Backstage with... Tim Minchin as he talks bringing back Upright for season two and reuniting with his fiery co-star

In an unplanned sequel, Tim Minchin stepped back into the Australian wilderness with trusty companion Milly Alcock, facing all the elements and COVID complications.

He plays Lucky, a confused rock star who's struck up an unlikely bond with Alcock's character Meg, a teenager possessing street smarts to boot.

Speaking to Backstage, the TV and film podcast from Sky News, Minchin spoke of the call back to the wild.

Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts

"I must admit, after season one, it felt so complete, and I wasn't really intending on taking it further.

"I said, 'if we're going to do season two, it has to be even more chaotic, and I'm not going to do a sort of lesser season two' - and as a result, we wrote a pretty big adventure where they do find themselves in all sorts of wacky situations.

"It became very clear that there's a very obvious further story to tell."

This road trip drama picks up long after Lucky and Meg's first meeting, where without each other, they've wound up more lost than ever before.

"Four years later, and Lucky and Meg have not been in each other's lives, and as the audience finds out that's a problem," Minchin said.

"He's a bit of a mess. Of course he's a mess. He's always been a mess.

"Meg is now 17, and she's a young woman, and she's got much more mature issues.

"If you reckon they didn't get along very easily in the first season, it hasn't got any easier. They really butt heads, which is interesting because we know how much they love each other, but neither of them is capable of expressing it at all."

On working with Alcock this time around, Minchin had much to say about her acting accomplishments, despite the bumps they came across on shoot.

"She is outstanding in House Of The Dragon, but she is incredible in Upright and especially in season two, the emotional range she has to play. She's a really, really talented actress.

"And it's a huge challenge, as I say, with COVID and floods and everything. But she's an incredibly resilient person

"Sometimes we were just sitting in a boat, and we were cold and wet and grumpy, and we just had to be with each other. And we survived, just like Meg and Lucky.

"And we're still friends, which is a miracle when you're trying to make a TV show together."

Upright season two will air on Sky Comedy and NOW on 21 November - hear our review on this week's Backstage podcast.