Headed to the Savoy Cinema Grantham on Wednesday evening for the premiere of Tin Hat Production’s Battle Over Britain ahead of the film’s official release today. I play Intelligence Officer in this latest feature from the ambitious Lincolnshire-based production company – great to see these independent film-makers growing from strength to strength. The screening and Q&A was followed by a little celebratory champers, much catching up and then the last train back to London…onwards and upwards.
The Good Ship Murder (Season 1, Episode 5)
Watch me show off a poker face in The Good Ship Murder on Channel 5 with Catherine Tyldesley (Coronation Street) and Shayne Ward (Coronation Street and X-Factor…yes, that Shayne Ward 👇)
I love it when an audition specifically calls for a South African accent (my own) and was absolutely chuffed to land the role of Keith Lomax, the Bitcoin-billionaire with a penchant for high-stakes poker. Lomax is eccentric, high status and a little dangerous – so it was a lot of fun preparing the role (and maybe playing a little more poker than was strictly necessary). It was also great getting to work with prolific TV director, Steve Hughes, who gave a masterclass in calm efficiency while on a very tight turnaround.
Shayne Ward and Catherine Tyldesley lead the cast as an unlikely duo who team up to solve a spate of murders, with a host of other recognisable faces joining them for the eight-episode drama, which kicked off on Friday 13th October.
It was quite the adventure, filming a TV show on a working cruise liner alongside hundreds of passengers. My cabin was high up near the bow of the Virtuosa with a little balcony overlooking the sea – brilliant for watching dolphins skip across sunset swells or for staring into the mesmerising oil-blue ocean heaving below.
Best not block the exit
“Acting sometimes reminds me of therapy in that the more you talk about a traumatic or profound event, the more it loses its emotional tension. The trick is to live in so much mystery, to rely on a feeling, an instinct, on faith, really, that everything I need is already inside me, and best I just don’t block the exit.”
– Michelle Williams (New York Times, Sept. 4, 2008)
Battle Over Britain: Behind the Scenes
The next Tin Hat Productions film, Battle Over Britain, is coming soon. I’ve been working with Tin Hat since 2012 – love seeing all the familiar and fresh faces at the company. I play Intelligence Officer in this production.