What was your reaction when you read The Rising scripts?
What really did strike me was this mixture of familiarity and mystery. I understand community life and the rural side of things but there was something just a bit off and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. There was that feeling that people were getting on with their lives in the community, but underneath something wasn’t quite right. So it was a really curious mixture of being in a place I knew, but was slightly alarmed at.
Did events like motocross happen in your neck of the woods?
Yes – as teenagers I remember quite well spending a summer where my mates did motocross – it was always terrifying. We didn’t do any racing. We were literally just going in a local field, but there is a height to the bike that is quite imposing. There is a power-band where you pull on the throttle and it will move fairly quickly and you lurch forward at a great speed – that’s for overtaking and for jumping. That was always ridiculously unpredictable. To be honest, I was a bit frightened of it, but I did give it a go. I would have loved to have a ride in the show, but it just so happens that you never see my character William on a bike. Solly (McLeod), Olly (Huntingdon) and Clara (Rugaard) had a great time learning.
As a writer yourself what did you enjoy about Pete McTighe’s storytelling?
He’s got this relationship with the mythical, which I thought was great. In his storytelling there are big, beautiful motifs, and what Pete does beautifully is introduce all these local elements, like the forest, the water and the lake. He moves Neve through them in a way that could be in modern times or 400 years ago. That’s quite a gift that Pete’s got. There is something that I felt was really moving. It brought an extra layer to the murder mystery.
Producer Mark Hedges says The Rising felt a very easy blend between the more experienced actors and some that are newer to telly. Was that how you found it?
It’s amazing to work with younger people. I started acting when I was 23 at about Clara’s and Nenda’s age and I would watch the older actors like a hawk. I would absolutely have them in my peripheral vision or latch onto them just to see how they did it.
What was their process? People like Michael Gambon, Ian McDiarmid and Celia Imrie. What I didn’t understand until I worked on this show was how that absolutely works in reverse. I spent a lot of time watching Nenda and Clara. They have a great freedom those two actresses. I really fed off that. It was a real gift to be able to look back as an older person now and notice how much fun and joy there is to be in this business. You can definitely lose sight of that after 30 years.
Are you someone who, if you can, likes to go away and create your own back story for your character?
For this we had story producer Sid Strickland and they had a very close eye on the story. They had written and really researched lots of back story for all the characters. I was handed a couple of A-4s, which was a great starting point. Then it was a collaboration between Sid, Ed [Lilly], myself, Nenda and Ann [Ogbomo] to create that family plus Will Ash as my brother. So, it was a collaborative thing, but I also did also write some things down just to make it more manifest for me.
What is William’s standing in the community? Is Abbington and the Vipers club his whole life?
I think so. And he’s got his marriage to Christine. I think that’s enough to be getting on with. The Vipers club is a big central part of that community. It’s not just a place where they ride motorbikes. It’s a place where they all hang out. They have their community activities. There’s a great social aspect to it. Also, William is in the building business. He’s working on this hotel with his brother too. So, he’s very much ensconced in the whole of the town really.
What’s William’s relationship like with Neve? After her death he says, “Neve was one of us and we loved her…”
I think he spent a lot of time with her because she is really good on the bike. He would have coached her as he did with Solly and Olly’s characters, Joe and Nicky. He knows Neve’s mum and dad quite well. Also, there are not too many female riders at that club so he would have been quite instrumental in helping her to fulfil her potential.
William talks about having bailed out various kids at Vipers over the years.
I think the analogy of a boxing club is quite a good one. You’ve got kids who might not have a job or they are from difficult families. William is very good at spotting that and bringing those people into the fold and helping them realise their potential and giving all that energy that can be dissipated into boozing or something really negative and giving it a really positive spin. Young men in particular are keen to find an older role model, that can respect them and give them some guidance. William is that sort of person.
How is his relationship with his daughter Alex who is returning to the town under a cloud?
There’s a complexity there because that tragedy really impacted on the community. Alex had to go away for complex and difficult reasons, and it is a very hard thing for William to reconcile. It’s not a very easy situation but I think deep down he is delighted to have her back and wants her to put that behind her and also to learn from it. He’s got a great affection for her. I think at times William finds showing his emotions quite hard. One of the really fascinating things about the writing in this is that there are these beautiful father/daughter relationships. It’s certainly there with Neve and her dad, Tom, and also with Alex and William. That’s really interesting as it develops over the course of the show.
At times has William found it easier to show his emotions to Joe?
Oh completely. He finds Joe much easier. Joe is very much William when he was that age. It’s an easier relationship. It’s a familiar one. They have a communication that doesn’t need much elaboration whereas with Alex that’s where the richness is. How on earth does he get to know this girl who has been away for such a long time under such a cloud? But when she comes back something very, very deep is activated in him that becomes one of the most important things in his life as the show goes on.
