Q&A With Cast, Creator Of McDonald & Dodds (Season 2 On ITV Sept 2021)

The new series of McDonald & Dodds sees Tala Gouveia (Cold Feet) and BAFTA award winning actor Jason Watkins (The Lost Honour
Of Christopher Jefferies, Des) reprise their roles as the smart and ambitious DCI McDonald and the humble and quietly brilliant DS
Dodds in three new murder mysteries.

They are joined in the first film by guest cast members Rob Brydon (Gavin & Stacey), Rupert Graves (Sherlock), Martin Kemp (The
Krays), Patsy Kensit (Absolute Beginners) and Cathy Tyson (Mona Lisa). Shelley Conn (Liar), Natalie Gumede (Strike), Sharon Rooney
(My Mad Fat Diary) and John Thomson (Cold Feet) join the second film and Saira Choudhry (No Offence), Rosie Day (Outlander), Nitin
Ganatra (EastEnders), Nicholas Goh (Skyfall), Siobhan Hewlett (Sherlock), Sarah Parish (Bancroft) and Rhashan Stone (Finding Alice)
guest star in the third film.

Returning cast includes James Murray as Chief Superintendent Houseman, Jack Riddiford as DC Darren Craig with Lily Sacofsky
joining as DC Milena Pachiorkowski.

Set in picturesque Bath, the series pairs feisty DCI McDonald, who has recently transferred from London’s Met Police, with the
unassuming DS Dodds, who has been happily in the background for most of his working life. To McDonald’s surprise they form an
unexpectedly effective crime solving partnership.

Robert Murphy, creator and executive producer, wrote the first two films with Kam Odedra (Gangs of London) writing the third.
Directors were Alex Pillai (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Rebecca Rycroft (Malory Towers) and Ian Aryeh (In The Long Run).
McDonald & Dodds was filmed in the West Country.

The new series was commissioned by ITV’s Drama Commissioner Huw Kennair Jones and Head of Drama, Polly Hill. Huw oversaw
production of the drama from the channel’s perspective.

Damien Timmer (Endeavour, The Serpent) and Preethi Mavahalli (Noughts + Crosses, The Serpent) executive produced for Mammoth
Screen, an ITV Studios company, alongside writer Robert Murphy (Vera, Shetland, DCI Banks). The producer of the new series was
Sarah Lewis (Noughts + Crosses, Victoria).

The first series is available to view via streaming platform Britbox. Series one launched with a consolidated rating of 6.4m and a 26%
share of the available audience.

McDonald & Dodds is a co-production with Britbox North America and is distributed internationally by ITV Studios.

Creator Robert Murphy

Following the success of series one, what did you want to
achieve when you set out to write the second series?

“We just tried to make it an even better version of itself! We
didn’t want to overhaul it, we just wanted to make it a bit
bigger in scope and see how far we could push it with some
even more ‘twisty turny’ cat and mouse detective stories – I
really like the sense in this show that our two detectives are
being toyed with by the ‘nemesis of the week’. Jason and Tala
are now so settled into their roles and it’s a real joy to write
with them in mind.

“The first two hour film revolves around a murder on a hot air
balloon and the suspects are a group of friends who were all
famous in the 80s. The second film involves a body discovered
in a railway tunnel. The victim is a professional rugby player
and the suspects are a group of girls from Glasgow who are
down in Bath for a birthday weekend. The third episode
follows the murder of a social media influencer during an
operation at a cosmetic surgery clinic and the suspects are the
married-but-divorcing couple who run the clinic.”

Are there any new recurring characters in series two?

“We have a new recurring character on the police team. DC Milena
Paciorkowski is played by Lily Sacofsky, and when we meet her,
she’s a bit of an outsider. She’s quite reserved and focused on the
job. She doesn’t draw too much attention to herself, she is a lowkey,
modest character, but she captures the attention of one of
her colleagues, so there is a bit of romance there.

“We wanted to introduce a Polish officer, because we tried to
reflect contemporary Britain. The characters we come across try
and reflect the world we are in.”

What’s the secret to the show’s success?

“The central pairing, that duo, is everything. We have two actors
who can really run the gamut between the serious and the comic.
You can write it as best you can, and direct it as best you can, but it
does stand or fall on the casting and the actors being able to
deliver it. Jason and Tala are two smart, intelligent funny actors
who have obviously formed a bit of a bond and have great on
screen chemistry.”

Where do you get the ideas for the outlandish murders?

“They just sort of gestate. I’m not quite sure where they come
from, they just come into my head at random points. A lot of it
connects to thinking about who the guest characters are –
coming up with the guest characters often helps me come up
with the idea for the murder.

“It’s really fun casting the guest stars too. In episode one, for
example, because the characters are all 80s icons, I wanted to
cast actors who were also big in the 80s, which is why we
went for Martin Kemp, Patsy Kensit, Cathy Tyson and Rupert
Graves. It was also a great laugh writing for Rob Brydon in that
same story, as he can make just about anything funny. If
anything the challenge was reigning in the writing slightly
when we wanted to do the serious bits.”

We never see McDonald and Dodds’ private lives, even in
series two. Why did you make the choice never to follow
them home?

“Well, never say never, but that’s just my preference to stay
out in the field with them. For it to be interesting when they go
home, it has to be dysfunctional, and then it goes into that whole
tortured detective vein. The thing with McDonald and Dodds is
that there is no big traumatic backstory for either of them, they’re
actually quite happy.

“We do refer quite a lot to McDonald’s boyfriend, but you never
see him, so I always think he is like the equivalent of Mrs Columbo
in Columbo. Like her, he’s a character you only hear about and
imagine what he might be like.”

While you don’t focus on the pandemic in this series, Covid is
given a passing mention in a few of the episodes. What was
the thinking behind that?

“I wrote series two in summer 2020, so at the time I didn’t know
what situation we would be in when it aired, but I did know it
would still be very much part of the landscape and people
wouldn’t have forgotten about it. I wanted to do it in a light way. In
episode two, Covid is used in the investigation, it becomes a clue at
one point.

“I also thought about how people’s language has changed
since I wrote series one. For example, the word ‘isolation’
means something different to what it meant pre-Covid. So I
just thought, let’s not ignore the pandemic entirely, but at the
same time this is still escapism. You don’t want to see
everyone walking around in masks.”

Why do we never learn Dodds’ first name?

“I might reveal it in the very last episode, if it ever comes up!
The truth is, I don’t actually know what his first name is. I just
decided not to give him a first name as I like a bit of mystery
around him. I like keeping some things back so that the more
you have to imagine about him, the more intriguing he
becomes.”

Are you already working on ideas for a potential third
series?

“We are talking and kicking around ideas. Whether it will
happen or not, we don’t know as yet, but we need to get
moving to be able to shoot in the summer, as the show is
quite summery in its look. I do think the show could run and
run, but that is a question for Jason and Tala as their characters’
names are in the title. As long as they are still keen, I am sure the
ideas will keep coming.”

Jason Watkins (DS Dodds)

How does it feel to be coming back for series two?

“It’s exciting. The first series seemed to be such a big hit with
viewers and we really enjoyed making it, so it was nice to
come back and do more of what we enjoyed, but with the
added thumbs up of it being appreciated by the viewers.
“I followed what people said on social media about it when
the first series went out and a lot of people wanted to take
Dodds home and look after him. I think the show has been
successful, though, because it knows what it is – it’s a series of
audacious whodunnits shot in a beautiful place with a really
engaging central relationship and a great sense of humour.
Our show is also the perfect bit of escapism for viewers during
these difficult times. It’s what we need.”

How fond of Dodds are you?

“I love playing him, and I really hope to continue to play him
for more series. Robert Murphy, the creator, has really created
a wonderful character. You could say he is a bit like Columbo,
but there is also a bit of Poirot in there too. Dodds has a
gentleness to him, a naivety, but in many ways that is his
strength. He is able to use his perceived innocence to get
information out of whoever he is with and use it to his
advantage.

“What I also love about him is that while he is self aware in some
ways, he is completely unaware of his strange quirks, like eating
his chips dipped in butter. I think there was even a chips and butter doing the rounds on social media during the first series!”

Has the relationship between McDonald and Dodds evolved
at all in series two?

“Yes, it does grow, but it grows in increments. Their
understanding of each other grows and so does their affection
for each other, but what is great is that their growing friendship
is always dashed in moments of insecurity from McDonald. Or he
will make a massive blunder which sets them all back again.
“There is never any romance on the agenda between them,
which I like. Once that romantic element is removed, you are
dealing with other things like friendship, support and taking care
of each other. It’s more subtle in a way. There is a real affection
between them which may not be romantic, but it is touching.”

Would you like to see Dodds find romance on the show?

“Well Dodds doesn’t really have a romantic life. It would be
interesting to explore him dating at some point. He is often
thrust in front of women that he might find attractive, but I
think he is often just overwhelmed, even by the prospect of
it.”

Is there any of Jason Watkins in Dodds?

“There is a bit more of Jason in him than I would probably
admit. That’s one of the reasons I like playing him really. I
mean how much of an alpha male am I? You could say I hide
behind characters in my work, just as Dodds hides behind his
work. Also, like Dodds, I don’t like confrontation, so we share
that characteristic. I only get confrontational under extreme
stress – like homeschooling perhaps!

“Looking at him, he is older than me, both in spirit and age. He
dresses older than he is, all that kind of sports casual stuff. It’s
very beige! That is certainly not me. He could be my dad’s
younger brother. At one point, we tried to make his wardrobe
more colourful, but on reflection that seemed wrong – his
clothes really do state who he is.

“Once I put the anorak on, the tank top and the glasses on top of
my head, I really do feel in character. We have a nice crochet tie
this series too – beige of course – and I rather love that.”
Were you excited to team up with Tala [Gouveia] again?
“Yes, it is a real joy working with her, she is very talented and
works so hard. We are very fond of each other, like McDonald &
Dodds are.

“I think that friendship off screen really helps with your onscreen
chemistry. We both want to enjoy what we are doing, but
also get the most out of every scene. We talk about our scenes
before we shoot, but with a lot of the comedy stuff, we just let
that happen in front of the camera.”

How did you find filming during the pandemic?

“This was my first experience of filming during the pandemic. We
started filming in September and we did it for four months. The
testing was fine, but it’s a bit uncomfortable.

“Tala and I were in a bubble, and Rob Brydon who guest stars in
the first film was also in our bubble, but we had to social
distance from the rest of the cast and crew. It’s difficult
because you couldn’t socialise or debrief as a cast after work or
anything, and we couldn’t have a wrap party this time at the
end like we did for series one. It’s different but we just felt so
lucky that we were able to work during this pandemic. Theatre
has been really diminished and I have so many friends who have
struggled.”

This series has some great guest stars, including Martin Kemp, Patsy Kensit, Cathy Tyson and Rupert Graves in the first film as a group of people that were famous in the 80s. What are your favourite memories of that era?

“It was great seeing Martin Kemp on set because I was a
Spandau Ballet fan back then. I was into New Romantics and
groups like Thompson Twins and Everything But The Girl. I went
to drama school in London in the 80s and we used to go
clubbing to Camden Palace and Cafe Royal. It was buzzy. It was
nice to remember the 80s, when I had hair!

“It was also great to chat to Patsy Kensit because she was in a
TV show in the 80s called Silas Marner, and we gave my eldest
son Freddie the middle name Silas. It was nice to share that with
Patsy, and of course Cathy Tyson is just an icon. Rupert is brilliant
too, we felt very lucky to have him.”

You have amazing chemistry with Rob Brydon, who guest
stars in episode one. Did you know him before working
together?

“Not really, I did an episode of his panel show, Would I Lie To You?
and I met him once before that, years ago, in a lift somewhere –
as you do! We really hit it off, he has a great sense of humour,
which is blindingly obvious.

“He made us all laugh on set doing Alan Bennett impressions, and
we also had an Ian McKellen-off at one point where we both did
our best McKellen impression. I thought my McKellen was as
good as his, quite frankly!

“Rob and I also wound each other up. I was winding him up about
the fact that he really just does light entertainment now and he
was winding me up saying all I do is serious dramas, both of
which are clearly untrue. The series Des, which I had a part in, was
also airing while we were filming, and the buzz on set was all

“ about how high the ratings were. He would wind me up and
say, ‘Well, you may have got ten million but Gavin and Stacey
got over 17 million.’ There was a lot of gentle ribbing.”

Dodds is in a hot air balloon at one point in the first episode.
Were you actually up in the air or was it all green screen?

“We actually went a little bit up in the air, there was a big crane
taking me up. I am terrible with heights – I remember going up
St Pauls and Monument on the same day when my boys were
younger and it was just awful. The balloon wasn’t as bad as I
thought though, you do feel secure when you are in there.”

You have played such varied characters over the years.
What do you get most recognised for?

“At the moment it tends to be The Crown because it has made
such an impact internationally, but I have to say I do get
recognised for McDonald & Dodds because it has been sold all
over the world. It’s sold well in Scandinavia, it shows on Britbox
in the States and that is a wonderful thing.

“I get recognised for W1A a lot too, and also from The Lost
Honour of Christopher Jefferies because it was shown again
during lockdown, so audiences have been able to revisit
some of my older stuff.”

Speaking of that latter role, where do you keep your
BAFTA?

“It’s not hidden, but it’s not prominent either. It’s not on a
plinth in the middle of the living room, it is in the kitchen on
the top shelf. I have to say I have moved it down a couple of
shelves on occasion and then somehow it has been tidied
back up to the top again.

“I know Hugh Grant says he shines a light through the eye of
the award from behind, which I find quite amusing. I do have
a little spotlight that we can move like an anglepoise on the
shelf and sometimes the spotlight might find itself drifting
up towards my BAFTA…”

Tala Gouveia (DCI McDonald)

How does it feel to be coming back for a second series?

“It’s great. We were so lucky to actually get to do it this year
which has made it even better. Last year was all about creating
the show, which was great in its own way, but this year we
really knew the characters and got to really have fun with
them.

“We knew quite early on after the first episode aired that we
were doing a second series, but I was a bit worried we wouldn’t
be able to film because of the pandemic.

“It was strange filming under Covid restrictions because all the
crew were in visors and masks and all the actors were split into
bubbles. You could only have lunch with your bubble so if Jason
wasn’t there one day, I would be sitting on my own listening to
all the other bubbles laughing, that was a bit sad!”

Was it very easy to slip back into the character of
McDonald?

“It was actually. I was a bit worried at first. I was like, ‘Oh my
god, I don’t remember her!’ But as soon as you get the suits on
and as soon as I am back on set with Jason really, it all comes
back. Me with my iPad, him with his little glasses…”

The first series marked your first leading television role.
What reaction did you get from the public?

“People seemed to love it. I did get a bit of recognition when it
came out, I went to the pub once and got recognised and then
the coronavirus hit and I didn’t come out again! Thank God we
got a second series, otherwise it would have felt like the whole
thing didn’t happen.

“My mum was so excited, she bought a new tv to watch it on
and we all went round for a viewing party. In the second
episode of series one, McDonald shouts at Dodds and my mum
was getting all tearful and then she shouted at the tv: ‘Oh sod
off!’ I was like, ‘Mum, who are you saying that to?’ and she said,
‘You! Well, your character…’

“I had a lot of people texting me, telling me off for not
apologising to him. I was like, ‘It’s not actually me, I’m not a
police officer.’ Everyone just loves Dodds, though, he is
adorable.”

Did you feel more confident going into series two than you did
series one?

“Yes, I thought I was going to get sacked every day the first time
around! I felt much more confident and like I had much more
ownership over the role in this series.”

As a black woman with a lead role on a British tv show, do you
feel like there is more diversity on screen today, or is there still
a long way to go?

“Yes there is more diversity, and yes there is still a long way to go.
We’ve had some brilliant shows come out in the last year with
diverse casts. I May Destroy You, Small Axe, It’s a Sin, and Bridgerton
to name a few. And they have proved really popular. But it’s not just
about who’s in front of the camera, but who’s behind it as well.

“On McDonald & Dodds it really felt like Mammoth made a
conscious effort to create a more diverse environment. It was nice
not to be the only brown person on set. Ian Aryeh our director on
episode three was the first black director I had worked with on
screen. Which was lovely, but also really sad that it had taken so
long to get to that point. I think with the BLM movement there is a
real momentum at the moment to have more representation, and
to be more conscious of the stories we are centring. I just hope
the momentum continues.

In series one, McDonald was set on getting out of Bath as
quickly as possible. Is that still the case?

“She doesn’t mention leaving as much this series. I think she
doesn’t want to put roots down but they are just growing
anyway. Series two picks up some time after the end of series
one, so she and Dodds have had a few more cases in between
that have happened off screen.

“They have a rapport going and their work relationship is
stronger. There is an underlying friendship there that is growing.
They both give something to the other person and they are
both beginning to lean on and rely on each other.”

Does it help being mates with Jason when you have to play a
double act?

“Definitely yes. Jason and I work in quite a similar way, which is
great. We don’t make big grand plans for how it has to be
before filming a scene. We tend to talk it through and work it
out together. We had more of a shorthand this time, having
worked together last series.”

McDonald’s boss, Superintendent Houseman (James
Murray), gave McDonald a hard time in series one. What is their
relationship like in this series?

“He is still giving her a hard time and is on her back a lot. Her
success rate with her cases is pretty good, but he doesn’t seem to
recognise that. He is still out to get Dodds too, but McDonald is
protective of Dodds now, she recognises his weird genius and is
willing to put herself and her career on the line for him.”

The show gets some pretty famous guest stars. Do you ever get
star struck?

“Yes, by most of them. It was amazing to have Rob Brydon in the
first film. We were so lucky to have him and he and Jason just
bounced off each other. It was like I had a free comedy show
watching them every day, because I was in their bubble.
“Sharon Rooney is in episode two and I was just obsessed with her
when she did My Mad Fat Diary. I was so excited to work with her,
and she was brilliant. She plays this character that has to speak at
700 miles an hour.

And Sarah Parish is just great in everything she’s in, so it was lovely
to get to work with her. She’s such a pro and we had a lot of fun
working together in episode three. She plays a cosmetic
surgeon with a lot of status and there is a lot of power play and
mind games between her and McDonald. I am such a corpser,
though, and in one scene the director got Sarah to close her
eyes when I was doing my close-up shots so she didn’t make me
laugh. He tried to make me do it to the back of her head, but
that just made me laugh even more!”

Have you got any better at solving the whodunnits when
you are reading the scripts for series two?

“Jason and I think we have become detectives now. We’re
always trying to work things out in a detective-like way. But the
script still twists our brains in knots. The details and plot twists
are brilliant. And I always get surprised when I read who the
killer is.

“Hopefully there will be a third series so I keep finding out about
McDonald. I think the show really has the potential to keep
going and evolving, so long as the writers can keep coming up
with ideas. I don’t know how they do it!”

Patsy Kensit (Barbara Graham)

What attracted you to this guest role?

“I loved the script. It’s a great story about five friends from the
80s, four of whom have stayed really close and have this unique
friendship. They all live in the same block of flats together in
Bath, and Mick, played by Martin Kemp, is the ringleader of the
group.

“He organises a day out for himself, my character Barbara, Jackie
(Cathy Tyson) and Gordon (Rupert Graves) in a hot air balloon, but
then this fifth member of the group turns up, someone my
character Barbara can’t stand. We get into the balloon and it all
turns to chaos. Five of us go up in the air, but only four come
down alive…”

Can you describe your character, Barbara?

“She was a presenter in the 80s and a bit of a trendy girl about
town. In the present day, she is doing commercials and she has
built a nice life for herself. She often doesn’t think before she
speaks, and that can get her in trouble.

“She is quite lonely and relies deeply on the contact with her
other three friends, especially Mick. Because they all were quite
big in the 80s, it’s almost like they have one mind, and are in sync
with each other. They think they are untouchable and can do as
they please – even trying to cover up a crime.”

Did you know Martin, Cathy or Rupert before working on the
show?

“I have known Martin for years. I met him when I was 14. I think I
was doing a drama at the BBC when Spandau Ballet used to do Top
of the Pops there. I would be there in period costume, running into
various pop stars in the corridors.

“Martin and I have wanted to work together for ages, he is a great
guy and hopefully we will get to do something together again in
the future. I didn’t know Rupert or Cathy, but I knew their work and
loved it. We all just kind of clicked. I just adore Rupert, he has the
most wicked sense of humour. And Cathy is lovely, she is very
passionate and she has a very wonderful spirit.”

You also share scenes with another guest star, Rob Brydon,
who plays an aviation expert helping McDonald and Dodds
investigate the balloon murder. What was he like to work
with?

I have known Rob for years. Again, one of the funniest men on the
planet and he is just brilliant in the scenes that I did with him. I did
Would I Lie To You? with him, and I managed to fool everyone.
They were very peeved!”

What was it like filming the hot air balloon scenes?

“We didn’t get to go properly up in the sky, but we did do a
takeoff on a crane, which swooped us up about twelve feet in the
air. It felt really exciting, but we weren’t allowed to go any higher.
I have never been in a hot air balloon in real life, I’ve wanted to go
in one since I was a kid.”

Having shot to fame in the 80s yourself, are you at all like
Barbara?

“With any character you play, there are going to be elements of
you there. I think it is really important to like the character that
you play. This gang are very much living in their past glories
though, and that’s not like me at all. I had some incredible times
in the 80s and 90s, though, it was lots of fun and we didn’t know
how good we had it. I mean, look at the world now.

“My sons often say to me, ‘You had it so lucky’ because there are
restrictions on everything now. Who would have ever thought that
would happen? But I am very content and I don’t look backwards or
live in the past. I am just grateful that I managed to keep going and
managed to keep working.”

What is the secret to your career longevity?

“I think it is because I don’t go out to a lot of celebrity things. I have
a lovely quiet private life now. I was on Holby City for four and a half
years and it was a really lovely time, but I left because I wanted to
be around more for my kids. One of them was about to start his
GCSEs and I was always at work, so I stepped back for three years
and was mum.

“When I wanted to start work again, I was blessed that I got work.
People say that it’s hard to find parts for women my age, but I have
been really, really lucky. I hope it continues.”

Were you worried about less roles coming your way when you
turned 50?

“No, I turned 50 and it was just another day really. I was up for a
movie recently and I was told I looked too young for the part I was

going for! I didn’t mind not getting the part when they said that
as it’s not something you usually hear at my age!”

Are you a fan of detective dramas?

“I love crime. I love the Crime and Investigation channel! I’ll be
watching some documentary about kids that kill their mother
and my sons are like, ‘Why are you watching that stuff? It’s not
normal!’ But I am not empathetic to the murderers on these
things, I just love the detective work and how they solve the
crimes.

“I think I would make quite a good sleuth, because I don’t miss a
thing. Sometimes people don’t think that about me, but then
they come unstuck. I’m very on the ball!”

Martin Kemp (Mick Elkins)

What attracted you to this role?

“When I first read McDonald & Dodds, it reminded me of an
episode of Miss Marple I did which I had so much fun on. Then
when I found out who else was in this episode, that was it.
“Patsy Kensit is an old friend of mine who I have known since we
were kids. We have been close to working together a few times
over the years and it’s never come off before. We lived out in LA
at the same time, just after I did The Krays movie, and we were
both doing independent movies out there. Everyone was trying
to put us together to make a film and it just never happened.
When I saw her name on the cast list, I thought, ‘Yeah I have got
to do this one.’”

What is your character Mick like?

“He was great fun to play. He was a music executive in the 80s
and I come from those days when music execs were not all they
seemed to be. You could never quite work out why they were
successful. They were almost like market traders, rather than
someone who should have been in Sony or wherever.

“Playing Mick, I had a wealth of those characters to draw on,
because during the 80s in the record business, everything was
larger than life, including the amount of money being earnt.
Everybody’s egos were inflated, it was a very hedonistic time.

“Mick is the leader of this gang of four friends who have all tasted
fame in the past and he is the one they look to. He is a strong
character, which I love to play, but there is also some vulnerability
to him. He is the one that organises the balloon trip which ends
with a fifth member of their circle not making it out alive. There are
lots of secrets and myself, Patsy, Cathy and Rupert’s characters are
all suspects.

Was it challenging filming the hot air balloon scenes?

“When I first read it, I was like, ‘how on earth are they going to
make this work within a four foot balloon?’ But they did. We had a
crane to lift us in the air, but it was all done against a green screen.
The thing is, even though it is all green screen around you, your
imagination just takes over. You don’t need to wait for the CGI to
be put in, your imagination is already seeing the trees and the
ground below.”

What was it like working with Patsy, Cathy and Rupert?

“It was great. We formed a really nice bond really quickly,
especially because we were all stuck inside that basket for the
first few days of filming. Patsy and I didn’t have to work on
anything as we already had that bond, but with the other two, it
was really quick.”

You also share some scenes with Rob Brydon. Are you a big
fan of his?

“He is absolutely a pleasure to work with, and even funnier offscreen
than he is on-screen. Rob is genuinely one of the nicest
famous people I have met for such a long time. He made me
laugh – sometimes he made me laugh a little bit too much.”
“When you work with great actors though, it really makes you
raise your game. Jason Watkins, for example, is a great actor and
he is very different in everything that he does, so I was really
looking forward to working with him too. He just makes everyone
lift their game.”

Is crime a genre you enjoy?

“Yes, I love crime. Who doesn’t at the moment? We are being fed
the best crime shows ever at the moment – I loved The
Pembrokeshire Murders. We all love a little bit of crime solving. I
would love to be a detective, without a doubt. They must have so
much fun. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it must be a tough job but in
my fantasies, it would have been fun. In a parallel life that’s maybe
what I would have done although my plan B was always to be a
footballer.”

Is the 80s one of your favourite eras?

“Oh, it has to be yeah. I remember my parents talking about the 60s
in a way like, if you weren’t there, you’d missed out. It’s just a
generational thing. We all have that era of our lives that you
enjoyed the most and definitely the 80s was mine. It was my
formative years and I grew up then. Being in one of the biggest
bands and touring the world is a weird way of forming your
personality, but I did. I had a lot of fun in the 80s, so I have got
really fond memories.

“There wasn’t a moment when I realised I was famous. I was really
lucky because I was a child actor so when I went into Spandau
Ballet, it wasn’t going from zero to sixty. I understood that fame is
a job, I didn’t see it as my identity.”

We’ve recently seen you presenting with your son, Roman, as
well as releasing an album and a book with your wife, Shirley.
Was it nice to come back to acting with this project?

“It’s nice to come back to anything because it gives you a break
from what you have been doing before. All my friends who are
my age are in that mid-life crisis where they would give anything
to change their job and just get out of the rut. I am really lucky
because I get to do different things and I feel like I am changing
jobs all the time.”

What’s coming up next for you?

“During lockdown, I have been writing my first piece of fiction. I
can’t give away anything about it as I am in the middle of writing
it, but that is taking up most of my time at the moment. Writing
is just something I love because it takes your brain somewhere
completely different. It takes me away from watching the news,
which is just all about Covid. That’s what’s good about a show like
McDonald & Dodds – for the viewer it gives you an escape from
the real world.”

James Murray (Chief Superintendent John Houseman)

How did it feel to be coming back for a second series?

“It was nice to get back in the saddle and revisit Houseman, and
also put a bit more flesh on the bone with him this series. He is
quite elusive and mysterious so I worked with the writer to get a
bit more backstory on the screen this time. I can’t tell you too
much about that as it is a bit of a reveal but we learn about his
home life a little bit, and we get to see a bit more vulnerability to
him.”

What kind of reaction did you get to Houseman when the last
series aired?

“When series one went out, a lot of people were like, ‘Oh look,
there is that nasty guy from that show’. But a lot of people quite
liked the nastiness, or so they tell me to my face.

Is Houseman still giving McDonald a hard time and hellbent
on getting Dodds to retire?

“Yes to both. McDonald always lets herself down in front of
Houseman and never quite lives up to what he perceives her to
be, after all she was his project. In the second episode of this
series, he starts to notice the new recruit DC Paciorkowski and
uses her as a bit of a threat and a warning to McDonald. He wants to
fast-track Paciorkowski through the ranks and sees her as a
potential successor to McDonald if she doesn’t stay on her toes.

“As for Dodds, he still barely sees him, but when he does get
reminded of Dodds’ existence, he remembers that he is dead wood
and wants rid of him. That said, there are modicums of him
recognising Dodds’ achievements a bit more, especially when he
does something good in episode three.”

Your wife Sarah Parish guest stars in episode three this series.
How did you find working together again?

“I like the third episode the best because my good lady wife is in it.
That was fun to do. We actually tried to get Sarah in series one but
there wasn’t a role that was quite right for her, but this part was. Our
characters didn’t have an awful lot of do with each other but I did
have to dress her down a bit in one scene. That was great fun to do
without fear of any comeback because she didn’t have any lines
back to me. Fantastic!”

Jack Riddiford (DC Darren Craig)

The first series of McDonald & Dodds was your first TV gig as
a series regular. Did you feel more comfortable this time
around?

“Yes, I didn’t feel as shy around Jason Watkins this time around!
When you have that familiarity with the cast, it makes things so
much better. I learnt so much during the first series, just watching
the other actors like Jason, who is such a master of his craft, and I
tried to put all those things into practice this time around.

“I did watch the first series when it went out but I watched on my
own and I didn’t watch it live. I watched it a day later because
then I know six million other people aren’t watching at the same
time. I didn’t get recognised much though because I am very
different to Craig. He is very smart, clean-shaven and does his hair
and I am quite the opposite to that. I’m probably a lot lazier than
him.”

Do we see any new side to DC Craig this series?

“Yes, I think so. We see how he deals with responsibility when he
is given some more. He has always been good at his job but he
has always been safe and he knows what he needs to do to keep
McDonald and Dodds happy. But with Milena joining, he needs to up
his game a bit because she is better at the job than he is.”

How does he feel about the newcomer to the team?

“Initially he is very intimidated by how much better at the job she is
than him, but he also fancies her as well. She is quite guarded around him, so he has to work hard to chip away at her. He tries everything. He tries to be funny and cool around her and ends up making terrible jokes in his attempts to break the ice, but he always puts his foot in it in some way or another.”

You and Lily were in a bubble together during filming. How did
you get on?

“Lily is fantastic, the loveliest person in the world and she made
filming in quite odd circumstances extremely easy. She is such a
brilliant actor and made it really fun. We got to build our on-screen
relationship very easily.”

Lily Sacofsky (DC Milena Paciorkowski)

How did it feel when you found out you were joining the cast
as newcomer DC Paciorkowski?

“It was amazing. I had written off last year, so it was a wonderful
time to get a job. I was so happy to get back to work and I think
everyone felt the same on set – there was such a lovely feeling of
everyone being grateful to be there. I have never been more
welcomed by a group of people, either. It was easy to slot in and I
will always remember this job because we were working through
such unprecedented times. There was such a sense of
community.”

How would you describe your character?

“Milena is originally from Poland but has lived in the UK for a lot
of her life. She is from a working class background, well educated
and she wants to be taken seriously as a detective. You wouldn’t
mess with her, she doesn’t take any crap from anyone. She keeps
people at a distance and is very much there to do the job; she
doesn’t let her guard down very much. She really wants to get to
the level McDonald is at, and to her McDonald is like a celebrity
because she has worked her way up as a woman in a man’s
world.”

DC Craig takes a bit of a shine to her, doesn’t he?

“Yes. At first she doesn’t think he takes his job seriously because he is
always cracking jokes and that is not her style at work. But he always
makes her smile and laugh and the more we explore that
relationship, I think she has a real soft spot for him. If he had the
confidence to ask her out for a drink, I think she would say yes. He
gets her to let down her barriers and as time goes on, she sees he is
quite good at his job and he does take it seriously. That’s the way to
her heart because her job is her absolute world.”

Did you do much research for the role?

“ I didn’t get to meet any police officers because of the pandemic but I watched a lot of 24 Hours in Police Custody which was really useful in terms of the jargon they use.

“I also put time into learning the accent with a vocal coach. The
rhythm of speech is completely different, so I studied voice files that
she sent to me. I would be standing doing the washing up and talking in a polish accent.”

Sharon Rooney (Doreen Warren)

What drew you to this project?

“I read the script, fell in love and really hoped I would get the part.
I really enjoyed the first series. I just loved it because the
relationship between the two main characters is so great, so I was
excited to work with Jason and Tala. Also, it is very aesthetically
pleasing. The city looks great, all the colours are gorgeous and it
is perfect for a Sunday night watching on the sofa under a
blanket. It is nice to be a part of something like that.

“When I told my gran I was going to be in McDonald & Dodds, she
said, ‘Oh I love that! But you’re not a baddie are you?’ She is very
worried about that.”

What is the premise of the episode?

“A group of girls come down to Bath from Scotland for a birthday
weekend away. They meet these rugby boys in a club, go onto a
party at a big house and the next morning, they find out one of
the guests is dead. The episode very much revolves around
female friendships, and the complexity of them.

“I play one of the girls, Doreen, and she is one of those parts that
doesn’t come along very often. I’ve never played a character
quite like her before.”

How would you describe her?

“Doreen is the put-upon friend, and almost like the mum of the
group. She organised the whole weekend away for her best friend
Angela’s birthday, and Angela is one of those people who loves to be in the spotlight while Doreen is happy to be in the background.

“Doreen has different sides to her though, which is always fun as an
actor. There is definitely more to her than meets the eye, although
that is the case with all of the characters in this series. You think they
are one thing and they turn out to be completely different.”

The girly weekend in the show goes terribly wrong, but what is
your idea of the perfect girls’ weekend?

“There is one place me and my best friends go and we love it. There is a private hot tub, so we all sit in there during the day and then at
night it’s face masks, pyjamas, snacks, films and chatting rubbish
until four in the morning.

“I am a bit like Doreen, I organise it all and I’m like, ‘Here is where we
are going, here is your itinerary, here’s our budget.’ I’ll get us all
matching outfits, matching towels, the whole hog. When I’m busy
with work, I don’t get to see my friends a lot, so when we get time for a girls’ weekend, I like to go all out.”

Doreen talks at a million miles per hour. Was that
challenging?

“No, because I talk really fast too! I think it helped that the writer
Robert is Scottish because he writes in the rhythm that Scottish
people talk. I did have loads of lines to learn though, which was
quite scary because I finished Finding Alice one day and then
started this the next morning. I had eight pages of dialogue to
learn overnight, but I do enjoy that kind of pressure.”

What do McDonald and Dodds make of Doreen?

“McDonald sees right through Doreen and thinks she is a pain.
Doreen can tell McDonald feels that way about her, so she
ignores her and hones straight in on Dodds. She is very excitable
around him and constantly calls him ‘Sarge’ which confuses him.
She seems to enjoy winding him up.”

Had you worked with Jason before?

“I worked with Jason very briefly a few years ago on a pilot that
never aired but it was really nice to work with him again. He is
such a great actor, so ridiculously talented but he is also a
wonderful human and the nicest guy. I learnt so much from him
and he and Tala were so welcoming. I never felt like the newbie
coming in for episode two; I felt like part of the family. We filmed
this episode for four weeks and at the end I was like, ‘Do you want
me to stay a little bit longer?’”

How did you find working with John Thomson?

“Pretty cool too. I found the boxset of Cold Feet in my garage the
other day so I’m going to watch all of that again. It’s funny because
we worked together but when he was on The Masked Singer, I
couldn’t believe I didn’t guess it was him. When they unmasked him,
my dad said, ‘Oh well done, Sharon, you kept a good poker face.’ I was like, “I had no idea, he didn’t tell his own daughters, why would he tell me?’”

You’ve gone on to star in everything from Sherlock to Two Doors
Down and the big screen remake of Dumbo. Which role do you
get recognised the most for?

“Mad Fat Diary is probably the most common one, although when I’m in Scotland it’s always Two Doors Down. I have been recognised for Dumbo a couple of times by little kids. I was at an event and this little girl kept lifting my dress up. Her dad said, ‘I think she is looking for your tail.’ I was like, ‘that is so cute, but this dress is quite short!’”

John Thomson (Jimmy Daly)

You guest star in the second film of the series. What’s the
storyline?

“I play Jimmy, who is the chairman of Bath Eagles rugby club. He is
throwing a party at his house for some of the rugby players. The
boys go out for drinks before the party and they meet some
young girls who are on a hen night. They invite the girls to the
party, but unfortunately one of the players dies and he is found
dead near the railway tunnel. That is when things start to get
interesting…..”

How would you describe Jimmy?

“He hope’s he’s well liked, but behind his back people think he is a
bit of a joke. He is a bit ‘new money’, a Flash Harry. He is also a bit
lonely. He is very keen to find a partner, but he goes for women
that aren’t interested in him. He fancies himself as a bit of a
lothario, but his geeky, nerdy side lets him down. He is a bit of an
eccentric really.

“Part of the storyline is all about a model railway he has in his
home, which is a replica of the Bath countryside and one of
Brunel’s tunnels, where the body is found. When I got on set I was
blown away by the model railway they’d built, which was the size
of several snooker tables!”

Are you a bit of a railway geek yourself?

“No, that’s not my bag. I am a geek, but more of a horror, sci-fi geek. I am not into mechanical stuff and engines, I was more into
werewolves and vampires as a kid. I’m also a James Bond nerd.

“I don’t know anything about rugby either. I hate sport and have no
interest in any of it. The only time you will see me being competitive
is during a quiz. I love watching The Chase and I’ve been on The
Celebrity Chase. My team did very well on it and got the record at the time. I would like to do it again because it’s been a while, so I’ll have to speak to Bradley Walsh.”

You do a West Country accent in the film. Was that a challenge?

“I am very good at accents so it was fine. I knew two people at drama
school who were from Bristol, so I’ve always had an ear for it. It was
fun to be able to do that. Playing yourself doesn’t really feel like you
are acting, and using a different accent is all part of playing a
character.”

How did you find filming during the pandemic?

“This was the first fully Covid-protocol set I have been on and
it was a bit odd really. You had to even pre-order your food
weeks in advance, but fortunately I was on a diet so I just
ordered a lot of salads. I’ve been doing the Paleo, cavemanstyle
diet and it really works for me. I haven’t really lost
weight, but I’ve toned up and my muscle mass has improved
massively!

“It was actually during the wardrobe fitting for McDonald &
Dodds that I realised I wanted to lose weight. I couldn’t get
into a pair of 36 waist trousers, so I was like, ‘Right, that’s no
good.’ So I started doing the Paleo diet, which is more of a
lifestyle than a fad diet, and I managed to get down to a 34
waist.”

Was lockdown easier for you because you were busy
filming?

“Lockdown has actually been very easy for me. I don’t drink
and I haven’t done for 14 years, so in a way I went into
lockdown 14 years ago! I have got the tools to deal with this
because I don’t go to pubs, I don’t go to clubs, I don’t socialise
in places where there is alcohol. I got used to time alone with
books a long time ago. I love to read, I love video games, so there
are so many things at my fingertips that I can turn to. I’m never
bored.”

You’ve worked with Jason Watkins and Tala Gouveia before,
haven’t you?

“Yes, funnily enough I have worked with Jason Watkins before in
Bristol on Trollied. I know him and his sons too. Jason and I
always have a laugh because he has got some great stories, he is
a great raconteur. And while Tala had a guest role in Cold Feet, I
wasn’t in any scenes with her, but we worked on the [CBBC]
series Scream Street. She actually played my daughter on that.

“I was really welcomed with open arms on this show, which is
always important when you come in as a guest role. I remember
my first ever guest role was as Ken the barman in Men Behaving
Badly and the cast were so lovely to me. I have never forgotten
that and I always used that as a benchmark when we did Cold
Feet. Any guest star that came in, I made a fuss of them.”

Speaking of Cold Feet, is it definitely over or do you think it
could be revived again?

“How long is a piece of string? I have no idea. It could come
back, but I wouldn’t leave it thirteen years again like last time.
We’ll just have to see won’t we?”

You were recently unmasked as Bush Baby on The Masked
Singer. Were you juggling filming that with McDonald &
Dodds?

“I filmed The Masked Singer just before McDonald & Dodds. I
had such a great reaction. A lot of my actor friends guessed it
was me. Brian Conley, he got in touch, Bradley Walsh guessed
the week before I was revealed and Gaby Roslin text me too.
But I couldn’t say. Even my brother was like ‘Come on, it’s you
isn’t it?’ but I just said ‘Oh, it’s funny, everyone is saying that’.
The one thing that helped me is that everyone thought I was
The Hedgehog last year and it was Jason Manford, so I was just
like, ‘Oh no, not again!’”

Natalie Gumede (Deborah Winwick)

Can you set the scene for the second McDonald & Dodds
film in which you are guest starring?

“It’s about the collision of two worlds. We have these girls
on a hen weekend in Bath, who end up colliding with the
sporting world when they meet some rugby players at a
club.

“There is all the seeming allure and glamour of that sporting
world, but then it’s turned on its head as a great night out
goes wrong and one of the players ends up dead. There are a
lot of twists and turns and I love how intellectual it is in the
end. The twist certainly wasn’t something that I would have
seen coming.”

What part does your character Deborah play in it all?

“Deborah is a sports agent, and she is the agent to one of
the rugby players, Dominique, who ends up being murdered.
She is pretty ruthless, but she makes a great agent because
she cares a lot for her clients’ bank balances, as well as her
own. If she sees an opportunity, she will take it.

“She is a bit of a madam and is used to getting what she wants out
of people.

“When she learns Dominique has been murdered, it comes as a
shock, but in all reality, when you have somebody as calculating as
Deborah is, it becomes about what that means for her and the
effect it has on her. She is not very honest about her business
dealings, so it becomes a question of whether her plotting and
skullduggery be exposed. Is she a suspect? Certainly, but in this
story, you could point the finger at anybody.”

How does she react to McDonald and Dodds sniffing around the
crime scene?

“She isn’t very welcoming of them. The difficulty comes for Deborah
as they find something out about her, and it exposes lies that she
has been telling. Her house of cards falls down, but there is more to
it than meets the eye.”

She has an interesting relationship with Jimmy, played
by John Thomson, who is the chairman of the rugby
club, doesn’t she?

“Yes, he is very handsy with her, but she is not interested in
anything other than business with him! They have a decent
rapport, and she takes advantage of that, but when it
comes to his additional advances, she is not going to use
her feminine wiles to get what she wants out of Jimmy.
She already has what she wants out of him, so she doesn’t
need to.

“Jimmy is lonely and he is looking for company and
friendship. He is used to using his money to attract people,
but he doesn’t have any real friendships. Deborah is very
social and good with people, and she is also a well puttogether
woman. He sees an attractive woman and thinks
maybe he can have his cake and eat it.”

How was it working with John?

“John is a very funny man, and when I knew that he had been cast as Jimmy I was so chuffed because I knew I would have a great time on set. The career he has had and the roles that he has played, he is a bit of national treasure. I grew up with him on The Fast Show and Cold Feet, so felt like I was meeting a legend. It was a bit of an honour actually getting to work with him, and he didn’t let me down.

“He was every bit as funny and nice as I’d hoped, so I was thrilled. He
made the moments where his character makes advances towards
my character very light and funny to film. He always had a story to
tell too, so he made those very cold November nights on set a lot
warmer.”

Are you a rugby fan? Do you know the first thing about it?

“No! I was terrified. There was a scene where I had to do some
improvisation while the guys were playing a game and both John
and I were like, ‘What do we say? What do we shout? ‘I think I just
gave a round of applause in the end. There was nothing I could bring
to the table. I had to be told when one of my players had scored a
try so I could give a round of applause, so I am not sure how
authentic it is going to look!”

In 2011 you were a regular character on Coronation Street,
playing abusive Kirsty Soames who terrorised Tyrone Dobbs. Do
you still get recognised for that villainous role?

“Well this is my first job with my short hair. I used to be a big haired
kind of gal, so I look very different. Kirsty was a long time ago now,
but when you are in a show as popular as Coronation Street, it never
fully goes away. That is one of my legacies, and I know as long as I
am acting, that role will always come up!

“It’s no bad thing, but I think the daily recognition is not with me
anymore. That is a nice place to be as a jobbing actor who can
morph into different people without being too closely connected
to one character. Would I go back to Corrie if they decided to bring
Kirsty out of prison? I think my time there was wonderful, but
complete.”

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb