PUMP Star Lanett Tachel Talks Important Role in ‘Middleton Christmas’

Tell us about your role in Middleton Christmas.

In Middleton Christmas, I play Nurse Chloe. This role was particularly special to me when we filmed and even more so now. Nurses are unsung heroes. They do much of the heavy lifting and receive so little of the glory. It’s a selfless job. I’ve set along the hospital bedsides of friends and family when they were sick and a great nurse was always the key to a happy, comfortable recovery. I was honored to play a character whom I’d admire so much in real life. 

What was it like working with the cast and crew on that project?

Everyone from the director to producers, to cast and crew, was absolutely amazing. My favorite type of set is when everyone’s energy meshes organically. When everyone believes in the director’s vision as much as he/she does. And best of all, we got to raise awareness about something really important and not talked about nearly enough—organ donation.  

Congratulations on not only getting to act in the new series PUMP, but also being the writer and producer. How did that project come about?

PUMP was such a fun project to work on. I’d been developing that project with my co-writer/director, Corey Grant for several years. It’s undergone several re-writes and even a name change before finding a home on a brand new network. When the head of casting brought our show in, we were green lit and in production almost immediately. 

We imagined the show as “CHEERS in a gym,” with the gym playing the same role as a bar or even a barber shop. It’s such a revolving door of characters, that it only seemed natural that a show should be written about it. After compiling and building on many of the crazy trainers, clients, and fitness gurus that we knew personally, I was literally laughing while typing and couldn’t write fast enough! That’s the great thing about the show. There’s so much effortless comedy and the comedy truly stems from the situations. The cast, led by Ray J and Jennifer Freeman is stellar, and there’s a who’s who of cameos that you never see coming.  

For those who haven’t watched the series yet, can you tell us more about it and how we can watch it?

You can currently stream PUMP on Urbanflix TV. The series follows trainer, Sean Ford (Ray J), a fitness trainer who made it mainstream because of his successful work out videos. He leaves his gym family behind to chase stardom only to come crawling back after his new supplement line crapped out…literally. When he comes back to the only family he’s ever known, he has to learn where he fits in a world that’s moved on without him. And his co-workers do NOT make it easy on him. I play the opinionated gym receptionist/entrepreneur who knows everybody’s secrets and how much they’ll pay for me to keep them.