The characters in King Gary have been a big hit with viewers. Stars Tom Davis and Laura Checkley tell Georgia Humphreys what series two has in store.

There is no way Tom Davis can pretend he is not hungover.

It is the day after England's win against Denmark in the Euros 2020 semi-final when we chat on Zoom, and the King Gary star is a huge football fan.

"I'm feeling very happy, joyous, emotional - but very tender. I'm 42 and I feel every year," quips the Sutton-born actor.

"I went to Wembley this morning because I had to do a show there [Mark Wright's Euro 2020 programme on Sky Sports]. I just stood there, and I was like, 'I want to cry.' It's just amazing. There were people walking past Wembley at eight o'clock singing Harry Maguire songs."

We obviously now know things didn't go England's way in the final, and they lost on penalties to Italy. But, like many, Davis had an incredible time watching the Three Lions' journey this summer.

For the game against Germany, he was at Wembley with his childhood friend and colleague James De Frond. Having previously created Murder In Successville together, they co-write King Gary, which De Frond also directs.

While at the stadium, Davis got a sense of the love people have for his BBC sitcom - in which he plays the titular character, while Laura Checkley plays the love-of-his-life Terri - as fans came up to him in the stands.

"The wide range of people, from so many different backgrounds, who identified with Gary and Terri - I was really proud of that."

According to the towering 6ft 7in star, who used to work as a builder before rising to fame as a comic, the most common thing viewers say to him is: 'Where is Terri?"

"The one I get loads, even if I'm out with my actual wife, is someone will go, 'I love your missus'," he says with a chuckle.

"Me and Tom went to a West Ham game, West Ham v Liverpool, because I'm a Liverpool supporter," chimes in Checkley, who's currently in Glasgow where she is isolating before a new work project, "and about three or four times that night, loads of people came up and went, 'We love the woman who plays your wife' - and I was stood next to him! He was like, 'Well, she's here...' It's just because I don't dress like her I suppose."

The heart-warmingly funny show, which is returning for a second series in July, is set in the outer London suburbs, where drama-queen and 'geezer diva' Gary King lives with Terri and their son Teddy, and follows the trials and tribulations of the family and their friends.

Gary is always desperate to impress his dad, Big Gary (played by Simon Day), and the neighbours - but let us say, he is not always that successful.

Excitingly, the new episodes see Gary and Terri finally try to tie the knot - and there is yet more love in the air, as Terri has her sights on setting Stuart (Romesh Ranganathan) up with a pal of hers.

Meanwhile, there's a new resident in Butterchurn Crescent, and when he ends up being a bit of a nightmare neighbour, Gary and Stuart team up to take him on.

"It's all about the build-up to the wedding - that's always there, bubbling underneath," Detectorists' star Checkley teases.

"In the last series it was quite episodic; you could tune in one episode and it was a story in itself. But this has a big arc, so it has a big payoff at the end."

Checkley adds series two also "has loads more heart", while Davis admits he thinks he and De Frond have been a bit "braver" with their scripts.

"That first series is always giving people some characters that hopefully they like and at times, we're just trying to push some of the grittier sides to life.

"And, probably because we were writing in quarantine or whatever, without actually having human touch, there were more dramatic bits."

Was there any trepidation going into the new episodes, knowing they had the success of series one to live up to?

"I'm very hard on myself; me and James have always been like that from the moment we started this journey," says Davis.

"I went back and there are elements of series one that I thought could have been a lot better.

"James is an incredible director, he's an incredible maker of comedy shows, and we're blessed with an incredible cast which we've added to this year.

"But the thing that starts everything is the writing, and that's down to me and James going, 'How do we make this as strong as it can be?'"

"To have something to live up to, that's just an honour," he continues earnestly.

"People are taking these characters to their hearts and so you want to do them justice.

"This show was only made because it was made from the heart, and it's about people that we love and people who we grew up with."

Checkley agrees she felt the pressure too.

"But with lockdown, we all felt so incredibly lucky to be there that I just thought, 'Laura, calm down. Everyone loves this, the script's brilliant. Just do your job and enjoy every minute'.

"I wanted to be even better than the first series. And this script that the boys gave us, it's so clever; it's such a big ensemble, yet everyone gets their moment and their storyline.

"I think the boys are complete geniuses - to write a family sitcom, and for it to be funny, fresh, and still edgy, is quite a feat."

At the crux of why the series has struck a chord with viewers is the fact the characters feel real, suggests Davis.

"Sometimes you can make a mistake in television and film of making people holier than thou.

"Gary and Terri are constantly making mistakes, but they own their mistakes, and the love between them is so real."

"They're best friends," adds Checkley.

"And I can't tell you how many messages I get all the time saying how much they would love a mate like Terri, and they'd love a relationship like Gary and Terri.

"They're trying to impress other people and remain popular and actually, all they need is each other and Teddy. I think that's why people love them."

King Gary Series 2 launches on BBC One from Friday, July 30.