Shieldlands a To Z
Exploring Beowulf’s kingdom
Go West The Shieldlands of the title refers to the mythical kingdom as a whole, which includes territory populated by the Mudborn and other creatures such as the Giants and Trolls that has since been conquered by humans. “As a kid, I read Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, which was all about what happened to the Native Americans, and that all fed into it,” says Dormer. “As time goes on, you start to feel a bit more sympathy for the Mudborn, and realise that they also have a point to what they’re doing.”
Multicultural Melting Pot
With the families of characters like young blacksmith Vishka (Ellora Torchia) hailing from the distant Farlands, Herot and the surrounding communities are made up of a number of different races. “We also have David Ajala, who is British of Nigerian origin. He plays Rate, one of the other Thanes, who is head of the Varni, who are a nomadic war tribe,” says Dormer. “We also have characters like Varr (Edward Hogg), who is this slightly odd, maître d’ figure, who was raised amongst the Varni, although he hates the violence. We’ve created a world, and then we’ve played with it.”
truly Fantastic Beasts
Having previously overseen Walking With Dinosaurs and Primeval, executive producer Tim Haines has ensured that the show’s fantastical creatures look authentic as well as spectacular. “An example of that is the Trolls,” says Dormer. “Because we have them no longer eating meat, they have to be given salt by the humans, which keeps them sedated and means they’re controllable. But later on when someone starts playing around with that, they start to get a bit dangerous…”
From soap to shieldlands
Cropping up later in the series is Ian Puleston-Davies, best known as Owen Armstrong on Coronation Street. “As the story progresses, there comes a time when Rheda has to win a vote from the other Thanes to become the Jarl, the ruler of the whole of the Shieldlands,” says Dormer. “Ian’s character Lagrathorn is the Thane of Banning, and he’s always had a place in his heart for Rheda, and he’s a bit of a drunk and a lecher. There was great chemistry between him and Joanne Whalley, so we kept wanting to bring him back.”