Series 1 Press Pack
John Simm is transported back to the Seventies in Life on Mars, an action-packed, exciting and witty new drama for BBC ONE from the makers of Spooks and Hustle...
John Simm (State of Play), one of the UK's leading actors, stars in Life on Mars, an innovative, witty and action packed drama from Kudos Film and Television, the team behind hit drama Hustle and the award-winning Spooks. Simm plays Sam Tyler, a driven and ambitious young detective who is determined to keep the streets of 21st Century Manchester safe.
However, the hunt for a serial killer becomes a personal vendetta when Sam suspects his girlfriend and colleague Maya (Archie Panjabi, Yasmin) has been kidnapped by the very man he's tracking down. But after a near fatal car accident Sam wakes up, dazed and confused, in 1973, struggling to understand what's real. Has he gone back in time? Is he in a coma? Or has he simply gone insane?
What follows is Sam's 21st century account of Seventies life feeling like a fish out of water. He must come to terms with an unfamiliar environment and an archaic CID unit where, using his modern know-how, he is integral to the unit's investigation process as he learns how to adapt to their old-fashioned technologies and etiquettes.
Throughout the eight-part series, Sam works on some of the hardest cases he has ever been involved with, not least because he's faced with a world where witnesses are regularly intimidated, it takes two weeks to process forensics and his colleagues will nail their suspect whether they have the evidence or not.
Sam's new boss is hard-nosed DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister, Vincent), who gets results by trusting his gut instinct and, all too often, sheer brute force. The rest of his team have similar attitudes towards their work. DS Ray Carling (Dean Andrews, Between the Sheets) is untrusting of his new colleague and suspicious of his 'new-fangled' ideas, and DC Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster, Clocking Off) is cheeky but affable and keen to learn.
The only member of the team who has a less unruly and bigoted attitude is WPC Annie Cartright (Liz White, A Thing Called Love). She is an educated and open-minded woman who helps Sam in his quest to find the truth about his new circumstances, as well as battling to lock up the criminals of Seventies Manchester.
In episode one it becomes clear to Sam that the killer who is holding Maya in 2005 started his killing spree here and now in the early Seventies. Could catching the perpetrator be the key to Sam's return to the future?
Jane Featherstone, Joint Managing Director at Kudos Film and Television, and executive producer of Life on Mars,says: "Life on Mars is a fantastic idea which takes the cop show genre and gives it a unique, humorous and irresistible twist. "By taking a character of our time and throwing him headfirst into our recent past, it gives us a chance to explore what makes us who we are today."
John Yorke, Controller of Continuing Drama Series and Head of Independent Drama at the BBC, explains: "The beauty of Life on Mars is that each week it concentrates on catching criminals through two completely opposing styles of policing. We put a modern DI bang in the world of the old school copper and so explore two totally foreign worlds. Sam is both repelled and fascinated by this prehistoric world, and the drama lies in how he tries to accommodate himself to life on a completely different planet."
Julie Gardner, BBC Wales Head of Drama, says: "We are delighted to have collaborated with Kudos on such an exciting and bold project as Life on Mars. "And, to have such a talented cast can only highlight the quality of the writing and the production."
Life On Mars is created and written by Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah who all collaborated on BBC ONE hit drama Hustle, with additional writing credits for Chris Chibnall (All About George). Directors are Bharat Nalluri (Spooks, Hustle), John McKay (Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale), John Alexander (Cutting It) and SJ Clarkson (Footballers Wives) and it is produced by newcomer, Claire Parker. The executive producers are Jane Featherstone (Spooks, Hustle) and Matthew Graham.
The project has been commissioned through BBC Wales by Julie Gardner (BBC Wales Head of Drama) and John Yorke (Controller of Continuing Drama Series and Head of Independent Drama at BBC).
A sign of the times: How the Seventies were brought back to life
"I had an accident and when I woke up, I was here. Only here is 32 years in the past. Now, that either makes me a time-traveller, a lunatic or I'm lying in a hospital bed in 2005 and none of this is real."
The initial idea for Life on Mars came from a writers weekend set up by Kudos seven years ago, to come up with an idea for a big new series. Or, rather, Kudos sent Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharaoh to Blackpool for the weekend, armed with only a brown paper bag full of cash...
"There is still photo evidence from their brainstorming (or should that be drinking) session," laughs Claire Parker, producer of Life on Mars. "They had a flip chart with the words '70s Cop – Ford Granada' scrawled on it."
Writer and creator Matthew Graham explains: "None of us fancied littering the airwaves with yet more cop shows, and yet we knew that's what people love watching. "So, we came up with a police show that we would want to watch: a cop falls back in time and tries to solve crimes in the midst of The Sweeney."
Three years ago, Parker, who was then the head of development for Kudos, together with Matthew Graham and Jane Featherstone, joint MD of Kudos, developed the idea for the series featuring a 'Seventies Cop' which eventually turned into Life on Mars. Featherstone explains: "When Matthew, Tony and Ashley originally came up with the idea it was a little ahead of its time, but we knew we would resurrect it at some point in the future because it is such a brilliant idea for a TV drama."
Parker continues: "We loved the premise: an action-packed police series set in 1973, but with a unique twist – our hero is a man from the present day who wakes up after a car accident with no idea why or how he has arrived in this alien world. "The 1970s setting is perfect for fast car chases, great music, classic clothes and juicy stories. But the show is also about the intense journey of a man thrown back into the recent past. Sam Tyler is like a fish out of water, in an alien world that has no relevance to his life in 2005. However, when it came to the storytelling, we needed to make sure it was designed to appeal to a contemporary audience – stories that are fast-paced, multi-layered and have strong moral or emotional dilemmas at the heart of them. There is something very compelling about the possibility of going back in time and visiting your recent past – time travel is an ever popular subject in both TV and film. The twist in Life on Mars is that the audience is teased with the question of what has happened to Sam – has he gone back in time? Is he in a coma? Or is he mad? And most importantly: how can he get home?"
The Seventies was a time of change and no more so than in the police force as they introduced moves to improve media relations and 'openness' within the institution. It was also the start of a push to recruit and integrate female officers within the force, although the attitudes of most of their male colleagues and their criminal catching techniques were positively archaic. Featherstone explains: "Sam believes that his knowledge of the future gives him a superiority and a more evolved sense of policing, but it puts him at odds with his Seventies colleagues straight from the off. He is repulsed by their attitudes to crime-solving; they are racist, sexist, conduct searches without warrants and think fitting someone up is OK as long as they deserve it."
Parker concurs: "It initially seems obvious to Sam that his methods are far more sophisticated than his colleagues. But he quickly comes to realise that he is unable to rely on all the crutches of 21st century technology, so is forced to fall back on his gut instincts. Without modern day red tape, accountability and procedure, Sam starts to wonder whether he has just as much to learn from his 1970s colleagues as they do from him, even though they are arrogant, sexist, insensitive, brutal, lazy, boozy, impatient and corrupt, and that's just DCI Gene Hunt!"
Life on Mars will remind viewers of life in the decade that taste forgot, but it is not a trip down memory lane to get nostalgic or reminisce about the good old days; it reflects life as it really was: an era of social and civil change. There was considerable industrial unrest, unemployment was on the increase, especially in the North West as the textile and mass manufacturing industries were reaching crisis point and the unions were becoming ever more vocal and militant.
Although 1973 was the year of Suzi Quatro, Ringos, the Raleigh Chopper, The Wombles and The Excorcist, it was also the year that Prime Minister Edward Heath announced the three day week, and measures to curb general speed limits to 50 mph and ending TV programming at 10.30pm were introduced in an effort to reduce fuel consumption after the Yom Kippur war in the Middle East. In the United States, the Vietnam war finally came to an end, only to give way to the scandal and intrigue of Watergate. "Our ethos for the series was not to fall into the trap of over-playing the nostalgic elements – we don't get misty eyed about what life was like back then," continues Parker. "The series both draws on and challenges the idea of nostalgia. Were things really better in the past? We wanted the series to reflect the good and bad of the era and for the audience to experience everything through Sam's eyes, as he himself is experiencing it. However, I'm sure it will trigger people's memories of the time and enlighten those who are too young to remember Open University, Party Sevens, and the fact there were only three TV channels which actually closed down overnight!"
The show, in part, is influenced by the cool, action-packed, buddy, cop shows of the Seventies – The Professionals, Starsky & Hutch, The Sweeney – and great films of the period too, such as All the President's Men and Get Carter. "We looked at Seventies film and TV, from The Sweeney to Taxi Driver, for visual and period reference,” explains Parker. Matthew Graham agrees: "I was very keen that Life on Mars wasn't all about taking the p**s out of Seventies fashion; I didn't want it to look naff and corny. It had to trigger memories and be funny but it also had to be cool." Featherstone explains: "When developing a series like this, it's critical that not only does your director share your vision but can enhance it in ways you can only dream about. I had collaborated with Bharat on Spooks and Hustle and to our mind he was the best person to take what was Matthew's vision and turn it into a reality."
The casting of a new drama series is just as crucial as the script and the writer's and director's vision. Graham explains: "In this show more than any other I've done, the stories spring out of character. "Sam and Gene are such rich creations to draw upon that you naturally think of stories that will pit them against each other; how they deal with women, trade unions, career criminals. Then it's just a matter of moulding the story to maximise these differences and prejudices and bring Gene and Sam to the same realisation - that they must put aside their squabbles and work together to find the real culprit. Funnily enough I had always written Sam with John Simm in mind, although I never dreamed I'd get him.
"Gene was harder to picture but when they sent me casting tapes for Phil Glenister I jumped right out of the armchair shouting 'That's him! That's Gene Hunt!' Phil can simmer like no other person on this Earth... And he's got a right set of lungs on him!"
John Simm plays DI Sam Tyler
What is Sam like?
"When you first see him, in 2006, he isn't particularly likeable; he's quite pedantic and anal, and he doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humour. So when he wakes up in the Seventies it's quite a shock to him. For Sam it's an absolute nightmare – it's like some crazy mad dream he's having and he just can't wake up. That's a really frightening thought for anyone; to be trapped in a completely alien world. So he's a bit all over the place, as you would be. It really makes you think 'What if?'"
Sam doesn't get off to a great start with his new boss, Gene. They develop a love/hate relationship although they do have a begrudging respect for each other’s methods... How does he get on with the rest of the team?
"They rub off on each other I think. They learn to work together even though they are completely different. Gene's the boss and they have all learnt from him but Sam's methods influence the rest of CID especially Chris. Sam can't stand Ray but he likes Chris and he tries his best to teach him stuff but even Chris thinks he's a little odd. He says 'I don't underestimate you boss, I just don't understand you' and it's as simple as that. I think they probably all feel like that. Sam has the knowledge of how things are going to turn out and he knows about things like multi-tasking and taping interviews and they do it and they take it on board. His knowledge of the future is his only weapon and the only thing he can work with. And it's quite hard for Gene to take on board because he just thinks Sam's a nutter! But Sam learns from Gene too - a little humanity and using his gut instinct. It's a perfect 'buddy-buddy' cop thing but with a really weird twist to it."
Did you enjoy working with Philip? You have quite a lot of punch ups with him...
"I loved those funny fights and there's always a stakeout or a chase or something, and I love those. In episode seven, Sam, Gene and Ray are doing a stakeout at the technical college, looking for the drug dealer, and when they need to give chase they can't get out the car because the doors get stuck. That slapstick side of things just smacks of 1970s TV and I love that about it."
You are known as a serious actor, with a great CV including State of Play, Sex Traffic and Crime and Punishment, so people probably don't remember you doing comedy on TV although one of your first shows was Men of the World. Do you enjoy the comedy in Life on Mars?
"I enjoyed Men of the World. I do like doing comedy, I was in Spaced and I did a sketch thing with Steve Coogan once, and I've worked with Ricky Gervais. I had worked with Philip a couple of times before on State of Play and Clocking Off which helped a lot. We just clicked, it was immediate and I was really glad when he got the part. I was so happy. I love that partnership that develops between Gene and Sam, it's fantastic and I think Philip is absolutely fantastic."
How did you approach playing Sam? Did you know if he was he in a coma, completely mad or were you playing it as if he really had gone back in time?
"I had to think along the lines of: if it happened to me, what would I do? Sam doesn't know what has happened but Annie's friend, Neil, tells him he's in a coma and so he believes him but Neil is just winding him up. However, he hears noises, he hears his mum's voice and doctor's voices, machines beeping so he really believes that he's asleep and he can't wake up. But, if he has travelled back in time, he could be in a Back to the Future situation where his actions could have serious repercussions on the future. In episode one he is faced with a dilemma where he has the power to change things and he has to seriously think about what he does because it could affect whether his girlfriend in 2006 lives or dies."
He has an interesting relationship with Annie...
"She likes him because he is weird and different and he helps her out and talks to her like a human being instead of slapping her arse when she walks past. You can kind of see why she's attracted to that when this weird stranger walks into her life pretending to be from the future and she thinks 'he's a nutter but he's actually really nice to me'. Sam flirts with her a little bit. He keeps putting his foot in it; I don't think he's trying to get off with her or anything like that because he's still thinking about his girlfriend in 2006. At one point he meets his mum and she's beautiful and younger than him and he quite fancies her and she fancies him. She flirts with him and he flirts with her. That's got to mess with his head!"
Sam meets his dad later in the series. Do you think that you being a father yourself affected how you viewed that whole scenario?
"Yeah definitely, because I can think of how I feel about my son – it affects anything to do with kids that I ever do now. I just get an overwhelming feeling and realise it must have been the same for my dad with me and I realise how he must feel about his dad. To get the chance to meet your dad as a young man is a mad thing. Sam is really protective over his dad, he wants to think the best of him even though he left him when he was really young, and he refuses to believe he could be wrong about him. It was very strange calling Lee Ingleby 'dad' though. He's about five years younger than me so it felt ridiculous!"
Did the costumes, sets and props bring back memories of the Seventies for you?
I was born in 1970 so my personal memories of the Seventies are a bit vague. I do remember bits of it very well, 1977 for some reason – I remember a specific t-shirt that I wore, which had a Starsky & Hutch yellow transfer on the front. I remember the Sex Pistols too - I remember seeing punks. I remember Elvis Prestley dying in 1977 really, really vividly. And there were some toys that I had that I remember really well. I had Strika bike rather than a Chopper, it was green and I loved it very much. I loved The Six Million Dollar Man; I'm obsessed with Steve Austin. I bought a DVD of it recently and looking at it now, it's absolutely rubbish, I was heart broken! I loved Starsky and Hutch, The Professionals and I remember Champion the Wonder Horse, Flash Gordon and Zorro. Music holds a lot of memories too, I remember walking into a school hall and hearing Elvis playing, I can see it all now – music does that, brings memories flooding back; music and smells. There was a smell from a passport cover the other day and it was literally BANG! It smelt exactly like a toy that I had as a kid, it was exactly the same. It was great to go back and rediscover that era. For the first month at least I was looking at all the magazines on set and I think I read every single one of them about twice. The pictures of footballers, the big Curly Wurlys, Party Sevens and all that. And the cars as well, the array of cars! Everyone on set wanted the Ford Cortina; it became quite a coveted item. Screeching car chases, fantastic! Unfortunately I didn't get to drive it because it was Gene's car and I didn't have one which is unfair! Hutch from Starsky and Hutch had a car, it was a knackered car but he had a car all the same. Maybe a Capri or something would be nice! With the costumes I figured that if this is all in Sam's head then he's not going to want to look completely ridiculous in a clownish suit! Luckily because Sam's from the future I didn't have to deal with the big moustaches or long hair or anything like that! The suits were outrageously bad so I went for the leather jacket and the Cuban heels which were fantastic. Although it’s hard to chase criminals in Cuban heals I have to say!"
Philip Glenister plays DCI Gene Hunt
What would you say Gene was like?
I would say he was a maverick, the sheriff. In his head, he lives in a western and sees himself as the sheriff at high noon, the way he goes around policing, which is probably quite true to the way it was back then. It's all black and white with Gene, there is no grey area with him. With that style of policing it was much more intuitive and not as scientific as it is nowadays; back then they had to be more instinctive with their approach.
He's not scared of throwing a few punches...
He's dealing with crooks; he doesn't go around punching members of the public! There is a very fine line between the criminal and the copper and I think he sometimes gets very close to crossing that line but he does always ensure he stays on the side of the law.
Did you base him on anyone you knew?
I saw him as a football manager - there is definitely an element of Brian Clough in Gene. There is a very famous clip from the Seventies of Clough being interviewed and he was asked 'what happens when somebody disagrees with you or has a different opinion?' and he said: 'I like to sit there, listen to what they have to say, then half an hour later they realise that I was right'. I thought that was so Gene. He is a cross between a Seventies football manager like Clough, and a current manager, someone with an arrogance, maybe Jose Mourinho. Gene dresses like a football manager - his big camel coat and slip on shoes - and his relationship with Sam is kind of like that of manager and star player - like Ferguson and Beckham - when there can be friction but there is also a lot of respect.
Gene and Sam’s policing methods, although completely different, do seem to complement each other.
Absolutely, there is respect on both sides; a grudging respect from Gene but he realises that he sees a lot of Sam in himself. He sees Sam as both his prodigy but also his nemesis. They make a good team. Sam has the scientific capacity and Gene has the instinctive capacity and if you marry the two, you end up with the best detectives money can buy. I think that's the key to their relationship; meeting in the middle and combining the skills they have; when that works they get spectacular results.
Did you enjoy all the Seventies clothes and the cars?
What was interesting was working out how old Gene was in 1973. He talks about the war and he would have done national service and stuff like that. I loved the Seventies, growing up in that period of time with the music, cars, TV and all that cultural stuff. I was in London, in the suburbs, and we went on holidays to France which was so exciting. Going on the ferry and two weeks seemed like two years because it was so far away. I was very lucky because I grew up near a farm and we would build fantastic tree houses and go-carts. It seems like such an ancient thing now but it was cutting edge then; you used your hands to create. I must sound like a fuddy-duddy but it's all computer games nowadays."
Did you enjoy driving the Cortina?
It was very difficult to handle without power steering; I was rather shocked by it. It was a rust bucket really so when it's not your car you can throw it around a bit. It was great fun, quite a flash motor for the time, although I always wanted Tony Curtis' Ferrari Dino, that was the car, or Roger Moore's DB7.
You filmed a lot of car chases, screeching around the corners – did you do a lot of the stunts?
I did as much as I could. Peter, our stunt co-ordinator, was keen to let me do as much as possible but obviously for insurance purposes it didn't allow for certain things. I was putting my foot down, slamming on the brakes and trying to hit certain marks which meant I had to do several rehearsals to get it right. But I'd hate to get back into my car on the weekends because I'd be driving with my missus and she'd say 'your driving awfully fast dear, can you slow down - you can do it at work but this is Richmond!'
Your father was a director and your brother, Robert, is an actor. Do you think that influenced you in wanting to be an actor?
Not so much when I was younger, I wanted to be a milkman. One of my earliest memories is going up to my milkman and asking what time he finished and thinking that it was such a good job because you'd finish by lunchtime and so got the rest of the day off to play with your toys!
Liz White plays WPC Annie Cartwright
How would you describe Annie?
"She's a very bright girl who studied a degree in psychology and after being a barmaid she felt frustrated and wanted to challenge herself. Like Sam she wants to help people in anyway that she can. She joined the police force but she's stifled by the sexual politics of that time - women were often undermined, underused, ignored, taken for granted - but she fights on through that and is eager to challenge herself in any way that she can without compromising her integrity. She's a got a big heart which I think is the main thing that drives her. She's obviously very taken with Sam - he's the first guy that's come along and shown her any respect and she enjoys that. She deals with the sexism well. She still maintains a balanced personality and fails to get upset by it."
"It's almost like she too has come from the future because she knows that eventually things will change and the sexist men will be proved wrong. When Gene is so sarcastic and rude to her she just lets it go over her head. There are times when she is asked her opinion but when she's the only woman in a CID office of 40 men it's quite terrifying, she knows that they will take the mickey out of her. She just has to make sure she leaves the situation before she says anything that will lose her job. Rightly or wrongly, if she is too outspoken she is much more likely to get sacked than a man in the same position. She's keeping sides and playing a game, more than she's given credit for by Gene or any of the other fellas."
Sam and Annie have a lot of chemistry. Do you think that it is purely platonic or more than just a friendship?
"She gets very tired of his constant talk about how this situation is not real, that they are all figments of his imagination - she can only explain it as psychological trauma from his car crash. She'd like something to change between them because they are not just friends; he does love to flirt with her and there is definitely an attraction between them but then she isn't his lover or girlfriend. Worse than that, he doesn't even really talk about it with her. She gets frustrated with him because their relationship is neither one thing nor the other."
However, whether she'd admit it or not, she does get jealous of Sam sleeping with Joni the go-go dancer in episode four...
"Annie can't believe that he gave it to that girl so easily and, in her eyes, Joni is practically a stripper in a club and she's also a suspect. "So if he was simply mixing work with pleasure then why isn't he doing that with her? I think it is frustrating for her and she can't help but feel jealous."
How did you find ‘going back to the Seventies'?
"It was great! I'd step on set and feel completely transported back to that decade. Years have gone by and yet listening to the music of that time and being in Annie's costume, I just really felt like I was there."
You were not even born in 1973 so what was your perception of the Seventies?
"I knew a bit because my brothers and a few friends were raised in the Seventies and so talked about the music or films from that decade every so often. I know some of the pop culture from that time because it's still around today, ABBA, Glam Rock and Punk for instance."
Dean Andrews plays DS Ray Carling
What is Ray like?
"Ray is an old style copper, works on instinct; works on knowing the ins and outs of the city he's working in and the people that are in it. He doesn't always look at the evidence in front of him; he just goes with his gut instinct. That's the way that he has been brought through the ranks and he's been channelled in to that way of thinking. Basically, Ray is a bull in a china shop. He wades in before thinking. He is a man of his time and is the most un-pc PC. If he was married, his wife would be doing all of the house work whilst he went to the pub with the lads!"
Did you base him on anyone you know?
"Yes me! Not really. I was brought up in that era, in public houses all of my life, so we had lots of characters that came in the pub like that. They would come in the tap room and play darts, dominoes and crib and just think 'our lass is at home making Sunday dinner while I'm sat here enjoying myself' but think nothing further of it. They were very narrow-minded, so I suppose I picked little nuggets up from lots of different people rather than one specific person."
What are your memories of the Seventies?
"The Seventies were both my teenage years and earlier years, we were just getting interested in girls and I suppose those kind of memories stay with you for quite a long time. I wore all of the clothes, lots of brown, and the music of that era was very influential in my life."
How did you find ‘going back to the Seventies'?
"It was fantastic because it really pricked my memory. I can relate the music to certain memories and the clothes; flares, open neck shirts and medallions are all vivid memories for me."
Ray and Sam have a very strained relationship because Ray was the golden boy until Sam came along. Is that where the rivalry comes from?
"Yes. In Ray's eyes, Sam is just some little s**t from Hyde who has been transferred to their department and stars to change everything. "I believe that Ray and Gene are very similar characters and Ray looks up to Gene and follows his lead. The natural progression for Ray is to become DI and that was the next step for him until Sam arrived. Sam walks straight into the job with all these new ideas and has taken Gene away from Ray. Ray feels mortified that he's lost his mate and thinking partner. Whenever new ideas come up they are all pretty resistant to it. They all pooh-pooh any new ideas straight away saying, 'no we've done it this way for years' so Ray thinks that anything Sam comes up with is a bag of s**t. He won't have anything to do with these ideas, even though Gene agrees to some, because he doesn't think it's right. Gene and Ray are men's men but Ray thinks that Sam is some namby pamby weakling. They don't do emotion like Sam, it's all fists and alcohol."
Did you have any funny moments whilst filming?
"One abiding memory is when John had a long technical speech that was really difficult. It was a long, tough speech and Marshall (Lancaster) made a bet with John that he wouldn't be able to manage to get the whole speech done in one take. John went in a corner and really concentrated, we had a couple of rehearsals where he stumbled over a few words so Marshall was rubbing his hands thinking he'd won the bet. But when it came to the take, John nailed it first time so that was it! Marshall had to drop his trousers and walk the full length of the CID corridor bare arsed!"
You started as a singer, why did you get in to acting?
"I was really lucky. I'd been a singer for 20 years, and Ken Loach came to do a film, The Navigators, in Sheffield. To put some authenticity in to his work he wanted to find local people in the area to be in the film. We had been part of the mining era when all the coal mines and steels works were in business round here, like my father was, and my grandfather. So, even though I had never acted before, I ended up with one of the five lead roles. It was purely out of the blue, I was asked if I would go along to an audition and meet Ken Loach, I didn't know who Ken Loach was!"
You worked with Jane McDonald at one point...
"We worked together on regular occasions. We were on the same circuit; we did the same holiday camps, social clubs and cabaret venues. There's a lot of talent working in the social clubs but it's very rare you come across somebody that's as talented as that. It's great that she's made it from the same roots as me because it gives everybody a bit of hope."
Marshall Lancaster plays DC Chris Skelton
How would you describe Chris?
"He's a bit cheeky but a likeable character. He's a bit of a dogsbody really - Ray and Gene send him on all of the rubbish jobs. When Sam turns up, Chris is impressed by his modern way of thinking but that leaves him torn between the differences in the old and new ways of policing and his loyalty is torn between Gene and Sam. Like Gene and Ray, Chris enjoys going out drinking and having a good time. If there's an excuse to get out of work then he'll find it; he's not very thorough for a copper which is quite strange!"
He's quite clumsy isn't he?
"Yes, he's a bit clumsy and a bit dozy, he always ends up slipping over in a chase or he's always the one that falls over or drops stuff. He drops food into evidence and at one point he gets tangled up in the back of football net when he's trying to arrest someone."
Did you enjoy doing the slapstick comedy?
"Yes, it adds a light touch to the more serious and darker moments in the programme and it's great fun!"
Chris and Ray are a policing double act.
"Yes they are, almost like a good cop bad cop combination. Ray's always acting hard, he doesn't mind beating people up and is basically the straight laced man so when Chris acts like a complete wally next to him it is quite funny."
Did you enjoy ‘going back to the Seventies'?
"I LOVED it! I thought it was great. I loved the Seventies way of policing; gut instinct and not particularly PC. We need a bit of that nowadays; I think it's all gone a bit soft now. On set we were just boys with our toys, with guns and cars. The disco scenes were great too, dancing about to glam rock in a velvet suit, I really enjoyed it!"
What are your memories of the Seventies?
"I just remember everyone having long hair. And then there's the Chopper bikes with the gear stick in the middle, all the cool games of the Seventies."
Any funny moments whilst filming?
"I remember Dean bending down to pick something up off the floor and ripping the back of his trousers. I just heard him shout at the top of his voice ‘COSTUME!' In scenes when we were supposed to be searching for somebody and making door to door enquiries we had to approach different extras pretending to ask them questions. We knew that we wouldn't be picked up on the sound and would just be in the background of the scene so we had a bit of fun asking them obscure questions like; ‘We are looking for a man with a tickling stick from Liverpool. Have you seen him? He's got lots of little men with him' and ‘have you seen a big guy, massive hands, wearing a fez?' All the extras had to take it really seriously but were desperately trying not to laugh."
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Noel Coward, JRR Tolkien, Bobby Darin, Fay Holden, Veronica Lake, Nancy Mitford, W.H. Auden...
John Simm (State of Play), one of the UK's leading actors, stars in Life on Mars, an innovative, witty and action packed drama from Kudos Film and Television, the team behind hit drama Hustle and the award-winning Spooks. Simm plays Sam Tyler, a driven and ambitious young detective who is determined to keep the streets of 21st Century Manchester safe.
However, the hunt for a serial killer becomes a personal vendetta when Sam suspects his girlfriend and colleague Maya (Archie Panjabi, Yasmin) has been kidnapped by the very man he's tracking down. But after a near fatal car accident Sam wakes up, dazed and confused, in 1973, struggling to understand what's real. Has he gone back in time? Is he in a coma? Or has he simply gone insane?
What follows is Sam's 21st century account of Seventies life feeling like a fish out of water. He must come to terms with an unfamiliar environment and an archaic CID unit where, using his modern know-how, he is integral to the unit's investigation process as he learns how to adapt to their old-fashioned technologies and etiquettes.
Throughout the eight-part series, Sam works on some of the hardest cases he has ever been involved with, not least because he's faced with a world where witnesses are regularly intimidated, it takes two weeks to process forensics and his colleagues will nail their suspect whether they have the evidence or not.
Sam's new boss is hard-nosed DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister, Vincent), who gets results by trusting his gut instinct and, all too often, sheer brute force. The rest of his team have similar attitudes towards their work. DS Ray Carling (Dean Andrews, Between the Sheets) is untrusting of his new colleague and suspicious of his 'new-fangled' ideas, and DC Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster, Clocking Off) is cheeky but affable and keen to learn.
The only member of the team who has a less unruly and bigoted attitude is WPC Annie Cartright (Liz White, A Thing Called Love). She is an educated and open-minded woman who helps Sam in his quest to find the truth about his new circumstances, as well as battling to lock up the criminals of Seventies Manchester.
In episode one it becomes clear to Sam that the killer who is holding Maya in 2005 started his killing spree here and now in the early Seventies. Could catching the perpetrator be the key to Sam's return to the future?
Jane Featherstone, Joint Managing Director at Kudos Film and Television, and executive producer of Life on Mars,says: "Life on Mars is a fantastic idea which takes the cop show genre and gives it a unique, humorous and irresistible twist. "By taking a character of our time and throwing him headfirst into our recent past, it gives us a chance to explore what makes us who we are today."
John Yorke, Controller of Continuing Drama Series and Head of Independent Drama at the BBC, explains: "The beauty of Life on Mars is that each week it concentrates on catching criminals through two completely opposing styles of policing. We put a modern DI bang in the world of the old school copper and so explore two totally foreign worlds. Sam is both repelled and fascinated by this prehistoric world, and the drama lies in how he tries to accommodate himself to life on a completely different planet."
Julie Gardner, BBC Wales Head of Drama, says: "We are delighted to have collaborated with Kudos on such an exciting and bold project as Life on Mars. "And, to have such a talented cast can only highlight the quality of the writing and the production."
Life On Mars is created and written by Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah who all collaborated on BBC ONE hit drama Hustle, with additional writing credits for Chris Chibnall (All About George). Directors are Bharat Nalluri (Spooks, Hustle), John McKay (Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale), John Alexander (Cutting It) and SJ Clarkson (Footballers Wives) and it is produced by newcomer, Claire Parker. The executive producers are Jane Featherstone (Spooks, Hustle) and Matthew Graham.
The project has been commissioned through BBC Wales by Julie Gardner (BBC Wales Head of Drama) and John Yorke (Controller of Continuing Drama Series and Head of Independent Drama at BBC).
A sign of the times: How the Seventies were brought back to life
"I had an accident and when I woke up, I was here. Only here is 32 years in the past. Now, that either makes me a time-traveller, a lunatic or I'm lying in a hospital bed in 2005 and none of this is real."
The initial idea for Life on Mars came from a writers weekend set up by Kudos seven years ago, to come up with an idea for a big new series. Or, rather, Kudos sent Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharaoh to Blackpool for the weekend, armed with only a brown paper bag full of cash...
"There is still photo evidence from their brainstorming (or should that be drinking) session," laughs Claire Parker, producer of Life on Mars. "They had a flip chart with the words '70s Cop – Ford Granada' scrawled on it."
Writer and creator Matthew Graham explains: "None of us fancied littering the airwaves with yet more cop shows, and yet we knew that's what people love watching. "So, we came up with a police show that we would want to watch: a cop falls back in time and tries to solve crimes in the midst of The Sweeney."
Three years ago, Parker, who was then the head of development for Kudos, together with Matthew Graham and Jane Featherstone, joint MD of Kudos, developed the idea for the series featuring a 'Seventies Cop' which eventually turned into Life on Mars. Featherstone explains: "When Matthew, Tony and Ashley originally came up with the idea it was a little ahead of its time, but we knew we would resurrect it at some point in the future because it is such a brilliant idea for a TV drama."
Parker continues: "We loved the premise: an action-packed police series set in 1973, but with a unique twist – our hero is a man from the present day who wakes up after a car accident with no idea why or how he has arrived in this alien world. "The 1970s setting is perfect for fast car chases, great music, classic clothes and juicy stories. But the show is also about the intense journey of a man thrown back into the recent past. Sam Tyler is like a fish out of water, in an alien world that has no relevance to his life in 2005. However, when it came to the storytelling, we needed to make sure it was designed to appeal to a contemporary audience – stories that are fast-paced, multi-layered and have strong moral or emotional dilemmas at the heart of them. There is something very compelling about the possibility of going back in time and visiting your recent past – time travel is an ever popular subject in both TV and film. The twist in Life on Mars is that the audience is teased with the question of what has happened to Sam – has he gone back in time? Is he in a coma? Or is he mad? And most importantly: how can he get home?"
The Seventies was a time of change and no more so than in the police force as they introduced moves to improve media relations and 'openness' within the institution. It was also the start of a push to recruit and integrate female officers within the force, although the attitudes of most of their male colleagues and their criminal catching techniques were positively archaic. Featherstone explains: "Sam believes that his knowledge of the future gives him a superiority and a more evolved sense of policing, but it puts him at odds with his Seventies colleagues straight from the off. He is repulsed by their attitudes to crime-solving; they are racist, sexist, conduct searches without warrants and think fitting someone up is OK as long as they deserve it."
Parker concurs: "It initially seems obvious to Sam that his methods are far more sophisticated than his colleagues. But he quickly comes to realise that he is unable to rely on all the crutches of 21st century technology, so is forced to fall back on his gut instincts. Without modern day red tape, accountability and procedure, Sam starts to wonder whether he has just as much to learn from his 1970s colleagues as they do from him, even though they are arrogant, sexist, insensitive, brutal, lazy, boozy, impatient and corrupt, and that's just DCI Gene Hunt!"
Life on Mars will remind viewers of life in the decade that taste forgot, but it is not a trip down memory lane to get nostalgic or reminisce about the good old days; it reflects life as it really was: an era of social and civil change. There was considerable industrial unrest, unemployment was on the increase, especially in the North West as the textile and mass manufacturing industries were reaching crisis point and the unions were becoming ever more vocal and militant.
Although 1973 was the year of Suzi Quatro, Ringos, the Raleigh Chopper, The Wombles and The Excorcist, it was also the year that Prime Minister Edward Heath announced the three day week, and measures to curb general speed limits to 50 mph and ending TV programming at 10.30pm were introduced in an effort to reduce fuel consumption after the Yom Kippur war in the Middle East. In the United States, the Vietnam war finally came to an end, only to give way to the scandal and intrigue of Watergate. "Our ethos for the series was not to fall into the trap of over-playing the nostalgic elements – we don't get misty eyed about what life was like back then," continues Parker. "The series both draws on and challenges the idea of nostalgia. Were things really better in the past? We wanted the series to reflect the good and bad of the era and for the audience to experience everything through Sam's eyes, as he himself is experiencing it. However, I'm sure it will trigger people's memories of the time and enlighten those who are too young to remember Open University, Party Sevens, and the fact there were only three TV channels which actually closed down overnight!"
The show, in part, is influenced by the cool, action-packed, buddy, cop shows of the Seventies – The Professionals, Starsky & Hutch, The Sweeney – and great films of the period too, such as All the President's Men and Get Carter. "We looked at Seventies film and TV, from The Sweeney to Taxi Driver, for visual and period reference,” explains Parker. Matthew Graham agrees: "I was very keen that Life on Mars wasn't all about taking the p**s out of Seventies fashion; I didn't want it to look naff and corny. It had to trigger memories and be funny but it also had to be cool." Featherstone explains: "When developing a series like this, it's critical that not only does your director share your vision but can enhance it in ways you can only dream about. I had collaborated with Bharat on Spooks and Hustle and to our mind he was the best person to take what was Matthew's vision and turn it into a reality."
The casting of a new drama series is just as crucial as the script and the writer's and director's vision. Graham explains: "In this show more than any other I've done, the stories spring out of character. "Sam and Gene are such rich creations to draw upon that you naturally think of stories that will pit them against each other; how they deal with women, trade unions, career criminals. Then it's just a matter of moulding the story to maximise these differences and prejudices and bring Gene and Sam to the same realisation - that they must put aside their squabbles and work together to find the real culprit. Funnily enough I had always written Sam with John Simm in mind, although I never dreamed I'd get him.
"Gene was harder to picture but when they sent me casting tapes for Phil Glenister I jumped right out of the armchair shouting 'That's him! That's Gene Hunt!' Phil can simmer like no other person on this Earth... And he's got a right set of lungs on him!"
John Simm plays DI Sam Tyler
What is Sam like?
"When you first see him, in 2006, he isn't particularly likeable; he's quite pedantic and anal, and he doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humour. So when he wakes up in the Seventies it's quite a shock to him. For Sam it's an absolute nightmare – it's like some crazy mad dream he's having and he just can't wake up. That's a really frightening thought for anyone; to be trapped in a completely alien world. So he's a bit all over the place, as you would be. It really makes you think 'What if?'"
Sam doesn't get off to a great start with his new boss, Gene. They develop a love/hate relationship although they do have a begrudging respect for each other’s methods... How does he get on with the rest of the team?
"They rub off on each other I think. They learn to work together even though they are completely different. Gene's the boss and they have all learnt from him but Sam's methods influence the rest of CID especially Chris. Sam can't stand Ray but he likes Chris and he tries his best to teach him stuff but even Chris thinks he's a little odd. He says 'I don't underestimate you boss, I just don't understand you' and it's as simple as that. I think they probably all feel like that. Sam has the knowledge of how things are going to turn out and he knows about things like multi-tasking and taping interviews and they do it and they take it on board. His knowledge of the future is his only weapon and the only thing he can work with. And it's quite hard for Gene to take on board because he just thinks Sam's a nutter! But Sam learns from Gene too - a little humanity and using his gut instinct. It's a perfect 'buddy-buddy' cop thing but with a really weird twist to it."
Did you enjoy working with Philip? You have quite a lot of punch ups with him...
"I loved those funny fights and there's always a stakeout or a chase or something, and I love those. In episode seven, Sam, Gene and Ray are doing a stakeout at the technical college, looking for the drug dealer, and when they need to give chase they can't get out the car because the doors get stuck. That slapstick side of things just smacks of 1970s TV and I love that about it."
You are known as a serious actor, with a great CV including State of Play, Sex Traffic and Crime and Punishment, so people probably don't remember you doing comedy on TV although one of your first shows was Men of the World. Do you enjoy the comedy in Life on Mars?
"I enjoyed Men of the World. I do like doing comedy, I was in Spaced and I did a sketch thing with Steve Coogan once, and I've worked with Ricky Gervais. I had worked with Philip a couple of times before on State of Play and Clocking Off which helped a lot. We just clicked, it was immediate and I was really glad when he got the part. I was so happy. I love that partnership that develops between Gene and Sam, it's fantastic and I think Philip is absolutely fantastic."
How did you approach playing Sam? Did you know if he was he in a coma, completely mad or were you playing it as if he really had gone back in time?
"I had to think along the lines of: if it happened to me, what would I do? Sam doesn't know what has happened but Annie's friend, Neil, tells him he's in a coma and so he believes him but Neil is just winding him up. However, he hears noises, he hears his mum's voice and doctor's voices, machines beeping so he really believes that he's asleep and he can't wake up. But, if he has travelled back in time, he could be in a Back to the Future situation where his actions could have serious repercussions on the future. In episode one he is faced with a dilemma where he has the power to change things and he has to seriously think about what he does because it could affect whether his girlfriend in 2006 lives or dies."
He has an interesting relationship with Annie...
"She likes him because he is weird and different and he helps her out and talks to her like a human being instead of slapping her arse when she walks past. You can kind of see why she's attracted to that when this weird stranger walks into her life pretending to be from the future and she thinks 'he's a nutter but he's actually really nice to me'. Sam flirts with her a little bit. He keeps putting his foot in it; I don't think he's trying to get off with her or anything like that because he's still thinking about his girlfriend in 2006. At one point he meets his mum and she's beautiful and younger than him and he quite fancies her and she fancies him. She flirts with him and he flirts with her. That's got to mess with his head!"
Sam meets his dad later in the series. Do you think that you being a father yourself affected how you viewed that whole scenario?
"Yeah definitely, because I can think of how I feel about my son – it affects anything to do with kids that I ever do now. I just get an overwhelming feeling and realise it must have been the same for my dad with me and I realise how he must feel about his dad. To get the chance to meet your dad as a young man is a mad thing. Sam is really protective over his dad, he wants to think the best of him even though he left him when he was really young, and he refuses to believe he could be wrong about him. It was very strange calling Lee Ingleby 'dad' though. He's about five years younger than me so it felt ridiculous!"
Did the costumes, sets and props bring back memories of the Seventies for you?
I was born in 1970 so my personal memories of the Seventies are a bit vague. I do remember bits of it very well, 1977 for some reason – I remember a specific t-shirt that I wore, which had a Starsky & Hutch yellow transfer on the front. I remember the Sex Pistols too - I remember seeing punks. I remember Elvis Prestley dying in 1977 really, really vividly. And there were some toys that I had that I remember really well. I had Strika bike rather than a Chopper, it was green and I loved it very much. I loved The Six Million Dollar Man; I'm obsessed with Steve Austin. I bought a DVD of it recently and looking at it now, it's absolutely rubbish, I was heart broken! I loved Starsky and Hutch, The Professionals and I remember Champion the Wonder Horse, Flash Gordon and Zorro. Music holds a lot of memories too, I remember walking into a school hall and hearing Elvis playing, I can see it all now – music does that, brings memories flooding back; music and smells. There was a smell from a passport cover the other day and it was literally BANG! It smelt exactly like a toy that I had as a kid, it was exactly the same. It was great to go back and rediscover that era. For the first month at least I was looking at all the magazines on set and I think I read every single one of them about twice. The pictures of footballers, the big Curly Wurlys, Party Sevens and all that. And the cars as well, the array of cars! Everyone on set wanted the Ford Cortina; it became quite a coveted item. Screeching car chases, fantastic! Unfortunately I didn't get to drive it because it was Gene's car and I didn't have one which is unfair! Hutch from Starsky and Hutch had a car, it was a knackered car but he had a car all the same. Maybe a Capri or something would be nice! With the costumes I figured that if this is all in Sam's head then he's not going to want to look completely ridiculous in a clownish suit! Luckily because Sam's from the future I didn't have to deal with the big moustaches or long hair or anything like that! The suits were outrageously bad so I went for the leather jacket and the Cuban heels which were fantastic. Although it’s hard to chase criminals in Cuban heals I have to say!"
Philip Glenister plays DCI Gene Hunt
What would you say Gene was like?
I would say he was a maverick, the sheriff. In his head, he lives in a western and sees himself as the sheriff at high noon, the way he goes around policing, which is probably quite true to the way it was back then. It's all black and white with Gene, there is no grey area with him. With that style of policing it was much more intuitive and not as scientific as it is nowadays; back then they had to be more instinctive with their approach.
He's not scared of throwing a few punches...
He's dealing with crooks; he doesn't go around punching members of the public! There is a very fine line between the criminal and the copper and I think he sometimes gets very close to crossing that line but he does always ensure he stays on the side of the law.
Did you base him on anyone you knew?
I saw him as a football manager - there is definitely an element of Brian Clough in Gene. There is a very famous clip from the Seventies of Clough being interviewed and he was asked 'what happens when somebody disagrees with you or has a different opinion?' and he said: 'I like to sit there, listen to what they have to say, then half an hour later they realise that I was right'. I thought that was so Gene. He is a cross between a Seventies football manager like Clough, and a current manager, someone with an arrogance, maybe Jose Mourinho. Gene dresses like a football manager - his big camel coat and slip on shoes - and his relationship with Sam is kind of like that of manager and star player - like Ferguson and Beckham - when there can be friction but there is also a lot of respect.
Gene and Sam’s policing methods, although completely different, do seem to complement each other.
Absolutely, there is respect on both sides; a grudging respect from Gene but he realises that he sees a lot of Sam in himself. He sees Sam as both his prodigy but also his nemesis. They make a good team. Sam has the scientific capacity and Gene has the instinctive capacity and if you marry the two, you end up with the best detectives money can buy. I think that's the key to their relationship; meeting in the middle and combining the skills they have; when that works they get spectacular results.
Did you enjoy all the Seventies clothes and the cars?
What was interesting was working out how old Gene was in 1973. He talks about the war and he would have done national service and stuff like that. I loved the Seventies, growing up in that period of time with the music, cars, TV and all that cultural stuff. I was in London, in the suburbs, and we went on holidays to France which was so exciting. Going on the ferry and two weeks seemed like two years because it was so far away. I was very lucky because I grew up near a farm and we would build fantastic tree houses and go-carts. It seems like such an ancient thing now but it was cutting edge then; you used your hands to create. I must sound like a fuddy-duddy but it's all computer games nowadays."
Did you enjoy driving the Cortina?
It was very difficult to handle without power steering; I was rather shocked by it. It was a rust bucket really so when it's not your car you can throw it around a bit. It was great fun, quite a flash motor for the time, although I always wanted Tony Curtis' Ferrari Dino, that was the car, or Roger Moore's DB7.
You filmed a lot of car chases, screeching around the corners – did you do a lot of the stunts?
I did as much as I could. Peter, our stunt co-ordinator, was keen to let me do as much as possible but obviously for insurance purposes it didn't allow for certain things. I was putting my foot down, slamming on the brakes and trying to hit certain marks which meant I had to do several rehearsals to get it right. But I'd hate to get back into my car on the weekends because I'd be driving with my missus and she'd say 'your driving awfully fast dear, can you slow down - you can do it at work but this is Richmond!'
Your father was a director and your brother, Robert, is an actor. Do you think that influenced you in wanting to be an actor?
Not so much when I was younger, I wanted to be a milkman. One of my earliest memories is going up to my milkman and asking what time he finished and thinking that it was such a good job because you'd finish by lunchtime and so got the rest of the day off to play with your toys!
Liz White plays WPC Annie Cartwright
How would you describe Annie?
"She's a very bright girl who studied a degree in psychology and after being a barmaid she felt frustrated and wanted to challenge herself. Like Sam she wants to help people in anyway that she can. She joined the police force but she's stifled by the sexual politics of that time - women were often undermined, underused, ignored, taken for granted - but she fights on through that and is eager to challenge herself in any way that she can without compromising her integrity. She's a got a big heart which I think is the main thing that drives her. She's obviously very taken with Sam - he's the first guy that's come along and shown her any respect and she enjoys that. She deals with the sexism well. She still maintains a balanced personality and fails to get upset by it."
"It's almost like she too has come from the future because she knows that eventually things will change and the sexist men will be proved wrong. When Gene is so sarcastic and rude to her she just lets it go over her head. There are times when she is asked her opinion but when she's the only woman in a CID office of 40 men it's quite terrifying, she knows that they will take the mickey out of her. She just has to make sure she leaves the situation before she says anything that will lose her job. Rightly or wrongly, if she is too outspoken she is much more likely to get sacked than a man in the same position. She's keeping sides and playing a game, more than she's given credit for by Gene or any of the other fellas."
Sam and Annie have a lot of chemistry. Do you think that it is purely platonic or more than just a friendship?
"She gets very tired of his constant talk about how this situation is not real, that they are all figments of his imagination - she can only explain it as psychological trauma from his car crash. She'd like something to change between them because they are not just friends; he does love to flirt with her and there is definitely an attraction between them but then she isn't his lover or girlfriend. Worse than that, he doesn't even really talk about it with her. She gets frustrated with him because their relationship is neither one thing nor the other."
However, whether she'd admit it or not, she does get jealous of Sam sleeping with Joni the go-go dancer in episode four...
"Annie can't believe that he gave it to that girl so easily and, in her eyes, Joni is practically a stripper in a club and she's also a suspect. "So if he was simply mixing work with pleasure then why isn't he doing that with her? I think it is frustrating for her and she can't help but feel jealous."
How did you find ‘going back to the Seventies'?
"It was great! I'd step on set and feel completely transported back to that decade. Years have gone by and yet listening to the music of that time and being in Annie's costume, I just really felt like I was there."
You were not even born in 1973 so what was your perception of the Seventies?
"I knew a bit because my brothers and a few friends were raised in the Seventies and so talked about the music or films from that decade every so often. I know some of the pop culture from that time because it's still around today, ABBA, Glam Rock and Punk for instance."
Dean Andrews plays DS Ray Carling
What is Ray like?
"Ray is an old style copper, works on instinct; works on knowing the ins and outs of the city he's working in and the people that are in it. He doesn't always look at the evidence in front of him; he just goes with his gut instinct. That's the way that he has been brought through the ranks and he's been channelled in to that way of thinking. Basically, Ray is a bull in a china shop. He wades in before thinking. He is a man of his time and is the most un-pc PC. If he was married, his wife would be doing all of the house work whilst he went to the pub with the lads!"
Did you base him on anyone you know?
"Yes me! Not really. I was brought up in that era, in public houses all of my life, so we had lots of characters that came in the pub like that. They would come in the tap room and play darts, dominoes and crib and just think 'our lass is at home making Sunday dinner while I'm sat here enjoying myself' but think nothing further of it. They were very narrow-minded, so I suppose I picked little nuggets up from lots of different people rather than one specific person."
What are your memories of the Seventies?
"The Seventies were both my teenage years and earlier years, we were just getting interested in girls and I suppose those kind of memories stay with you for quite a long time. I wore all of the clothes, lots of brown, and the music of that era was very influential in my life."
How did you find ‘going back to the Seventies'?
"It was fantastic because it really pricked my memory. I can relate the music to certain memories and the clothes; flares, open neck shirts and medallions are all vivid memories for me."
Ray and Sam have a very strained relationship because Ray was the golden boy until Sam came along. Is that where the rivalry comes from?
"Yes. In Ray's eyes, Sam is just some little s**t from Hyde who has been transferred to their department and stars to change everything. "I believe that Ray and Gene are very similar characters and Ray looks up to Gene and follows his lead. The natural progression for Ray is to become DI and that was the next step for him until Sam arrived. Sam walks straight into the job with all these new ideas and has taken Gene away from Ray. Ray feels mortified that he's lost his mate and thinking partner. Whenever new ideas come up they are all pretty resistant to it. They all pooh-pooh any new ideas straight away saying, 'no we've done it this way for years' so Ray thinks that anything Sam comes up with is a bag of s**t. He won't have anything to do with these ideas, even though Gene agrees to some, because he doesn't think it's right. Gene and Ray are men's men but Ray thinks that Sam is some namby pamby weakling. They don't do emotion like Sam, it's all fists and alcohol."
Did you have any funny moments whilst filming?
"One abiding memory is when John had a long technical speech that was really difficult. It was a long, tough speech and Marshall (Lancaster) made a bet with John that he wouldn't be able to manage to get the whole speech done in one take. John went in a corner and really concentrated, we had a couple of rehearsals where he stumbled over a few words so Marshall was rubbing his hands thinking he'd won the bet. But when it came to the take, John nailed it first time so that was it! Marshall had to drop his trousers and walk the full length of the CID corridor bare arsed!"
You started as a singer, why did you get in to acting?
"I was really lucky. I'd been a singer for 20 years, and Ken Loach came to do a film, The Navigators, in Sheffield. To put some authenticity in to his work he wanted to find local people in the area to be in the film. We had been part of the mining era when all the coal mines and steels works were in business round here, like my father was, and my grandfather. So, even though I had never acted before, I ended up with one of the five lead roles. It was purely out of the blue, I was asked if I would go along to an audition and meet Ken Loach, I didn't know who Ken Loach was!"
You worked with Jane McDonald at one point...
"We worked together on regular occasions. We were on the same circuit; we did the same holiday camps, social clubs and cabaret venues. There's a lot of talent working in the social clubs but it's very rare you come across somebody that's as talented as that. It's great that she's made it from the same roots as me because it gives everybody a bit of hope."
Marshall Lancaster plays DC Chris Skelton
How would you describe Chris?
"He's a bit cheeky but a likeable character. He's a bit of a dogsbody really - Ray and Gene send him on all of the rubbish jobs. When Sam turns up, Chris is impressed by his modern way of thinking but that leaves him torn between the differences in the old and new ways of policing and his loyalty is torn between Gene and Sam. Like Gene and Ray, Chris enjoys going out drinking and having a good time. If there's an excuse to get out of work then he'll find it; he's not very thorough for a copper which is quite strange!"
He's quite clumsy isn't he?
"Yes, he's a bit clumsy and a bit dozy, he always ends up slipping over in a chase or he's always the one that falls over or drops stuff. He drops food into evidence and at one point he gets tangled up in the back of football net when he's trying to arrest someone."
Did you enjoy doing the slapstick comedy?
"Yes, it adds a light touch to the more serious and darker moments in the programme and it's great fun!"
Chris and Ray are a policing double act.
"Yes they are, almost like a good cop bad cop combination. Ray's always acting hard, he doesn't mind beating people up and is basically the straight laced man so when Chris acts like a complete wally next to him it is quite funny."
Did you enjoy ‘going back to the Seventies'?
"I LOVED it! I thought it was great. I loved the Seventies way of policing; gut instinct and not particularly PC. We need a bit of that nowadays; I think it's all gone a bit soft now. On set we were just boys with our toys, with guns and cars. The disco scenes were great too, dancing about to glam rock in a velvet suit, I really enjoyed it!"
What are your memories of the Seventies?
"I just remember everyone having long hair. And then there's the Chopper bikes with the gear stick in the middle, all the cool games of the Seventies."
Any funny moments whilst filming?
"I remember Dean bending down to pick something up off the floor and ripping the back of his trousers. I just heard him shout at the top of his voice ‘COSTUME!' In scenes when we were supposed to be searching for somebody and making door to door enquiries we had to approach different extras pretending to ask them questions. We knew that we wouldn't be picked up on the sound and would just be in the background of the scene so we had a bit of fun asking them obscure questions like; ‘We are looking for a man with a tickling stick from Liverpool. Have you seen him? He's got lots of little men with him' and ‘have you seen a big guy, massive hands, wearing a fez?' All the extras had to take it really seriously but were desperately trying not to laugh."
The Car's the Star
Ford Cortina 2000E
- Launched at the Earls Court Motor show in 1970
- Ford Cortina became Britain's best selling car
- Five versions mark I–V, production finished in 1982
- Coke bottle shaped
- The police ordered 657 Allegro Panda cars to replace a fleet of Morris Minors
- The Allegro was the first car on sale to have a 'quartic' steering wheel – four curves held together by four bars
- Was featured in Tufty Club road safety adverts
- The similar looking Morris 1100 was on the receiving end of a good thrashing by Basil Fawlty in one of the most famous scenes of the Seventies comedy Fawlty Towers.
Do you remember 1973?
What was hot and what was not...
Music: Number ones of '73
- Sweet - Blockbuster
- Slade - Cum On Feel The Noize
- Donny Osmond - The Twelfth Of Never
- Gilbert O'Sullivan - Get Down
- Dawn featuring Tony Orlando - Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree
- Wizzard - See My Baby Jive
- Suzi Quatro Can The Can
- 10 CC - Rubber Bullets
- Slade - Skweeze Me Pleeze Me
- Peters & Lee - Welcome Home
- Gary Glitter - I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)
- Donny Osmond - Young Love
- Wizzard - Angel Fingers
- Simon Park Orchestra - Eye Level
- David Cassidy - Daydreamer
- Gary Glitter - I Love You Love Me Love
- Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody
Entertainment
- David Bowie becomes the biggest selling artist since The Beatles, hitting the eight million record mark
- Trevor McDonald join ITV news as the first black news reporter
- Marlon Brando refuses his Oscar for Best Actor as a protest against the plight of Native Americans
- Stunt motor-cyclist Evil Knievel is the hero of the moment
- Stevie Wonder wins his first Grammy award
- Paul McCartney is fined $240 after pleading guilty to charges of growing marijuana outside his Scottish farm
- The Wombles first appear on TV
- Women are allowed on the trading floor of the London Stock Exchange
- Jon Pertwee is Doctor Who
Sport
- Second Division Sunderland beat a top flight Leeds United team boasting ten international players in the FA Cup Final
- Liverpool win the UEFA Cup
- Bobby Charlton plays his last league match for Manchester United - at Stamford Bridge, against Chelsea
- Jackie Stewart wins his third and last formula One World Championship and also becomes BBC Sports Personality of the Year
- Billie Jean King retains her Wimbledon singles title
- Czech Jan Kodes wins the Wimbledon men's title. Amazingly, there is only one grass court in Czechoslovakia, which is his own!
- Red Rum wins the Grand National for the first time
- George Foreman becomes World heavyweight champion after beating Joe Frazier
- The sport of snowboarding is born
Films
- The Sting – con-artist film starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford which won best picture and best director for George Roy Hill at the Oscars
- Don't Look Now – Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie star. The unnerving image of a little girl in a red cloak wandering the streets of Venice has become iconic
- The Exorcist – landmark horror film starring Linda Blair as troubled child Regan MacNeil. Noted for its revolutionary special effects including the infamous scene of Regan's spinning head
- The Day of the Jackal – starring Edward Fox. A professional assassin codenamed Jackal plots to kill France's Charles de Gaulle
- Mean Streets – starring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel and directed by Martin Scorsese. The tale of Tony, Michael and Charlie's lives on the mean streets of Little Italy, New York
- American Graffiti – starring Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard. A coming of age film about two college graduates on their last night of freedom before they each have to decide what to do for the rest of their lives
- The Wickerman – starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland. Woodward plays a detective on the hunt for a missing girl
- Serpico – starring Al Pacino as a morally upstanding cop who is fighting against the corruption of his colleagues. Earnt him a best actor nomination at the Oscars
- A Touch of Class – Glenda Jackson's Oscar-winning performance as the long suffering wife of a philandering American businessman
- Paper Moon – starring Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. Tatum won best supporting actress Oscar. Road movie following a young girl and a travelling con man, based on the novel by Joe David Brown
- Live and Let Die – Roger Moore's first outing as suave double agent 007
- Enter the Dragon – starring Bruce Lee. America's first martial arts blockbuster, following a martial arts expert as he goes undercover to infiltrate a drug dealing emporium
Births
David Blaine, Andrew Lincoln, Kate Beckinsale, Peter Kay, Paula Radcliffe, Peter Andre, Juliette Lewis, Leigh Francis (Avid Merrion), Monica Seles, Neve Campbell, Faith Evans, Ryan Giggs, Anastacia...
Marriages and divorces
- Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips
- Anthony Hopkins marries his second wife Jennifer Lynton
- Michael Caine marries Shakira Baksh
- Elvis and Priscilla Presley divorce
- Zappo Marx and Barbara Blakely divorce (Barbara would later marry Frank Sinatra)
Deaths
Noel Coward, JRR Tolkien, Bobby Darin, Fay Holden, Veronica Lake, Nancy Mitford, W.H. Auden...
Original article can be found here.
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