Becky (Katherine Kelly) and Kylie (Paula Lane) in tonight's episodes.

(Mild spoilers, including pics)

ALL TV soaps go through peaks and troughs.

Like waves on the shore, they take time to flow towards moments of crashing brilliance.

Footprints in the sand captured on screen to be remembered forever.

Tonight brings another high tide as the exceptional Katherine Kelly (Becky McDonald) takes her leave of Weatherfield.

“These episodes are as good as anything I’ve ever seen,” producer Phil Collinson told us before a London preview screening seven days ago.

“Not just on Coronation Street but on any drama on British television.

“They’re long anticipated and I’m really proud of them.”

Well he would say that, wouldn’t he?

The thought that ran through my head as the lights dimmed in the Soho Hotel cinema.

Forty-five minutes or so of classic Corrie later, I found myself nodding in agreement with Mr Collinson.

Dedicated Coronation Street fans are lifers, in it for the very long haul.

Till death do us part.

When the tide is out we have to put on the wellies to wade through storylines elongated beyond their natural lifespan in order to satisfy the demands of five episodes a week.

Our reward comes in moments like the two visits to the cobbles this evening.

Reminding us yet again of just how much skill, talent and dedication goes into making this drama – on both sides of the camera.

Hopefully without spoiling the episodes, one of the standout moments for me is Becky’s emotional farewell to Roy and Hayley outside the Rovers Return.

Those of us who have watched Katherine, David Neilson and Julie Hesmonhalgh together over the last five years will know just how poignant a goodbye that is.

“They were real tears for all of us,” Phil told me after the screening.

“It’s such a close team making Coronation Street.

“You have to be when you’re making that much television – working together that closely for that number of hours under that intense scrutiny and pressure.

“We’re all close. And it’s hard to lose somebody so integral to your team.”

Also emotional for viewers to say goodbye to such an iconic character?

“That’s the thing about this sort of television because you’re dealing with characters who people love and they get to know and they explore that relationship.

“And they see how much Becky loves Roy and they know how hard it is for Roy to love anybody. And they know how much Hayley loves him.

“It is the most amazing thing about working on a show like this, that you really are following the lives of people, shaping the lives of people that the audience absolutely fall in love with and adore.”

Becky’s exit is set against the backdrop of ex-husband Steve’s (Simon Gregson) wedding to Tracy (Kate Ford).

In classic Corrie fashion, Becky has a bombshell to drop.

But when will she choose to do it?

There’s so much to love about these two episodes directed by David Kester.

The first, written by Jayne Hollinson, begins with a poignant nod to the late Maggie Jones, who played Tracy’s grandmother Blanche.

A typical Corrie touch, closely followed by the comedic arrival of an unshaven Ken. (Bill Roache).

The cast are at the top of their games tonight, including the marvellous Stephanie Cole as Syliva, overhearing a conversation about online communication.

Then asking Sophie (Brooke Vincent): “What exactly is Spike?”

Leading to an exchange in Roy’s Rolls which deserves to win a BAFTA for best laptop-related script line.

Simon Gregson is his usual full value as Steve, with a comedy moment in the Rovers’ back room before later dramas at the church and beyond.

While Paula Lane has really blossomed as Becky’s younger sister Kylie.

But tonight’s two episodes belong to Katherine Kelly.

An outstanding actress who has already moved on to star in She Stoops To Conquer at the National Theatre.

Ahead of, no doubt, more triumphs.

Becky’s final scene is beautifully written by Debbie Oates, author of this evening’s second episode.

Including a perfect last footprint in the sand.

“It’s not very often that we get to say goodbye to such a brilliant, iconic character,” said Phil.

“Katherine is going to go off now and glitter and be at the National and be amazing.

“She’s a wonderful actress.

“But you never forget working on Coronation Street.

“A bit of your heart will always stay there.”

Coronation Street is on ITV1 at 7:30pm and 8:30pm tonight.

Coronation Street ITV Site

Vote for Coronation Street at this Wednesday’s National Television Awards

National Theatre: She Stoops To Conquer

Coronation Street Blog

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John Jasper (Matthew Rhys), Rosa Budd (Tamzin Merchant) and Edwin Drood (Freddie Fox)

“IT’S not a challenge you could turn down. You’ve got half a novel.

“My wife calls me, ‘The man who’s finished off Dickens.’

“Which I think is unfair.”

The Mystery of Edwin Drood director Diarmuid Lawrence speaking at the British Film Institute in London last month.

Ahead of the two-part BBC2 adaptation at 9pm tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow.

The story Charles Dickens was writing when he died.

Executive producer Anne Pivcevic explained how the TV team set about solving the puzzle

“It reads like a thriller, a whodunit.

“It was only meant to be 20 odd instalments and he died in the middle of chapter 12.”

Drood is the sometimes strange tale of troubled choirmaster John Jasper (Matthew Rhys) who is addicted to both opium and 17-year-old Rosa Bud (Tamzin Merchant).

Tamzin Merchant as Rosa Bud.

The darker side of Jasper has a murderous hatred of his nephew Edwin Drood (Freddie Fox) who, as we meet the characters, is set to marry Rosa.

This adaptation by Five Days crime writer Gwyneth Hughes also portrays twins Neville (Sacha Dhawan) and Helena (Amber Rose Revah) Landless as half Tamil.

With Dickens casting his eye over our attitudes and prejudices.

Diarmuid and Anne were joined on stage for the post-screening Q&A by Freddie Fox and Rory Kinnear, who plays the Rev Septimus Crisparkle.

I also spoke to Freddie, Sacha and Rory later that evening.

My story on Sacha is in today’s MEN – and below.

You can also read on for more from those later chats with Freddie and Rory.

Plus several links, including one to short video extracts from the BFI Q&A.

The exterior Drood scenes were filmed at Rochester in Kent, which became Dickens’ home town.

With the cathedral interiors shot at Saint Bartholomew the Great at West Smithfield in the City of London.

The second and concluding episode is a real rollercoaster with several twists.

David Dawson shining as Bazzard alongside Alfie Davis as urchin Deputy.

And more than repays the investment of having stuck with the sometimes strange and haunting first hour.

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Sacha Dhawan as Neville Landless

TV star Sacha Dhawan has landed the role of a lifetime after finding fame in America.

The Bramhall actor won new fans in the USA as call centre worker Manmeet in NBC comedy Outsourced, made by the producers of the stateside version of The Office.

Now he’s about to help solve one of Britain’s great literary puzzles in a two-part BBC2 adaptation of the unfinished Charles Dickens novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Former Aquinas College student Sacha plays fiery Neville Landless, an orphan twin who is a crucial figure in the new drama.

Crime writer Gwyneth Hughes took on the challenge of finishing the story, left hanging when Dickens died in 1870.

She searched the book and its original cover for clues as to where the story was heading and decided the Landless twins were Tamils from Ceylon – now Sri Lanka – with a British father.

“With great enthusiasm, the production team put two young British Asian actors into starring roles in a costume drama for the first time,” explains Gwyneth.

The highly prized parts went to Sacha, who trained at Manchester’s Laine-Johnson Theatre School, and Amber Rose Revah as his twin sister Helena.

Amber Rose Revah as Helena Landless.

“I don’t think it’s been done before. So to be part of that was really exciting for me. I was really happy,” says Sacha.

“I spend half the year now in Los Angeles and half here and my family were very proud when I got the role in Drood.

“It’s a bit of a TV first and a character with real substance who creates a lot of mystery. It’s very different to a lot of Dickens’ novels and should hook viewers.”

Drood director Diarmuid Lawrence says: “Sacha and Amber were so made up to be cast in the only two Asian roles in the whole of Dickens. I can’t believe how pleased they were when they got the parts.”

Gwyneth had worked with Sacha before in the BBC1 drama Five Days. The search for clues in Dickens’ last novel also led her to study letters he had written over the years.

They included Dickens’ correspondence with with Knutsford-raised Cranford author Elizabeth Gaskell, who had died five years before. Mrs Gaskell later moved to Plymouth Grove, Longsight and was a good friend of Dickens.

Sacha starred in the original stage production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, reprising the role both on Broadway and in the film version.

The two-part adaptation, screened at 9pm on Tuesday and Wednesday,(Jan 10/11) also features former Coronation Street actress Ellie Haddington.

It is part of a special BBC Dickens season marking the 200th anniversary of his birth on Feb 7 2012.

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Freddie Fox as Edwin Drood.

Freddie Fox:

“I thought first of all, ‘I’ve got to read the book.’ I don’t usually think that. If there’s source material there, films or other things to compare to, I usually shy away from it. But I thought, ‘I’ve got to read the book.’ Because in the way Dickens does, which is so clever, he kind of writes as a screenwriter and a director, visually in mind the little ticks and the little isms he gives each of his characters. I thought, ‘Well I’ve got to search through the book and find those.’ And little things. Even the details that nobody will notice but as an actor you want to satisfy yourself, really. Things like the pocket watch that his father gave him in the book. And I made sure that I wanted a pocket watch…tiny little things but it just helped me form the character.

“And secondly I thought, ‘This could be really, really good.’ It’s also the type of Dickens that I was so unused to. Very unused to. The casting agent told me that as I finished my audition, I said, ‘I really want to do this part. I really think I can do this.’ And fortunately I was given the opportunity.”

Different kind of period drama?

“I think initially for any actor it’s a selfish attraction, which has got to be the character. And so the initial attraction was someone who is infinitely dislikeable in moments, broken hearted and rather sweet and charming in others. But ultimately also the attraction for me was that even though really John Jasper / Matthew is the out and out lead, it’s a lead role. It was a lead role where you had the name of the piece on your shoulders and I was interested to try and do that. Try and round a character that could otherwise really go one way or really go the other. I wanted to give it bits of both.”

Violent scenes?

“There were a lot of different takes…I watched Saving Private Ryan, actually…”

Alfie Davis as Deputy.

What did you make of Gwyneth’s ending?

“It’s so you won’t see it coming. And so, yes, in that way I was sold.”

Are there clues from the first episode as to the ending?

“Yes, there are. Because I obviously know, it seems so glaringly obviously to me. But then at the same time you’re playing with very untangible stakes which are addiction and different perception when you’re drugged out and that, as an audience, you’re never going to be able to quite guess what’s one and what’s the other. Playing with perception, Diarmuid’s done it very cleverly and you will not guess what happens because it’s not only one twist, there’s another twist.”

Filming those interiors in St Bartholomew the Great in West Smithfield, City of London?

“Bart’s is nuts. It’s great. It’s huge. Massive organ. It’s like when you’re a kid and you go to one of those haunted houses in a theme park and you really get scared by it. You could easily get scared in that place because it’s so dominating. They shoot a lot of movies in there because it’s such a Gothic, atmospheric place. At one stage they had two huge wind machines for a stormy night and a rain machine. In the book it says there’s a very specific description that the clock hands are bent because the wind is so strong. And so the storm has to be intense.”

Top drama for winter nights?

“Yes. Even though it is a whodunit and it keeps you on the edge of your seat because it’s got a cliffhanger at the end of ep one, it takes its time, it matures over the period of the first episode and then goes kind of helter skelter into the second episode. And I really thought that was very brave because often with the BBC or any production company have to be tempted to keep an audience constantly filled with excitement. Like they usually do in cinema – close up, close up, smash to this, smash to that. And this doesn’t. It leads you on a psychological journey that you’re never quite sure where you are and allowing you to make your own mind up. I think that’s very brave.”

You’ve guest starred in a new episode of ITV1’s Lewis with your cousin Laurence Fox?

“Yes. And then bizarrely today I was filming my last day’s on Parade’s End, which is a BBC series. Lewis is a really nice fun thing. I’m playing a nasty piece of work. It’s the first time I’ve acted with a family member. And ‘Lozza’ gets to pull me up by my lapels and act like the older cousin. He enjoyed that. He got to slap me around a little bit. And in 2012 I’m going to be doing Hay Fever in the West End, which will be nice.”

Rory Kinnear as Rev Crisparkle.

Rory Kinnear:

“I know a few of the Dickens and having written on him at university, I always knew that this one I probably didn’t have to read because it wasn’t finished. So it was interesting that someone had taken on the challenge. Quite a bravado thing to do, to think you can finish it off. And so I guess that’s what interested me initially.

“And then reading it, the character himself, just to play someone so consistently warm and open and loving, despite what must be frustrations within himself of living with his mother and being by himself and dealing with people like John Jasper and people who make life difficult for themselves but at all times trying to see the good in people. I just thought it was sweet. He is the light in the piece and the necessary light. And he comes more into his own in the second part.

“Also having played a few slightly warped…baddies or people with great internal turmoil and struggle – then to have someone whose outlook in life was so attemptedly and relentlessly positive, even though he was aware that life had its own frustrations as well, I guess that was something new to do.”

Will Dickens’ scholars be satisfied by the ending?

“Yeah, I mean fortunately the Dickens’ scholars will probably make up a small percentage of the audience. What was important was to try and create an ending that satisfied the various story threads, that satisfied how the characters could and might behave. And I guess that satisfied an audience’s appetite for seeing where they hope the story might progress. And I think Gwyneth has done it, as well as making it very much an exciting piece of television.”

Working with Julia McKenzie, who plays his screen mother Mrs Crisparkle?

“We’d worked together on Cranford before. A similar kind of spirit to our scenes. She’s a similar age and a similar look to my mother and I’ve always in my mind associated my mother with Julia McKenzie, from being a very young boy to actually be able to fulfil those expectations of her.”

David Dawson as Bazzard.

Period drama?

“The thing you get the input in is how these characters think and how they might behave in certain situations. And I don’t think humanity changes from century to century. It’s all the same really. All good writing is about exploring how people behave and how people inter-react. It’s always just exploring the difficulty of being alive.”

How does filming a Drood compare to filming a Bond? Rory is currently reprising his role as Bill Tanner, M’s Chief of Staff in Skyfall, filming in London and Pinewood.

“Well, we know the ending. I guess it’s filming for the BBC and filming for a big franchise like that, there are some financial differences in terms of the money they have to spend. But at the same time you’re working with decent and classy actors and you’re working with decent, classy directors and you’re doing a decent and classy script. So you’re not surprised there are similarities, as well as a central character who’s slightly peculiar with the opposite sex and addicted to vices.

“Essentially what you do as an actor is the same. Whether or not you’ve got helicopters and hundreds of Range Rovers or you’re sitting in a chair in a waiting room for four hours because they haven’t got a trailer for you to sit in, essentially what you do on camera is the same. It’s creating characters and inter-acting with people.”

Why should people watch Drood?

“If you haven’t heard of it and you haven’t seen it before and you know it’s by Dickens then there might be something interesting in it. Most people have an inkling of what happens in Great Expectations – the fun thing about Edwin Drood is most people won’t come to it with that many expectations. And to think here’s a probably a one in a lifetime chance to get to see how Gwyneth has chosen to adapt it but also to maybe think, ‘Oh that sounds interesting, I might go and see what’s left of the book to read.’”

The twist at the end?

“I’m under such pressure not to reveal anything! But yes, there is a big twist and yes it does take you aback and make you think, ‘So where does the book end and…’ But I think the skill that Gwyneth has shown is that whilst there is a twist, you don’t actually know when Gwyneth kicks in and Dickens takes his bow.”

Alun Armstrong as Hiram Grewgious.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood BBC Videos

BFI London Edwin Drood Q&A Extract

The Mystery of Edwin Drood: BBC Blog

St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London

Hay Fever

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Angeline Ball as Gloria

“I cannot be weak,” protests Frank Gallagher as Shameless returns tonight.

The new – ninth – series begins with two extended episodes screened at 10pm over consecutive nights.

With many Chatsworth estate residents evicted from their homes in an official crackdown.

A politically-motivated move which aims to eventually clear the entire area.

I returned to the Manchester Shameless HQ late last year to spend another day on set.

Talking again to many cast members – old and new.

My latest Shameless feature ran in the MEN on Saturday – and is online below.

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Evicted.

FRANK Gallagher and the Chatsworth estate residents face a battle for their very survival when they return to the screen.

A new series of Shameless (Channel 4, Monday, 10pm) begins with the locals under attack in two extended episodes screened over consecutive nights.

Frank (David Threlfall) is making a spectacle of himself at the opticians before the whirlwind that is Operation New Start arrives on the estate.

The multi-agency benefits crackdown leads to eviction for half of the residents, including the Gallaghers, with their homes boarded up and some forced to sleep rough.

At one stage Frank ends up in Manchester’s Midland Hotel as others seek sanctuary in The Jockey with officials, led by Carmen Kenaway (Morwenna Banks) and her sidekick Feeney (Judy Flynn), hell bent on turning the estate into an empty urban wasteland.

Carmen Kenaway (Morwenna Banks) and Feeney (Judy Flynn).

Meanwhile Jackson Powell, played by Salford-raised Emmanuel Ighodaro, has finally graduated as a teacher with Carl Gallagher (Elliott Tittensor) about to do the same at the police training school.

Episode two sees a new face sat at the bar next to Frank – Chatsworth hairdresser and beautician Gloria, played by former The Commitments and EastEnders actress Angeline Ball.

She will be joined later in this ninth series by her brother Dominic, a role taken by Salford actor Stephen Lord. He’s a lapsed Catholic priest with a taste for alcohol and women.

“Gloria has been on the Chatsworth for quite a while but you haven’t seen her yet. She seems to know everybody,” explains the Irish actress.

“My first scene in the pub was terrifying and brilliant at the same time. I actually took a picture on my iPhone of the little words ‘The Jockey’ never to forget. It was pretty daunting, to be honest with you. But that’s why we do it.”

She recalls: “It was either do this or do a Sam Shepard play. It would have been easier to take the play because then if I was rubbish in that people would have seen it for four weeks and it would be gone. But with Shameless you’re putting yourself on the line.”

Stephen Lord as Dominic.

TV producers wanted the new character to be a local. “You have to dive into that deep end and do a Mancunian accent. It really helps me get into the character, along with the make-up, the hair and the outfits.

“It’s very nice to put Gloria on in the morning and go with whatever I feel I can go with. It frees me up to be as shameless as you can be in some episodes.”

Explains Angeline: “Gloria’s idols would be people like Katie Price and she’d watch The Only Way Is Essex. That’s the kind of look we’re aiming for. Except it’s Chatsworth style. It’s our version. The Only Way Is Chatsworth.

“My hair is in a bob at the moment. It’s Gloria’s version of Beyonce. So it’s supposed to not look great. Further down the line when I have more emotional stuff to deal with I would like people to see her without the mask. There’s more to come of her.”

Was Angeline a Shameless fan? “Absolutely. It continues to be a quality show with fantastic actors and the scripts are brilliant. Everybody is on their toes.

“I was a bit daunted coming in to the show. There were a lot of things to worry about, including me being Irish and playing Mancunian. It’s certainly been a challenge. I was going to go on tape being Mancunian and Irish.

“And after I did the Mancunian they said, ‘Don’t even bother doing the Irish one.’ So that was good. I hope! I wouldn’t have wanted to do it if it wasn’t spot on.”

Homeless

New regular cast members on the Wythenshawe film set usually find a sex scene looming as part of their induction to the Chatsworth. But Angeline had to wait several months for her big moment.

“The first one was with David who was wonderful because he understands how nervous you can be. That set me up for the rest of them. I’ve only done two so far. And also you know the editing is going to be quite brilliant.

“The crew are also so wonderfully gentlemanly about it. They’re very respectful. They don’t stare. There was a sound guy on one of them and I’m sure he got a full look at something. But he just had his head turned away at all times. No-one asked him to do that. They’re just really nice.”

As with many things on the Chatsworth, Gloria’s business isn’t totally legal. She runs it from her home opposite the parade of shops on a new set yet to be seen by viewers. “It’s quite an honour to have that built for the character.”

And how are Angeline’s real life hairdressing skills? “Rubbish,” she laughs.

“Somebody said to me that I should start opening salons around the north of England.

“I probably couldn’t even cut the ribbon.”

Shameless Channel 4

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Ukweli Roach (Tom), Samuel West (Zak), Orla Brady (Mrs Sheringham). Hattie Morahan (Hannah) and Tobias Menzie (Richard).

IT’S a television drama about angels who smoke and drink.

And has won the blessing of the Archbishop of York John Sentamu.

But Eternal Law co-creator Matthew Graham said church officials at York Minster made a special request about filming in the Gothic cathedral.

“The Bishop of York is a fantastic guy and a very forward-thinking fellow,” explained Matthew when we met up in London on the last day of November 2011.

“The only thing they said to us was, ‘We don’t want any strippers stripping in the Minster.’

“I don’t know why they thought strippers might feature.

“Although there was a much raunchier early draft of the script where the angels were bisexual and they all slept together.”

The six-part series stars Samuel West and Ukweli Roach as Zak Gist and Tom Greening, two angels placed on Earth to do good.

In one scene the duo, who work as lawyers, are seen swigging from a bottle of wine on the roof of the ancient cathedral.

Tom and Zak up on the roof.

They are kept in order by former angel turned housekeeper Mrs Sheringham, played by Strike Back and Mistresses actress Orla Brady.

With Tobias Menzies also starring as dark angel Richard Pembroke and Hattie Morahan as barrister Hannah, who has a past history with Zak.

The York-based drama was created by Matthew and his writing partner Ashley Pharoah, the team behind Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes.

“Gene Hunt made us giggle, so that’s why we did Life On Mars,” recalled Matthew.

“The idea of a grumpy angel smoking cigars also made us smile.”

You can read what Matthew had to say about the new series below – including the link with Ashes To Ashes.

Ashley was also supposed to be at the launch, where we were shown the first two episodes.

But as Jane Featherstone (executive producer for Kudos) explained:

“He unfortunately isn’t here today because we took him out for a celebratory dinner last night and gave him food poisoning.”

Matthew added: “He has been felled by a rancid roast chicken.”

Here’s my transcript of the post-screening general Q&A involving Matthew and Jane.

Followed by the details of a further chat I had with Mr Graham.

Where he talks more about the Ashes / Jim Keats / Eternal Law link and gives an update on his involvement in the Star Wars TV project.

Eternal Law begins on ITV1 at 9pm this Thursday (Jan 5).

Is the time right for a drama about angels?

The critics will certainly have something to say on that score.

But, as ever, it’s what you think that counts.

Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the blog – I read every single one.

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Matthew Graham at the launch.

Jane Featherstone began by explaining how Matthew and Ashley first went to Kudos with the idea:

“I thought, well, the next crazy idea from the men who set an entire series inside a man’s head, this might be interesting. And their next crazy idea was angels on Earth. I think it’s completely wonderful.

“I think when they came up with the notion they were inspired by (Michael) Powell and (Emeric) Pressburger’s It’s A Matter Of Life And Death. They wanted something romantic and fun and I believe that’s what we’ve got – an ethereal dysfunctional family.”

Q: Why York and how did you film there in a city packed with tourists?

Matthew Graham: “Yeah. I don’t think we helped with all the vehicles that we had. Why York? I think the show lends itself to a very idiosyncratic and historical setting. We felt that was important. We really wanted to set it in the north of England and we decided to go and check York out and them maybe go on and have a look at Durham. But really 20 minutes after getting off the train in York we decided, with respect to Durham, we didn’t need to see Durham. Because York was just fantastic. I’m ashamed to say I’d never been until we started recceing for the show. It’s just such a lovely city. It’s got character, it looks wonderful. And this show is unashamedly, unapologetically about making you feel cosy and happy and safe to some extent. And York does that. It does that for me. I’m a convert. I’d like to move there.”

Jane Featherstone: “And I don’t think it’s been used, hardly ever actually. So we were also looking at a city that hadn’t been exposed too much and that was a beautiful place. And a cathedral was such an obvious wonderful, beautiful place around which to set our community. And they were very, very welcoming to us.”

Samuel West (Zak) and Ukweli Roach (Tom)

Q: Why is the time right for a drama about angels?

Matthew Graham: “Well, we don’t know it’s right! (laughs) I can tell you why we enjoyed writing it so much and enjoyed making it so much, probably more than anything we’ve done actually. We’ve just really loved making this. I don’t want to load it with anything more than it needs to be loaded with but the world’s a bit **** at the moment and we all feel it. And it’s on our doorstep. We’re not just worried now about what goes on in far flung places. We’re worried about what’s happening outside our own front doors. And so for me, personally, it gave me comfort to write something that was about hope, but flawed hope. So that our characters are not pious, they’re not better than us, they are just different. And that’s where the fun came, really, and where the optimism for it came. Which is, ‘Look, they’re messed up too.’ Heaven’s as messed up, in a way, as Earth. But there’s hope, there’s optimism. And there’s a chance maybe for things to get better. I know that’s a naive sentiment but it’s going right back to where we started from with this show and the Powell / Pressburger inspirations and A Matter Of Life And Death. We wanted it to be about hope and romance and those sorts of things. I think at the moment it’s actually quite a nice little public service to occasionally give people things like that, just so that they can come home from a day reading about countries falling out of the Eurozone, put the kettle on and sit down and watch this show.”

Jane Featherstone: “Also a love story like this which is impossible, difficult, unrequitable – if that’s a word – and I think that angels allows us to do this love story across the universe, in a way. Which I think is something that’s never been done before on television and is another wonderful obstacle to these two characters getting together. That’s one of the reasons I absoljutely fell in love with it when they brought it to us.”

Hattie Morahan (Hannah) and Tobias Menzies (Richard).

Q: How informed were you when writing this about angels further back in art?

Matthew Graham: “Yeah we were. We did a bit of reading. Obviously angels seem to exist right across the world in different cultures and in different forms. We felt it was prudent to keep our angels non-denomenational and to not align them. I know they go into the (York) Minster but, goodness me, you can’t not film in the Minster, it’s so awe-inspiring and beautiful. But there’s no overt Christian message or overt particular one religion in this. And we sort of made up our own rules really – we probably use Powell and Pressburger slightly more as a reference than any kind of historical text because we thought they had a lovely balance between cheeky…and also the idea that the spiritual world is not airy-fairy. That it’s actually run on a series of rules and regulations. It just appealed to us.”

Jane Featherstone: “We often had conversations about – what would really have happened? And then we remembered that we were talking about angels and we could, perhaps, make our own rules because there wasn’t a set text.”

Q: So would you call it a general humanitarian…

Matthew Graham: “Yeah. Exactly. In fact I would boil it down even more to, ‘It’s about fish out of water.’ It’s about two people, strangers in a strange land trying to get on and do the right thing. We do make a few references to Paradise Lost in one of the later episodes, which we think is quite fun. We have a moment where Tom’s reading Paradise Lost and Zak says to him, ‘I wouldn’t. It’s a very bad idea to Google yourself.’”

Q: Between you and Ashley, who was Zak and who was Tom?

Matthew Graham: “I will tell you that a producer in the States described Ashley and I as…if we had written ER, I would have killed the guys with the big helicopter crash and Ashley would have given Dr Greene a brain tumour. That was the difference. He’s the gentle empathic one and I’m the one that likes to blow things up and run around. We’re both Zak. We’re both grumpy and we like to drink.”

Orla Brady as Mrs Sheringham

Q: Matthew, your story in the press notes as told to you by your mother:

When I was two years old we were both in the garden. Our house was a semi in Rickmansworth, the gardens in the street running cheek by jowl. Mum was weeding. She heard a voice. It was calm and clear and urgent but in no way panicky or alarming. In hindsight she realised that she couldn’t tell if it was male or female.

“Quickly. Look behind you.”

She turned to see little Matty tottering forward, the garden shears open towards his face. Losing his balance and about to fall! She reached out and prevented me severely injuring or possibly killing myself. And then naturally she looked to the gardens on either side of us so she could thank the neighbour who had warned her.

The gardens were empty.

Was that her guardian angel who had whispered urgently in her ear that afternoon? Was it mine? Was it merely the sixth sense that a mother may have for her child?

Q: Do you have any guardian angel moments where you’ve felt something like this. Plus can you expand on the themes that you want to explore over the course of the series?

Matthew Graham: “Well the story that I tell, it’s not my experience, I was too young. My mum tells it and she tells it as gospel. I think that angels as an idea are an aspiration, aren’t they, rather than a belief system. I know some people incorporate them very heavily into their belief systems but I prefer to see them as examples of optimism and hope and the best of us, really. And that’s kind of where my belief in angels kind of stops.

“The themes – episode two is a very good example of what the show is, I think. And sometimes we really go into court almost not at all. And we’re very keen that it’s not a law show, it is an angels show. And it’s very much about the lives and loves of our characters.

“So obviously the romance becomes very big and Richard Pembroke and the whole dark forces thing is a big thread. We pull people along on the strength, we hope, of the characters and their situations, rather than asking you to invest in a very big complex ethereal fantasy. We try to keep the balance fairly rooted. And actually we use the fantasy for fun. We’re trying to have fun. It’s designed to be fun and enjoyable.”

Hattie Morahan as Hannah.

Q: You have made the angels fallible – was it difficult to think about their biological needs, if I can put it that way?

Jane Featherstone: “You should have read the first draft.”

Matthew Graham: “Their biological needs. Well, Sam West does like to ask whether angels have belly buttons. That’s his big question. Yeah, well they like to drink, they like to smoke, clearly, they fall in love. When they’re on Earth they’re quite fallible and quite human in a way. But that’s actually not our idea. That was something we did get from reading about the common belief systems about angels – they are not God. They are not perfect at all. They are far from perfect.”

Jane Featherstone: “They are equipped with everything that every human has but they’re tested not to use it. And I think that’s the challenge.”

Q: What was the reaction of the Minster when you wanted to shoot there?

Matthew Graham: “Oh it was great. They were fantastic. The Bishop of York is a fantastic guy and a very forward-thinking fellow. The Minster, as far as I’m aware, were absolutely terrific. The only problem we did have was getting up to the top of the tower to film because it’s so dangerous. You imagine putting nine foot wide prosthetic wings on an actor and sticking them 150 feet in the air and you’re asking for trouble. So we obviously had to recreate that. But I don’t think the Minster have ever been a problem.”

Tom in the pub.

Q: Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes both dealt with an afterlife of a sort. Has that been a preoccupation for you for a while and why did you decide to explore it further?

Matthew Graham: “It wasn’t a conscious thing. I actually think from my own experience, I had so much fun writing the Danny Mays character in Ashes To Ashes that I really wanted to carry on personally playing around with those ideas. And again not turning them into portentous, proselytizing drama but just to have fun with it. To just use it to create good fun dramatic tension.

“But actually Ash and I were talking about Eternal Law long before Ashes was finished, actually. I suspect that probably the Ashes thing came out of the Eternal Law thing. We were sort of talking about Eternal Law and then when we came to the third series of Ashes we started to put some of those themes in, because we didn’t know that Eternal Law would happen.”

Q: Why did you decide to make this about angels and the law and did you ever contemplate any other professions?

Matthew Graham: “No, we didn’t contemplate any other professions. And that again because if you know A Matter Of Life And Death, Heaven seems to predominantly be a law court and judges and juries seem to be a big thing there. So it really came from that. We do think that there would be angels selling The Big Issue and angels as policeman and angels as doctors etc. But the law it about judgement and most people’s perception of any kind of God or afterlife seems to be irreveocably linked with the idea of judgement. So I think that’s why we though we could play with those themes and have fun in a secular world and a spiritual world.”

Q: You talk about the cinematic influences. Did I note a bit of Kramer Versus Kramer in there?

Matthew Graham: “It’s Kramer Versus Kramer in there, definitely. And Boston Legal. But if we’re going to rip off, we do like to rip off from the very best.”

Q: Any thought that we might see Mr Mountjoy (God) or is he more like Captain Mainwaring’s wife?

Matthew Graham: “He’s not as scary as Captain Mainwaring’s wife. It’ll have to be Stephen Fry, won’t it? It’s contracturally obliged to television that Stephen Fry has to be God.”

Q: Do we find out who Mr Mountjoy’s equivalent is on the other side?

Matthew Graham: “I don’t want to give too much away. But what we don’t do is, we don’t run away with ourselves too much on the supernatural. We do go further and it does get quite big at the end. But we don’t bring in anybody else at this stage. We thought it was enough for people to get their heads round what we were doing. And if people were comfortable with what we were doing and there was an appetite to see more of the angelic world then we’ve got a lot of ideas that we want to explore.

“Richard (Pembroke) can smell unhappiness if it’s close by. And that’s a theme that keeps running throughout the series.”

******************************************************************

My further chat with Matthew Graham:

“One of my favourite films is A Matter Of Life And Death. We were having a screening of it somewhere and we were watching it. And we came out and said, ‘It would be lovely to make something, maybe a movie, like this. Something that just wears its heart on its sleeve. Has no agenda other than to basically make you feel slightly better than before you started watching it.’ And that’s when it started. And we started talking about it and I think it was Ash who said, ‘What if the angels were grumpy and grouchy and they like to drink and smoke?’ And then, of course, as often happens with us, if an idea makes us giggle we think, ‘OK, let’s try it.’ Gene Hunt made us giggle, so that’s why we did Life On Mars. The idea of a grumpy angel smoking cigars made us smile. So that’s when we started.

“That was probably three years ago now and we didn’t do anything with it for a while. And then Ash went off and just wrote a spec episode one, which was similar to this episode one but was much raunchier. It was more of an HBO version of the show. They were bisexual and they all slept together. Zak, Tom and Mrs Sheringham all slept in a bed together. It was a pretty sexy show back then.

“We showed a version of that script to ITV and they went, ‘We really like it but is it a bit overboard with the sexuality?’ Although if the show is a hit and we come back in a second series I think we might start pushing a few of those buttons and push the boundaries a little bit more.

“Whether you agree with it or not, and I don’t always agree with ITV editorially, but I do know that they understand their audience. And we very much felt from day one that we’d like this to be on ITV. We just thought it was a nice home for it because it’s as much about community. And I think ITV just do community drama very, very well. The BBC do Spooks very well and ITV do Where The Heart Is very well. So we kind of had to take a lead from there.

“But this is a brave show for ITV. Again, sometimes now people look back on Life On Mars and Ashes and they say, ‘Mmm, you pulled your punches there with Gene. You didn’t make him overtly racist.’ And you think, ‘My God, think about it. This is mainstream BBC1. It’s time travel in a coma patient’s head with a man who drinks, swears and drives cars dangerously.’ This is an ITV mainstream show about angels smoking on the roof of a church. It’s pretty far out for ITV and we have to go a certain degree and then respect their tastes as well, if you see what I mean.”

Tobias Menzies as dark angel Richard.

Q: You said the Danny Mays character in Ashes series three sort of came from this?

“Ashley was probably working on Eternal Law while we were doing series two of Ashes. We really liked the Richard Pembroke character. We liked the way Richard played against Zak and we thought that was fun. And so when we got to series three of Ashes, we needed a guy to investigate Gene. We thought that was good. And I suddenly said, ‘Why don’t we rip ourselves off, basically? We don’t know Eternal Law is going to get made. Let’s take a demonic character and put it in to the mix. We can do that because it’s set in the afterlife. So why can’t we do that?’ It was that way round. We got excited about Richard Pembroke and made him Jim Keats in Ashes. And so now we’re going back and doing a whole show that’s basically like the last couple of episodes of Ashes in a way. It’s fun.”

Q: Angels on the top of York Minster swigging from a bottle of wine?

“Like I say, the Minster were just great. The only thing they said to us – I don’t know why they thought this was going to happen – they said, ‘We don’t want any strippers stripping in the Minster.’ And I said, ‘What gave you the impression that the show would feature strippers in the Minster?’ They must have read the early draft! But, no, they were really happy. In fact they were very excited to see us having angels fighting. Because actually to us it might seem pretty extreme. To somebody steeped in the church, it’s your life. It’s how you think. You think about the Devil and God fighting it out. So to see a good and dark angel battling it out in the middle of the Minster was actually not only not controversial to them, I think it was quite appropriate.”

Richard and Tom in York Minster.

Q: Interesting time to screen this? Plus the current global economic uncertainty?

“We didn’t do it in the end because we were worried that it would be seen in poor taste and I think we were right not to do it. But one of the things we were going to do was show, imply, that a couple of people you’ve really seen in the news were actually angels. But we felt that there are angels out there. There are those people that come and help us in times of need. Of course they’re good people. But they might as well be angels. It’s the ultimate aspirational show, really, is what it is.

“What we didn’t count upon was that by the end of the year we all genuinely feel so much more vulnerable. I feel more vulnerable now than I did during Iraq. I haven’t felt this vulnerable since 9/11. I think 9/11 really shook us all. But this is big and more permeating. This feels as though the very fabric of western civilisation is rocking now. I’m not saying we’re pleased about that but I do think it makes Eternal Law…Eternal Law is a balm. It’s supposed to be a comfort.”

Q: What’s coming up in 2012?

“I’ve just written a film for the States. I don’t know whether it will get made but it’s moving forward. I also spent two years working on the live action Star Wars TV series. I don’t know whether it will happen. At the moment the official line is that it’s on hold while they work out how to make it because it’s so expensive. But I did do two years on that. So I’m hoping that eventually George Lucas will work out how he’s going to recreate…he’s basically having to redesign the way television is made in order to be able to make this show. So if he works it out then it’ll happen. And Ashley is doing a wonderful Thomas Hardy adaptation in development for the BBC – Return Of The Native. It’ll be three parts or something like that. And it’s early days so I don’t want to say too much but I’m working on a ghost story for the BBC. It’s not a green light. It’s just a development. But it will be a single. It’s an adaptation. But not of a novel. It’s an adaptation of a previous television work. That’s all I can really say at the moment. It’s relatively obscure but it was quite big in its time.” (laughs)

Q: And what happened with Case Histories?

“Case Histories is going again, apparently. We’re not involved. Basically what happened was, I was going to do a book, Ashley was going to do a book, Lizzie Mickery was going to do a book. And then I don’t think Lizzie Mickery could do it. I couldn’t do it, I was snowed under. And Ash was already started on his, so he carried on. And we felt that basically it was unfair for us to continue. As a company we were, if you like, taking money for doing nothing. So we came to a deal with Ruby where we said, ‘You guys better go off and do it and we’ll back off.’ So that’s how it is now.”

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Laura (Sarah Smart), Freddie (Jack McMullen) and Jonathan (Laurence Fox)

IT was the first week of Wimbledon in June when I met up with Laurence Fox in London.

To talk about his festive TV drama filmed in the spring.

Also interviewing co-star Sarah Smart later in the summer.

Such is the way of Christmas television.

Fast Freddie, The Widow And Me is on ITV1 at 9pm on Tuesday Dec 27.

My feature is in today’s (Saturday) MEN and below, with some extras.

**********************************************************************

Jack McMullen as Freddie

WHAT would be your perfect Christmas if you knew it was your last?

“I’ve always wanted to write about the magic of Christmas colliding with the way we torment ourselves trying to make that one day perfect,” explains writer Christopher Dunlop.

The result is Fast Freddie, The Widow And Me (ITV1, 9pm Tuesday Dec 27) which may just give you pause for thought after the festive feast.

Waterloo Road star Jack McMullen plays Freddie, a teenager with a terminal illness. Having been fostered for most of his life, he knows his time is running out.

“Freddie has a kidney disease that needs operating on but he’s got a heart condition that is preventing the operation that will save his life,” explains Jack, who has also appeared in Salford drama The Street.

“I read the script and what was intriguing about Freddie is that he’s come to terms with dying at such a young age,” adds Jack, who plays Finn Sharkey in BBC1’s Rochdale filmed series.

“I did a bit of research because Freddie is in a lot of pain in a few scenes and I wanted to make sure I was playing it right. I spoke to a kidney specialist who described what he would have gone through.”

Freddie attends the Moonbeam Club, run by former teacher Laura (Sarah Smart). She’s the widow in the title, her husband having been killed in a skiing accident.

Laurence Fox plays brash luxury car salesman Jonathan Donald – the “and me” of this TV equation. “He’s a bit of an idiot. A loose women, fast cars kind of guy, with a million quid in the bank,” explains the Lewis star.

Convicted of drink-driving, Jonathan is given a community service order and sent to help out at the club, which caters for young adults with social and behavioural difficulties.

“I sobbed when I read the end of the script,” confides Laurence, who relished the role of a Bentley-owning wide boy. Jonathan tracks down Freddie’s real mother who denies she is anything to do with him.

So he sets about giving the teenager a perfect Christmas, including buying him a fake mum, played by Tamzin Outhwaite, and family.

“He sees this book that Freddie has written about how his life would have been if he was going to live and Jonathan gets most of his ideas from that,” says Laurence.

“We did have fake snow at one point when filming in the spring. At one point I looked around and one of the actors was shivering and was actually genuinely cold. It was about 28C! It’s amazing what tricks huge amounts of snow can play on the mind.”

Wallander, Doctor Who and At Home With The Braithwaites actress Sarah was also overcome when she first read the story. “I was crying all the way through. My script was soaking wet by the end of it.

“My mum used to look after youngsters with learning difficulties and behavioural problems. We’d go there as kids and put on plays. So I knew what it was all about.”

She laughs: “I’m a massive fan of Christmas. So filming this was a dream come true. It was like being in a Christmas snow globe for a few weeks.

“We also filmed in a department store in May with tinsel everywhere. We were working in the middle of the night but I started my Christmas shopping then.”

She continues: “Fast Freddie, The Widow And Me is a real family show. It’s a lovely story and not overly-sentimental. A tear-jerker but also funny. Everyone will be crying at the end.”

Sarah is also a fan of Laurence’s actress wife Billie Piper who is expecting the couple’s second child in April. Their son Winston is three.

“Bill is Christmas crazy,” smiles Sussex-based Laurence. “That Mariah Carey CD comes out so early. We have to get separate car journeys to places so I don’t have to listen to it.

“My perfect Christmas is real small and quiet, down in the country. Walk down the pub in the morning for an hour. Come home, eat food, watch TV and chill.

“And sometimes you want to go to visit people rather than having them round. All of that endlessly cleaning up Terry’s Chocolate Orange bits from behind the sofa.”

Laurence will be back as Det Sgt James Hathaway alongside Kevin Whately in a new four-part series of Lewis for 2012.

Would he like his wife to appear in a guest role?

“No way. I’m going to direct her in a film one day. But I don’t think she wants to be in Lewis. Maybe we should get her in? But my cousin Freddie Fox is in the new series. He’s playing a nasty little scamp.”

Jonathan’s perfect Christmas for Freddie doesn’t turn out quite as planned. “There’s snow, the best house and great food,” says Jack, who has also starred in Grange Hill, Brookside, Moving On and Casualty.

“There is a moral to the story. Christmas is meant to be about family and not all about money and superficial things. I want to spend Christmas this year with my family because that’s what it’s all about for me.”

Writer Christopher concludes: “Fast Freddie, The Widow And Me creates an idyllic family Christmas from the most unlikely collection of characters who in the process rediscover faith in life, love and hope for the future.”

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GOING underground was not an option for Laurence Fox when filming the festive drama.

“I’m very claustrophobic and it’s getting worse. I haven’t been on the tube in 15 years,” he explained.

“I have a motorbike. I don’t ever want to be underground. I can’t be really close to people. I don’t like it.”

Laurence is spending Christmas with three-year-old son Winston and actress wife Billie Piper.

Former Doctor Who and The Secret Diary of a Call Girl star Billie is currently appearing in Reasons To Be Pretty at London’s Almeida Theatre and expecting their second child next spring.

How do the couple manage the pressures when they both have acting jobs?

“You try not to get divorced. It’s an incredible difficult time if you’re both working at the same time,” he explained.

“But that’s when love comes into the whole thing. You basically just have to do it.

“I think that’s why showbiz marriages break up because you need looking after. It’s difficult.”

*Your can hear a different side to Laurence at laurencefox.co.uk

********************************************************************

Fast Freddie co-star Sarah Smart has revealed why she won’t be driving home for Christmas.

As widowed former teacher Laura in the drama, she is seen at the wheel of a mini bus full of youngsters.

“But I don’t actually drive in real life. There’s too many cars on the road and it’s far too scary,” says Sarah.

She learned to drive a Lotus when playing Virginia in At Home With The Braithwaites and a double-decker bus for ITV1 drama Jane Hall.

“I can only do stunt driving on TV when they stop the traffic for you. I don’t want to be on the roads in real life.

“I used to own a car but my friend said, ‘I don’t mean to upset you but you’re not a very good driver. I don’t think you should drive anymore.’

“My concentration span isn’t that massive.”

********************************************************************

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Steven Moffat (centre) makes the announcement tonight.

WE knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

But it’s sad news all the same.

Doctor Who stars Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, who play Amy and Rory Pond, are to leave the show in the next series.

The revelation came out of the blue in the middle of a Q&A session at BBC TV Centre in west London tonight (Thursday).

We had just watched a special screening of this year’s Christmas Day episode – The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe.

In front of an audience of fans young and old, a number of MPs, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls (sat across the row from me) and reportedly Chancellor George Osborne.

When host Richard Bacon said Doctor Who writer and showrunner Steven Moffat had “a very big announcement” to make about the next series.

Karen Gillan (Amy) and Arthur Darvill (Rory)

Sitting alongside the Doctor himself – Matt Smith – Steven said:

“Amy and Rory will be re-joining us next series and joining the Doctor back on the Tardis.

“But…but…the final days of the Ponds are coming.

“It’s during the next series – I’m not telling you when and I’m certainly not telling you how.

“But that story is going to come to a heartbreaking end.

“We have only so many more adventures with the lovely Amy and the lovely Rory.

“So that story, next series…during the series, will be over.

“And then, the Doctor is going to meet a new friend.

“And I’m not going to tell you anything about he, she or it.”

Inside the studio tonight.

Richard Bacon: “Oh, it could be an alien?”

Steven Moffat: “Who knows? It’s Doctor Who. We have a universe of people to choose from.”

Richard Bacon: “Now that role hasn’t been cast yet. Who would like to be the Doctor’s new assistant?”

(Lots of hands went up)

Richard Bacon: “So Amy Pond is leaving Doctor Who during the course of the next series…obviously you’ll be sad to see Karen go Matt?”

Matt Smith: “Yes, absolutely…and Arthur. We’ve had the most incredible journey and we took over the show and we really had to sort of hold hands and help each other through it in many ways.

“ So, yeah, it’s very disappointing.

“But, you know, one has to sort of remember that this show is about change and regeneration and that’s what galvanises it and pushes it forward and it’s about looking forward always.”

Richard Bacon: “So we’ll see a bit of Amy in the next series and then she goes?”

Matt Smith and Steven Moffat together: “We’ll see a lot of Amy.”

Steven Moffat added: “We’ll see a lot of Amy. There’s a big promise.”

You can listen to the audio of the announcement below:

Tonight's Doctor Who Winter Wonderland.

Series seven in the new Doctor Who era begins filming in February.

A total of 13 episodes will be screened next year and into 2013 – the year Doctor Who celebrates its 50th anniversary.

And the hour-long Christmas Special?

It’s a real festive charmer, including an exploding spaceship, the best child’s bedroom ever and a starry forest.

With some top class guest performances from Claire Skinner (Madge), Holly Earl (Lily) and Maurice Cole (Cyril), among others.

Plus yet more delicious lines from episode author Mr Moffat.

Lily (Holly Earl), Cyril (Maurice Cole), Madge (Claire Skinner) and The Doctor (Matt Smith) in the Christmas episode.

There was also a nice BBC touch this evening.

Aside from also giving us a glimpse of the two recently discovered “missing” Doctor Who episodes from the 1960s.

The event was held in Studio 1, usually home to Strictly Come Dancing.

After the last question had been asked, a huge curtain divide lifted to reveal a Doctor Who Winter Wonderland.

With everyone invited for mince pies and drinks.

Doctor Who: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe is screened on BBC1 at 7pm on Christmas Day.

*************************************************************************

Earlier in the day both Matt and Steven appeared on Richard Bacon’s BBC Five Live show and made a young boy’s Christmas:

**************************************************************************

Outside BBC TV Centre tonight.

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THE Christmas tree is being decorated as the house prepares for the festive season.

Before the Granthams hand out presents to their servants for Christmas Day 1919.

Welcome to the Downton Abbey Christmas special, screened for the media at London’s Mayfair Hotel this afternoon (Tuesday Dec 13).

Followed by two question and answer sessions with the cast.

We were all required to sign embargo forms preventing us from disclosing the secrets of this two-hour ITV1 episode, broadcast at 9pm on Christmas Day.

Not that I would ever publish any serious spoilers.

But I can say that the Downton Abbey Christmas special is a joyous festive gift to the nation.

With laughter, tears and, yes, snow.

Yet more wicked one-liners from Dame Maggie Smith.

Plus guest appearances from Nigel Havers as Lord Hepworth and Sharon Small as lady’s maid Marigold Shore.

Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol) and Daisy (Sophie McShera)

You will already know that valet John Bates is facing trial, accused of murdering his wife.

And that this visit to Downton takes us into the New Year of 1920, including the annual Servants’ Ball – where “upstairs” dances with “downstairs”.

Allowing a glorious above stairs glimpse of cook Mrs Patmore and Daisy in their gladrags and finest party hair.

Brendan Coyle (John Bates) said the cast felt it was the best episode they had produced so far.

Adding: “The stakes are very, very high for all sorts of characters.”

John Bates (Brendan Coyle) in the dock.

We also learned that the third series begins filming on Feb 13 2012 and will be set a short time on from the Christmas special.

It will consist of eight episodes plus – it was revealed – another separate two hour special.

Although Julian Fellowes’ scripts for the first two episodes are still in their early drafts, cast members said they were looking forward to fresh horizons ahead.

Producer Liz Trubridge explained: “It will inevitably move on. But I honestly can’t tell you where because we don’t know yet. Each series should be distinctive and this is moving into the Twenties.”

Liz also told me that there will be another Christmas special 12 months from now – that two hour 2012 episode – although it may not actually be set during the festive period.

Rob James-Collier (Thomas) spoke again about dancing with Dame Maggie Smith, and what happened when he stood on her toe.

May I have this dance?

While Lesley Nicol (Mrs Patmore) told of her hopes for romance for the hard-working cook.

It also emerged – if we didn’t know already – that Tom Hanks is an alleged celebrity fan of the show.

Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley) spoke about the global reaction to Downton:

“The happy, friendly vibes from all over the planet about our show is terrific.”

Below is my edited transcript of this afternoon’s two post-screening Q&A sessions, removing questions (and answers) that would obviously spoil the episode.

Cast members at the launch included Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley), Brendan Coyle (John Bates), Phyllis Logan (Mrs Hughes), Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith Crawley), Lesley Nicol (Mrs Patmore), Sophie McShera (Daisy Mason), Rob James-Collier (Thomas Barrow) and Siobhann Finneran (Sarah O’Brien).

Plus director Brian Percival and producer Liz Trubridge.

*****************************************************************************

Anna (Joanne Froggatt) with Downton support in the public gallery at York Assizes.

First Q&A:

Q: Dan – we’ve been asked to sign an embargo today to keep the secrets (in this episode) which I’m sure we all will. But how do you keep the secrets? Because I’m sure you get asked all the time about the fate of Matthew and Mary?

Dan Stevens (Matthew): “Yes. I generally threaten people and say, ‘I could tell you but then I’d have to eat you / kill you,’ all the rest of it. No, it is quite easy. It’s part of the fun of the show, certainly as far as I’m concerned, our storyline. That ‘will they, won’t they’ element is one of the enjoyable things about being part of Downton, really, is the game that you play outside of it. Trying to keep the scripts from my wife is the biggest challenge.”

Q: How do you feel being the highlight of ITV1’s Christmas Day schedule?

Brendan Coyle (Bates): “Christmas television has become such a part of the Christmas culture – British television, British Christmas. So to be a part of that, it’s really gratifying. It’s significant. It’s indicative of the success of the show – I think we deliver. We’re very proud of this episode. I think collectively we’re starting to feel it’s our best. So we’re very happy with it.”

Phyllis Logan (Mrs Hughes): “I agree.”

The New Year's Day shooting party.

Q: Are you aware of the international appeal of the series and the reactions from abroad?

Dan Stevens: “Yes. Mainly via Twitter. I’m amazed…there’s not a week that goes past and there’s somebody in Ulan Bator or Rio de Janeiro or whatever and they suddenly say, ‘Oh, Downton starts this week.’ And you completely forget that it’s staggered across the world. I think the second series started going out in Italy on Sunday? And a few tweets from the Netherlands very recently. It just started the second season there, didn’t it? It’s amazing. Just the happy, friendly vibes from all over the planet about our show is terrific.”

Q: Why does it work so well internationally?

Liz Trubridge (Producer): “I’ve asked a Spanish journalist that question, actually. I said, ‘Why is it so huge in Spain?’ And she said, ‘Beautiful people, lovely costumes, gossip, love. Why not?’ So that’s the best answer I can give you. I think good storylines are universal.”

Q: What do you hope for your characters in series three?

Phyllis Logan: “As for Mrs Hughes, I think finding things out about her, ‘Ah, I wouldn’t have expected THAT of Mrs Hughes.’ But then he always comes up trumps Julian with something which I can identify with. So there may be yet more skeletons in cupboards…not skeletons in cupboards but aspects to her character which lead her in a certain path. Who knows? I can’t wait to find out. They won’t tell us.”

Brendan Coyle: “We’re the last to know.”

Phyllis Logan: “We will be.”

Dan Stevens: “I think Matthew and Mary could reprise their musical duo and get into jazz and tour Paris or Berlin. I’m not fussed. That might be an interesting direction.” (laughter)

Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith): “I don’t know. More heartache? Who knows. Possibility of finding love. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll take up driving now that I can drive.”

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary.

Q: Brendan – can you sympathise with viewers’ frustration that because it’s on ITV we get a few minutes of action before it goes to an ad break, which is annoying a lot of fans?

Brendan Coyle: “It’s the nature of the beast. We rely on revenue to pay for the programme. So that’s just simply the nature of it.”

Q: With regard to the Christmas episode, obviously you have a huge following in the States and the cat’s going to be out of the bag. So how is this episode actually rolling out internationally?

Liz Trubridge: “It depends on the countries. But I think certainly in the States this episode is just going to follow on the whole series. So it will become their episode seven I believe.” (Downton series two begins PBS Sunday Jan 8th 2012)

Q: You are all optioned for the third series. What happens at that point? Are there plans to continue?

Liz Trubridge: “The re-commission doesn’t really happen until the end of each series. So it’s just further down the line. And if there’s still a will to make it and there’s still an appetite for it, I’m sure people are going to be very happy to do that.”

Dame Maggie Smith as Violet

Q: How many of you had to take dancing lessons in order to do the Servants’ Ball?

Phyllis Logan: “All of us. Well you notice you never saw any feet during that whole section. But we sweated up a storm didn’t we, that day?”

Laura Carmichael: “It was a very small, hot room and it was hilarious. And we were all learning how to waltz, which is very hard. I don’t think anyone was as nervous as Rob who had to go up and ask Maggie for a dance. But he did it beautifully.”

Phyllis Logan: “But I don’t think we’ll be vying for a place in Strictly.”

Dame Maggie Smith as Violet and Hugh Bonneville as Robert.

Q: There’s a kind of element of sadism in Julian Fellowes’ script writing. He delays pleasure for all of you and you all have to keep it buttoned down the whole time. Is there a frustration in always having to repress – you can’t do big emotions very much in your various performances?

Laura Carmichael: “I find that satisfying to play. I think it’s more interesting. As nice as the idea of, say, Edith being very happy, it’s far more interesting to play those moments as there are in life, when you don’t get what you want. And the added element of the period and how you have to play maybe different how we would today and keeping a lid on it – again, that’s a challenge and I think brings something extra to the stories. It’s not all running round and screaming and smiling and crying. It’s subtler than that. Which is a challenge. But I enjoy it.”

Dan Stevens: “I don’t think many people get to play big emotions, really, in life, actually. Particularly in this country. And I think the kind of, ‘Get aahht,’ or, ‘Leave it, it’s family…’ sort of school of acting, that’s actually our modern melodrama in a way. That’s far less naturalistic and everything than what we’re engaged in. And actually there are moments of quite high emotion. I think the structure of how we shoot the show serves that quite well. We see two scripts at a time. So when we started the series we hadn’t seen episode three, let alone episode eight. So in terms of where your storyline is going, you have to as an actor keep the arc in such a place that you’re not committed to, ‘Well, Matthew clearly hates Mary and this is never going to work,’ or the opposite. So actually the ball is kept in the air for us and we have to play with that.”

The New Year shooting party.

Phyllis Logan: “It’s almost strangely liberating to have those constraints on you where you don’t go about screaming and bawling the odds and gesticulating like an idiot all over the place. It’s quite challenging as well to feel that you’ve got to get a certain emotion across but in a more subtle way than giving it full welly.”

Brendan Coyle: “And it was a different time in the way people expressed themselves and communicated. Now we’re all encouraged to say what we thing and what we feel, to express ourselves. People not so much then, especially amongst the lower classes. I think that restraint is part of the appeal of the show, the way people communicate. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t convey high emotion, which I think we’ve seen in the Christmas special. The stakes are very, very high for all sorts of characters.”

Brian Percival (Director): “I think it’s also more interesting for an audience as well because it allows them to work a little bit harder. Not everything’s there. It invites you to think a little bit more about the characters and the stories. What they’re about. I think that is part of its appeal because it allows you to sit there as a viewer and form our own opinion. It’s not all given to us. And so in that way, hopefully, the audience feels more involved.”

Q: How important is it for you to beat EastEnders in the ratings on Christmas Day?

Brian Percival: “It’s not at all, really. We just set out to make the best show we can and something that we’re all proud of. I started off right at the very beginning with Downton, the very first episode with Liz, and we didn’t anticipate any of the success that it would have. We just wanted to make something that we were proud of and that we all felt involved in and that we all worked together, as a team, to achieve that goal. We don’t set out to beat anybody. I think if you make television to do that then it’s the kiss of death.”

Brendan Coyle: “As a viewer, if you want to watch just one or the other or both, you will, regardless of how they’re scheduled.”

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary

Q: Dan – how are you coping with all the female attention you must be getting and how is your wife taking it?

“Well, the female attention I have to struggle hardest with is my two-year-old daughter. She’s just entered the terrible twos. So that’s my biggest challenge at the moment.”

*******************************************************************************

The shooting party lunch.

Second Q&A:

Q: What are your hopes for your characters in the third series?

Sophie McShera (Daisy): “My basic hope for Daisy is a new dress. That’s about it. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Lesley Nicol (Mrs Patmore): “I want a bloke. I think it would be nice to see her in love.”

Rob James-Collier (Thomas): “Whatever comes along. We’ll see what happens. A valet would be nice because he’s been banging on about it for two series. So it would be nice to be a valet. We’ll see.”

Siobhan Finneran (O’Brien): “Mine’s similar to Sophie’s. I’m quite hoping she discovers false eyelashes and a bit of red lippy. And a new hairdo, a new frock. And a new outlook on life. I want a broomstick to fly above the turrets of Downton on…” (laughter)

Samantha Bond as Lady Rosamund.

Q: Rob – you were quite nervous about approaching Dame Maggie Smith for a dance?

Rob James-Collier: “Well wouldn’t you be? On the day I was really nervous. That coupled with the fact that I can’t actually dance. Unless it’s break-dancing. But frankly we’ve got a great director in Brian Percival who allays your fears and you’ve just got to jump in there. Maggie was cool, she had a laugh. I stood on her toe and got the death ray glare. But I got through it. But it was extremely nerve-wracking. I pitched the lift from Dirty Dancing, where she jumps, but she wasn’t happy with that. I don’t think she was convinced I had the upper body strength.” (smiles)

Q: More evil Thomas?

Rob James-Collier: “Whatever comes. I’m just happy to be working. I don’t think of it like that. I just wait until I get the script and then see what’s there and then work with that.”

Sharon Small as Marigold Shore.

Q: Period drama costumes?

Siobhan Finneran: “Well the girls upstairs wear amazing costumes. We’re usually neck to floor in black. There’s a lot of costume envy goes on. But you’re not constantly having to get changed throughout the day, so that’s a bonus. And they’re comfortable.”

Q: (I asked this one) Is there scope for another Christmas special next year or do you think this is very much a one-off idea?

Liz Trubridge: “We are doing an episode to go out at Christmas. I wouldn’t necessarily say it will be set at Christmas next year but it will go out.”

Q: What is about Downton Abbey that makes it such a good show for Christmas?

Brian Percival: “There’s a character in there for everyone, I guess. To begin with when we started there was such a diversity of characters that for most of the viewing public, they would identify more with one or two characters than they would the others. Hopefully, the idea was, that then through looking out for or rooting for their favourite character they would become involved in the other storylines and the other characters and they might be drawn eventually to characters who they might not initially spark from. It got a broad appeal initially because literally there was somebody in there that everybody either liked or liked to hate. And the mixture of comedy, drama and pathos. I think there’s moments in there emotionally that we’ve all come into contact with in one way or another and has left a mark on us. I think it gives the audience an opportunity to explore or to re-visit things in their own lives where they’ve felt similar emotions.”

Q: Rob – are your recognise now more from Downton than Coronation Street?

Rob James-Collier: “It’s not a different fan base because Downton has got something for everyone so it spreads right across the whole audience. So people who watch soaps will watch it but people who watch gritty drama will watch it. It’s got that crossover. I don’t pay attention to what I get recognised for. I just act. If you start paying attention to that you would just go insane.”

Iain Glen as Sir Richard, Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary and Dan Stevens as Matthew.

Q: Could Downton eventually reach the 1950s or 60s?

Siobhan Finneran: “None of us lot would be in it. We’d all be dead.”

Rob James-Collier: “I think it would be crazy if it did.”

Liz Trubridge: “I can’t see it myself, to be honest. It would just become something else.”

Rob James-Collier: “But I would love to see Carson in the midst of Beatlemania. That would be a nice storyline.” (laughter)

Q: Would any of you ever suggest something for your character to Julian Fellowes?

Lesley Nicol: “I did say to him. Because my agent said, ‘People keep saying to me, why doesn’t Mrs Patmore have a love interest?’ And it’s a bit insane because she looks like the back end of a bus, to be fair. But on the other hand people say to me, ‘Well, actually, that would be an interesting diversion.’ So I did say to Julian, ‘I know it sounds crackers, but that’s what’s happening.’ And he said, ‘Never say never.’”

Liz Trubridge: “He’s actually pretty open to people’s suggestions. He really is.”

Q: Have you had any reactions from abroad?

Siobhan Finneran: “My cousin’s kids think I can speak fluent Spanish. So I’m delighted with that. Because they sat in Madrid and watched it. She called me and said, ‘You’re going to get a shock at Christmas when they come over because they’re going to expect you to speak in Spanish.’ I’d quite like to see it dubbed.”

Rob James-Collier: “Apparently the Spanish guy, whoever it is, who does the voiceover has got an infinitely sexier and deeper voice than mine.”

Siobhan Finneran: “And the man who does mine…” (laughter)

Rob James-Collier: “So if I ever go to Spain, they’re going to be disappointed.”

Q: Rob and Siobhan – reaction from fans?

Rob James-Collier: “For me, it’s almost pantomime-esque. It’s all playful banter. I’ll go into a Post Office and get booed and stuff like that. I’ll get a bit of stick from a guy with a load of kids in a coffee shop. But then at the other end of the spectrum he’ll pay for my Latte or Cappuccino or something. So swings and roundabouts.”

Siobhan Finneran: “Usually the reaction is, ‘Oh my God, you’re not as fat and you’re not as ugly.’ That’s my usual reaction. And then the next one is, ‘Could she be nastier?’ Because they really like her being nasty. ‘Are you going to be nasty and what are you going to do next?’ That’s it really.”

Rob James-Collier: “I’ve found that if a softer side to the character inches in, people are offended by that. They don’t like you being soft. So I get stick for going soft.”

Charades

Q: Where is the weirdest place that you’ve been recognised from Downton and the oddest request from a fan?

Lesley Nicol: “Just last night at the (cast) showing, a very drunk man came up to me and he went, ‘Oh my God, you look 30 or 40 years younger than you really are.’ Which makes me 10.”

Sophie McShera: “I don’t really get recognised that much.”

Siobhan Finneran: “I had somebody come up to me and say, ‘Oh, could I just have a word. I need to just say to you – television does nothing for you.’ I had to just take that as a compliment.”

Strictly Come Downton Abbey

ITV Downton Abbey Site

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Eddie Izzard as Anthony and Larry Mills as Goose.

A terrified six-year-old girl called Milly stands shaking in her pyjamas in the middle of a frozen canal.

As a fireman makes a desperate attempt to save her from the cracking ice.

It’s a heart-stopping, shocking and haunting scene in Lost Christmas, to be screened on BBC1 this Sunday (Dec 18).

A sometimes bleak 90-minute film that defies the sentiment of so many festive tales and shows a family audience that bad things can happen.

That mums and dads and children die.

But also that there may be second chances for those who have lost and are left behind.

Many audience members were in tears as the end credits rolled after the film’s premiere at the British Film Institute in London yesterday.

Agreeing that this was a marvellous story destined to be told for years to come.

Larry Mills plays a boy known as Goose with Eddie Izzard as Anthony, a man with no memory of who he really is.

Standing in a frosty Manchester cemetery, Anthony tells Goose: “Sometimes you have to go towards the things that make you want to run away.”

Lost Christmas is one of CBBC’s most expensive productions to date – a co-commission with BBC1 – and may surprise some viewers.

Sue Nott, executive producer for CBBC, told a post-screening Q&A:

“It’s pushing the boundaries.

“But there’s something about Christmas with Scrooge, with Dickens, with Oliver Twist – the kind of stories that people accept and expect at Christmas.

“Yes, it is quite a hard one for us. But it was very much designed with a family audience in mind. Our hope is that people will watch it as a family and enjoy it as a family.”

The drama broadcasts on BBC1 between 5:30pm and 7pm on Sunday and will be shown on CBBC at the same time on Christmas Eve, with some edits for language and content.

Director John Hay co-wrote the screenplay with David Logan.

John told how Lost Christmas was inspired by classic festive films and songs, including Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl.

“This is a sort of Fairytale of New Manchester,” he explained.

There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble director John usually auditions thousands of child actors before he makes a choice.

But he was so impressed with Larry, now aged 11, that he saw no-one else for this project.

Even more remarkable considering this is Larry’s first major film role.

Lost Christmas begins “Last Christmas Eve” when we meet Goose and his family.

Before too long we also encounter Anthony, lying flat on his back on inner city cobbles.

“Everybody’s lost something,” he says.

Including Frank (Jason Flemyng), estranged from his wife and daughter and seeking solace in booze and petty crime.

And Geoffrey Palmer’s Dr Clarence, whose once tidy home is now overflowing with books.

Those familiar with Manchester and Salford will recognise many of the striking locations.

Including a spot of fire juggling by Eddie outside Manchester Cathedral.

While some may be moved to subsequently read The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde, which also features in this rather wonderful film.

As well as Lost Christmas – the novel by David Logan.

It’s a TV drama not to be missed, also including the likes of Sorcha Cusack, Christine Bottomley, Steven Mackintosh, Connie Hyde, Brett Fancy, Adlyn Ross, Chloe Newsome, Jessie Clayton and Jason Watkins.

Not forgetting young Libbi Rubens as Milly.

Or some magical original music from Debbie Wiseman.

My transcript of the BFI Q&A is below for those who want to read more.

Edited to remove any potential spoilers.

******************************************************************************

All eyes on Larry. L-R: Writer David Logan, executive producers Connal Orton and Sue Nott, chair Justin Johnson, Eddie Izzard (Anthony), director John Hay and Larry Mills (Goose).

Q: This felt really cinematic like a proper film?

John Hay: “We wanted it to have a cinematic feel. Graham Frake, who is the director of photography, he just did the most amazing job. It really does look stunning. It was a great crew who brought that cinematic look to it. It wasn’t just me. It was obviously about the way it’s staged and the way you present the story. It’s quite cinematic. There was obviously a series of decisions to make…I think a lot of people have got big screen TVs and sound and that cinematic sensibility transfers much better than it did, even five years ago.”

Q: Also plans for a theatrical release?

John Hay: “That’s right. That is the theatrical version you’ve been watching with proper sound for the cinemas.”

Q: And this is the first public audience to see it?

John Hay: “It is, yeah. It’s fantastic.”

Q: How did you feel sitting out there and getting their reactions?

John Hay: “I didn’t realise it was quite so funny, actually. I’ve been watching it so many times. It was just amazing. I was worried about moving from comedy and then going straight into the drama and the emotion of it. But it transferred very well. I was really, really pleased. You guys seemed to like it, I guess.”

Eddie Izzard as Anthony

Q: References to other films and stories?

Sue Nott spoke about reading the first draft of the script:

“Obviously we’d been talking about references of Scrooge and that was all there, and A Christmas Carol and second chances and redemption. I said, ‘It reminds me of one of my favourite Oscar Wilde stories, the story of The Happy Prince.’ It’s a story about a prince who dies and they make a statue of him. And as a statue he’s looking down on the town and he realises that all the people in his town are really poor and he’s really sad that he never realised that when he was alive.

“And then a swallow comes. And the swallow is just about to go and migrate because it’s coming to winter and the prince says, ‘Please take some of these jewels and all this gold that’s on me and take it to help the poor people.’ So the swallow keeps taking more gold and more jewels from the statue until the statue is left completely bare and ugly. And the swallow sacrifices himself because he leaves it too late to migrate.

“The whole story reminded me of that beautiful sense of sacrifice and second chances. Of doing something noble and good for somebody else and being given a second chance.”

Connal Orton said basic ideas for the drama had been discussed for several years until they decided to really go for it: “We then took it to the BBC and it actually happened remarkably quickly from that point.”

John Hay: “It always comes down to those very human losses.”

Jason Flemyng as Frank.

Q: By CBBC – and BBC – standards, it’s an expensive production. Was that a big decision to make in terms of the money?

Sue Nott: “Yes it is a big production for us. We wanted to do a Christmas special and it was a co-commission between CBBC and BBC1. So it will go out first of all next Sunday evening at 5:30 on BBC…and then it will go out on CBBC om Christmas Eve at 5:30pm. So that way, hopefully, the widest possible audience will get to see it. And we hope that everybody from the youngest to the oldest will watch it together.”

Eddie Izzard: “I think it’s actually timeless. I don’t see it as a kids’ thing, I see it as a family film. I think you’ve got to be a teenager really to grab hold of where we’re going with some of the loss.”

David Logan explained how the novel came about: “The screenplay came first and then someone said that it would be a good idea to have a novel too. I jumped at the chance because I wanted to write a novel. John and I had written 17 drafts of the script. So when I came to write the novel we knew the story. There’s lots of little differences.”

Larry Mills as Goose.

Q: Larry – anybody watching the production would assume that you’ve got quite a lot of credits under your belt and that you’ve done a lot of TV and film. But that’s not the case, is it?

Larry Mills: “No, it’s my first film, actually. It was a great experience and weird seeing it up on a big screen.”

Q: How did you prepare? Was it a very scary experience coming on set for the first time and having the cameras point at you?

Larry Mills: “I don’t think so. It didn’t seem to scare me. The whole prospect of this whole thing never really scared me in any sort of way. I was just very excited. Of course I’d never done anything like this before. The whole time I was there it was just brilliant and I loved shooting it and it’s a great film.”

John Hay: “I saw you (Larry) in a little rehearsal room just outside Soho, didn’t I? And your dad was waiting outside. I said, ‘Oh, I’m just going to workshop him for a little while.’ And about two-and-a-half hours later his dad said, ‘Oh I thought he was only going to be 10 minutes.’ So he had to cancel about three appointments. And he’s done such a brilliant job.”

Eddie Izzard to Larry: “This is a great start for you. You’ve got to keep up this standard now, which is going to be fun.”

Geoffrey Palmer as Dr Clarence.

Q: For a child role people normally audition thousands?

John Hay: “I saw about 3000 people for Jimmy Grimble but actually I saw one for this. One person. Actually Larry was up for something called Horrid Henry. And my casting director Suzanne Smith, who is just absolutely amazing and I’ve worked with for years, she rang me one day and said, ‘I’ve just done these auditions. There’s this kid you want. He’s absolutely fantastic. You’ve got to get him. But I think they might want him too.’

“So she said that to me and I thought, ‘Oh great.’ Then I waited until they’d cast Horrid Henry and then I realised that they didn’t want anyone who had no experience. I’ve always used kids who have no experience from Thomas Sangster onwards, like Lewis McKenzie in Jimmy Grimble. I just love someobdy who is completely untrained because it just brings a freshness of approach. So I saw him. But I obviously had to pretend that I was seeing other people!

“I turned round to Suzanne at the end and I said, ‘No, I don’t want to see anyone else. He’s brilliant.’ And that was it. The first time ever in my life. I do normally see thousands of people.”

Q: Eddie – the first family film you’ve actually been in?

Eddie Izzard: “Yes. I see this as a film. It’s like if you look at Harry Potter. You could think it’s for kids but then it’s really for adults but kids can get into it – kids are going to miss some themes of loss because you just can’t really experience it.

“But Larry and his family and me and my family have both gone through family loss. So that was a curious thing. I didn’t know how to broach that and get into it. I don’t know if we needed to. But it’s just in there. So this is the first time, yeah. But I consider it a dramatic film and I was just trying to touch the reality.

“And there’s almost no comedy in it, which I love. There’s one joke that I made up…I’ve waited eight months to see whether that would get a laugh.”

Anthony, Goose and Frank.

Q: There are a few bits and pieces in there that make it perhaps not the normal CBBC commission – there’s a little bit of language and it is quite a bleak story. Was there any concern at CBBC about some of the content?

Sue Nott: “I think it’s pushing the boundaries. But there’s something about Christmas with Scrooge, with Dickens, with Oliver Twist. Those kind of stories are the kind of stories that I think people accept and expect at Christmas. Yes, it is quite a hard one for us. But it was very much designed with a family audience in mind. It was a co-commission between CBBC and BBC1. So our hope is that people will watch it as a family and enjoy it as a family.”

Justin then threw questions open to the audience:

Q: I asked John and Eddie about the experience of filming in Manchester and some of those striking locations.

Eddie Izzard: “It’s great. I’ve played Manchester many times. I went to college in Sheffield. I grew up in the south and also other weird places. But I have an affinity with being anywhere in the UK, having also run through it. It’s great. Some of the locations…that main thing around the canal…loads of different locations in a very small area and some were off in Bolton as well. I loved it. Some of it is very run down. Some of it is a little bit scary. Some of it could be beautiful. I remember looking at the canal and it actually looks beautiful in its knackerdness. It was great to do that and it was freezing and it was doing it on a wing and a prayer but I loved it.”

John Hay: “I shot a film there called Jimmy Grimble. And what I love about Manchester, it’s got a scale to it. It’s got a real cinematic scale and I just really wanted to go back there. Because when you’ve got a small kid and big, big buildings. I don’t know if people know the story of Manchester. It was all mill owners who thought they were so much more important than everyone in London and they just wanted to build everything bigger. So they built huge hotels and huge buildings in the main streets. They’re almost like New York scale. That was what I wanted, like these aquaducts and things like that and viaducts. That was what I really wanted to put on film. There was that mix of old and new as well. We see Manchester as a city on the cusp, really.”

Q: Eddie – did you have a clear idea of how to play such an elusive character? Not knowing who he was? Hard to grasp?

Eddie Izzard: “I made some quick decisions. I didn’t overly think it. It was two weeks after doing Treasure Island. (Sky1 Jan 1) So I came off the island on one leg playing Long John Silver and I was in Manchester. And so I didn’t actually have time to be elaborate. I think this has been a problem with me before, is trying to be too elaborate. Or trying to over-theorise ideas. I actually just let it flow through me. John was giving me very positive reactions straight off. I thought he was just being encouraging. But it actually started bedding in and sitting in a way that I really liked. I was just getting reactions back from people who I was working with there who were just thinking that this was working. And I was feeling like it was flowing out of me. It just sort of happened this role.”

John Hay: “If I’d directed this 20 years ago I would have said, ‘Do this, move that, try that.’ But I think that what you get with experience is the ability sometimes to see that certain actors need space. And as soon as Eddie came into rehearsals I just realised that if I gave him space to do it, he could do that. He could just bring something really special to the role. And that’s what I did. I did give Eddie a tremendous amount of space and really the way you see it on screen is the way he shaped it. It wasn’t in many ways the way I think Dave and I thought about him in the film. But he just brought a magic to it. He builds this relationship.”

Eddie Izzard: “I realised he (Anthony) had no fear. Because he had no memory he didn’t know the consequences of those kids who were tagging (an early encounter in the film) – he has no fear. So he walks without fear and without memory and that’s interesting because you have this ethereal quality.

“I fought against the amount of consciousness he has. Like when he’s talking to the doctor, Geoffrey Palmer, and he’s saying, ‘I don’t know what’s happening to me.’ But he needed to be able to say words. He needed to know where he was. I just didn’t want him ever…I wanted fear to be out so that he could just walk in a very strange plane. And that’s what I want for him.”

Lost Christmas BBC Site

CBBC

Lost Christmas: The Novel

Eddie Izzard Official Site

David Logan Official Site

The Happy Prince

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Maria Doyle Kennedy as Muriel Batley and Toby Jones as John Batley.

HERE are the first official photos of ITV1′s Titanic, one of the television drama events of 2012.

To be screened in the UK and around the world – including ABC Network in America – in the spring.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the liner in April 1912.

Dec 24 2011 update. The first trailer has just been released:

David Calder as Captain Smith.

Regular readers will know that I spent a week on set in Budapest back in July.

Interviewing 16 members of cast and six other Titanic figures, including writer Julian Fellowes who was also visiting the incredible Hungarian film set at the time.

Later catching up with producer Nigel Stafford-Clark and director Jon Jones in London.

Producing a grand interview transcript total of 85,000 words.

You can read more about that at Titanic Set Visit.

Perdita Weeks as Georgiana and Noah Reid as Harry Widener.

ITV1 will broadcast Titanic in four parts.

The TV drama tells a much wider story than James Cameron’s 1997 movie and sees the ship hitting the iceberg near the end of each of the first three episodes.

Then returning in the next episode to a fresh starting point and another perspective on the story.

Before we discover the fate of all of the characters in the fourth and concluding hour.

Perdita Weeks as Georgiana, Linus Roache as Hugh, Earl of Manton and Geraldine Somerville as Louisa, Countess of Manton.

Antonio Magro as Mario Sandrini

Steven Waddington as Charles Lightholler

Noah Reid as Harry Widener and Perdita Weeks as Georgiana

Titanic Set Visit

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Dan Stevens as Matthew and Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary.

STRICTLY Come Downton is set to waltz off with the Christmas Day TV ratings glitterball.

Downton Abbey stars will be tripping the light fantastic in their feature length ITV1 special which includes upstairs dancing with downstairs at the New Year servants’ ball.

Phyllis Logan as Mrs Hughes and Hugh Bonneville as Lord Grantham.

Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham) was paired with Phyllis Logan, who plays housekeeper Mrs Hughes.

“We had an off screen dancing competition and it was clear from the outset we would win Strictly Come Downton,” revealed Hugh.

Phyllis added: “We had to learn the waltz which I thought would be quite simple – but we were knackered at the end of it. Lots of kicking shins and bruised toes.”

Rob James-Collier as Thomas.

Former Coronation Street star Rob James-Collier, who plays Downton bad boy footman Thomas, dances with the Dowager Countess.

“I had to take the legend that is Dame Maggie Smith for a spin on the floor! I was so nervous and managed to stand on the Dame’s toe,” he said.

“But we had a laugh and she was so great with me. I think she humoured me and my two left feet.”

Rob James-Collier as Thomas and Maggie Smith as Violet.

The cast had dancing lessons before filming which left Lesley Nicol – cook Mrs Patmore – injured on the sidelines.

Explained Lesley: “Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley) kicked me in the leg, not on purpose, but it put me out with an ice pack for a good 10 minutes.

“I imagined it would be like dancing with Prince Charming for her. He would have been the most handsome piece of eye candy you could possibly dance with, so I rather did enjoy it.”

But poor kitchenmaid Daisy, played by Sophie McShera, missed out on her big moment despite learning to dance with the rest of the cast.

“They were hilarious – we were proper limbering up and wanted to wear leg warmers and everything. We were all being very silly,” she said.

“I was promised a little dance with Matthew Crawley – I was so made up. We rehearsed and then I didn’t even get to do any dancing. I watched it longingly, learned all the steps.

“I was so excited, then nothing. Devastated I was.”

Elizabeth McGovern as Cora and Jim Carter as Carson.

Michelle Dockery, who stars as Lady Mary, was also left without a partner at one stage so formed her own judges’ panel.

“I was sat with Maggie watching the others and between takes Maggie and I were shouting numbers, almost like in Strictly Come Dancing, giving them scores,” she recalled.

“We had a real laugh watching everyone.”

And head judge Lord Grantham’s final verdict?

“Rob James-Collier and Maggie Smith were a sight to behold. It was a joy – poetry in motion.”

The Downton Abbey special is set at Christmas 1919 and leads into the New Year of 1920, with a third series to be screened next year.

*Downton Abbey is screened on ITV1 between 9pm and 11pm on Christmas Day and will be up against BBC1’s EastEnders (9pm to 10pm) and Absolutely Fabulous (10pm – 10:30pm).

*Strictly Come Dancing’s Christmas Day Special – recorded earlier this week – is on BBC1 between 8pm and 9pm.

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