fullest. Embracing change, it is essential to do this.

Linda speaks about the need for women to have an identity outside of just being a mother or wife. 

I think a basic fundamental human right for all people is to be allowed to inhabit, embody and retain who we are as individual human beings for the duration of our lives. It is only when we are allowed to do this that we can contribute the most to society.

After watching this series, what do you hope viewers take away from it?

I hope it inspires courage and hope, a zest for life, a women’s strike/chore revolution, are claiming of the word ‘witch’, and a passion for fungi!

If you could offer Linda one piece of advice for series two, what would it be?

No more tattoos!

• The Change returns to Channel 4 on Tuesday March 25. This interview was supplied by Channel 4's press office.

Published: 19 Mar 2025