Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
LET’S GO DUTCH again!
Van Der Valk, a huge hit in the 70s, is back – and Marc Warren says his version of the Amsterdam detective is even more of a maverick
Remember that catchy theme tune? It not only topped the UK singles chart back in 1973, but it was the signal to settle down for one of the most popular TV shows of that decade. Now, almost 50 years after viewers first met Commissaris Piet Van der Valk, he’s back.
ITV has made three new featurelength stories starring the Dutch policeman, and cast Hustle star Marc Warren in the role formerly taken by the late Barry Foster. The odd conceit of the original – British actors speaking with British accents while playing Dutch characters – remains, as does Van der Valk’s brief: to crack serious crime in Amsterdam. And he’s still the cool, slightly arrogant detective audiences remember from all those years ago.
The original series, now being shown on Freeview on Talking Pictures TV, was based on the novels of Nicolas Freeling, but these new stories have been created by Casualty writer Chris Murray – and if anything, our hero is even more of a maverick this time around. His home is a boat, and while he may have a desk in police HQ, he prefers to gather his team in a dimly lit coffee bar. As for his love life… while the original character was married, this version becomes involved with a woman he meets while investigating a double murder.
‘He does have a warm side – you just don’t see it that often,’ says Marc Warren, who was five years old when the original series first aired. ‘I don’t think he likes anybody apart from Lucienne, his right-hand woman, and his boss’s Alsatian, Trojan.
‘He’s basically a loner with a sadness in his eyes, the reason for which is explained later in the series. And he never looks anybody in the eye, apart from those he’s interrogating. He looks at them intently – and doesn’t look away.’
Marc’s piercing blue eyes do plenty of staring as he homes in on Amsterdam’s villains.
The first episode, Love In Amsterdam, begins with the abduction of a political activist. Two bystanders are also kidnapped – and later found dead. The story leads Van der Valk into the worlds of politics and art – and into the arms of Eva Meisner (played by Stephanie Leonidas).
The second story, Only In Amsterdam, involves the death of a young woman, an obscure ChrisMaimie Mccoy as
Lucienne Hassell tian sect, and a drug facility with a controversial approach to addiction. Episode three, Death In Amsterdam, ups the body count with the murder of a vlogger broadcast live on the internet, and a fashion designer killed on the catwalk.
‘Van der Valk is an everyman: he can mix comfortably with people from all walks of life,’ says Marc. ‘He reflects the energies of Amsterdam, its tolerance and liberalism. There is a self-deprecation to him rooted in strength.’
This Van Der Valk is more of a team effort than the original, in which most of the crime-solving
was done by the main character and his sidekick Johnny Kroon. Marc’s Van der Valk is assisted by his trusted confidante Lucienne Hassell. She’s played by Maimie Mccoy, seen recently in both White House Farm and A Confession. ‘There’s genuine affection between her and Van der Valk, as there is between me and Marc,’ says Maimie. ‘We worked together on the BBC’S The Musketeers, and there’s a naturalness between us which hopefully shows on screen.’ Van Der Valk was filmed in Amsterdam and Maimie bonded with the Dutch crew. ‘We filmed in last year’s heatwave so they brought us ice lollies every day. In The Netherlands, they have an Over The Hill party to mark the halfway point of filming. It was a great way to bond.’ The team also includes handsome sergeant Brad de Vries (Luke AllenGale), brilliant new boy Job Cloovers (Elliot Barnes-worrell), Darrell D’silva as pathologist Hendrik Davie and Emma Fielding as Chief Commissaris Julia Dahlman.
The role of Van der Valk is the biggest Marc has had in years – and he admits to feeling under pressure. ‘The stakes are higher,’ he says. ‘It’s not like I’m swanning around as the second or third lead, where I can just turn up, have a bit of fun and nick a few scenes. I’m having to step up to the plate, expose myself a bit more. ‘As for what it might lead to, I don’t think I’m very ambitious so it doesn’t concern me. And that suits the part. I’m not burning with any great desire and I don’t think Van der Valk is either. He’s just very good at his job.’
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