Ragdoll | Interview with Sally Woodward Gentle ( Executive Producer)

What first attracted you to the Ragdoll books?

We were really attracted to the Ragdoll books because we’d spent ages trying to find a crime novel that worked for us, and they all felt very samey. But what Daniel had done with the books was to create a brilliant ticking clock of a mystery with some extraordinary murders but base it around this beautiful central relationship between Rose – who in the book is called Wolf – and Baxter. That’s really what drew us to it.

Can you talk about the process of securing the rights to the book and bringing it to screen?

The process of bringing the book to screen is essentially about finding a brilliant writer who loves the material but will give it its own spin. What we loved about Freddy Syborn was his extraordinary critical faculty of a brain that can take plot apart, but also how he’s essentially more interested in character, and the nuance and complexity of relationships. On top of that, he’s also hysterically funny. We wanted characters who deflect from their pain by being witty with each other, and we loved that in Freddy’s writing.

What was the casting process like?

The casting process for Ragdoll was totally fascinating. You don’t know where you’re going to go, so you draw up a list of your favourites who you think will work brilliantly in those parts. Once we saw Thalissa, Lucy and Henry we knew they would be extraordinary together. Of course, the pandemic meant we couldn’t do chemistry reads, but we were absolutely delighted with how well they sparked off each other. Thalissa and Henry had met before, but neither of them had met Lucy. Lucy became a pivotal dynamic within that group, and it worked brilliantly.

You touched on Freddy, but what does he bring to it?

Freddy Syborn brings a real intelligence to the piece. He gets the genre and nature of it, but he also loves the genre and nature of it. He’s got an encyclopaedic knowledge of film, and has extreme passion for certain directors, but what he really brings is the wit and character to those central roles. We love that about him. He also didn’t want things to be boring. The worst thing in the world would be if this was a boring piece, but he completely understands what’s entertaining. We couldn’t have done this without Freddy, he’s been absolutely fundamental.

Can you talk about key strengths of Henry as Rose?

Henry Lloyd -Hughes as Rose delivered everything that we hoped he would. Rose’s character is desperately conflicted and compromised right from the beginning, so what he needed to deliver was a sort of extraordinary charm. There’s a sense of a desperate platonic love between him and Baxter, but he’s also a man in extreme turmoil. With Henry, we got a real sense of that bubbling underneath the surface. He projects a confidence and charm and a comfort, and yet you know that there’s a mangled mess going on inside. He was absolutely brilliant at that.

Can you talk about key strengths that Thalissa brings to Baxter?

Thalissa as Baxter is genius. Baxter is a woman who is stuffing down a lot of really important emotions – her identity, what she’s done to get to where she is in the world, and probably her personal sacrifices in terms of relationships. Her tightest relationship is with Rose. Everything he presents to her is, “This isn’t right,” and yet she can’t bear to believe that. She’s fantastic as this central rod, upholding morality and what is right. The more that’s challenged, the trickier it is for her, and the more you see it impacting on her emotionally. I think she’s fantastic.

And can you talk about the key strengths of Lucy as Edmunds?

Lucy as Edmunds brought everything that we hoped she would to the role. She came into the show and into that world as an outsider, and yet she represents a truth and an authenticity and a way of confronting what she feels isn’t right in that environment. She’s out on a limb because she has suspicions about the people she’s working with, but she also brings a brilliant warmth to it and a real humour. She’s incredibly empathetic, so there’s no way that Baxter and Rose, who have been tight for years, can’t let her in because she defies you to not like her. She’s fantastically warm and charming and clever and brilliant.

What makes Ragdoll unique?

Ragdoll feels quite different within the arena of crime dramas, thrillers or relationship dramas. Freddy described it as a mash -up between Silence of the Lambs and When Harry Met Sally. We all realise that life is absurd, so even when you’re faced with extraordinary pain and great cruelty, wit doesn’t leave you. It’s how you get through things. Essentially what the show is about is how these individuals get through trauma and how they love deeply, and that’s an amazing safety net for them. But when that’s challenged, when your perception of other people is challenged, you go into free fall. The show is much more about that than it is about cops doing their job.

Can you talk us through the main themes of Ragdoll ?

The main themes of Ragdoll are honesty, shame and love. Would you really rather die than admit that you’ve done something that you find desperately shameful? That’s a huge part of this series. Can you be honest with yourself? More than that, can you be honest with the people that love you? It’s probably harder to be honest with people who love you than it is to be honest to strangers. That’s a huge thing. I read somewhere – and I can’t remember exactly where – that in our normal lives we come up against six or seven desperately traumatic experiences. Cops have to face several hundred. What does that do to them, and what does that do to their relationships within the force and outside the force? What we’ve done with this is to keep it uniquely within the bubble of those working relationships, because that’s where there is a commonality.

What can audiences expect from Ragdoll?

Audiences can expect pretty gruesome crimes, and huge amount of entertainment. It packs quite an emotional punch as well; as an introduction to these characters, falling in love with their dilemmas is what’s going to pull people through. There’s also a massive ticking clock element. Can they save the people on this kill list before they die? And if you ultimately believe that you’re never going to get there, at what point can you stop them? It gives you all of that, it gives you massive engagement with the characters, and there’s a great rollicking will -they -won’t -they that takes you right through to the end.

How important is the Faust story to Ragdoll ?

The Faust story is the central conceit of the crimes. It’s important. The philosophy of Faust is ultimately a deal between you and the Devil. It is one that’s inspired films, plays, books, and something that we, in times of our own trauma, when we would trade ourselves to make something right, is a very human gut dilemma and desire. I think people respond to that. Everybody can get that, and it’s really important for this show.