A VIEW TO A KILL?
Rachael Popow talks to Nina Toussaint-White about her gripping new drama Witness Number 3
If you work anywhere near a window, chances are you occasionally find yourself glancing out of it. But what if one day you saw something that changed your life and put you in danger?
That’s the premise of the new drama Witness Number 3, which is showing across four consecutive evenings, and stars Nina Toussaint-White as Jodie, a single mum and the owner of a hair salon.
She’s at work one day when she happens to see two men walking on opposite sides of the road, unaware they are a murderer and his soon-to-be victim.
When the police appeal for witnesses, she decides to do the right thing and come forward, even though she believes that what she saw will be of little consequence.
The police clearly think otherwise, and Jodie is surprised when the detectives tell her that her identity will be kept secret and she will now be known as Witness Number 3.
All becomes clear when it turns out that the killer is part of a gang and that far from being innocuous, Jodie’s testimony could put him behind bars.
When she then finds herself on the receiving end of a campaign of intimidation, it seems her identity might not be so secret after all...
Actress Nina, 36, who viewers may recognise from shows like EastEnders, GameFace and Bodyguard, is full of admiration for her character’s bravery, even though she admits that Jodie doesn’t initially realise what she is getting into.
She says: “Jodie is full of strength and determination, she is good willed, kind. We realised very early on that Jodie just wants to help people... So when there’s a police appeal for witnesses, she straightaway steps up to the plate...
“But Jodie is naive to how dangerous the gang are. She knows of them, about their presence...
“I think when she makes the statement, she doesn’t necessarily know that what she has seen, and the statement that she has given has anything to do with the gang – but once she’s entered the rabbit hole, it’s hard to get out.”
So, would Nina have done the same? The actress says: “The first time I had a chat with Diarmuid [Goggins], the director, before I was given the job, I said, ‘I want to think I’m that brave.’ I have been brave in the past. I have called out when people are being harassed in the street...
“But since having a baby, I’m like, ‘Well, if I’m hurt, then who has she got?’ She’s got her dad, but still. If there were threats to my family, and my child, I don’t know if I’d be as brave. I might have to back away from the fight because I need to protect my family.”
TV legend Sue Johnston appears in the show as Jodie’s mother Cathy, while her son
Kyle is played by young newcomer Cole Martin, who was recently seen in My Name Is Leon.
As the campaign to silence the hairdresser intensifies, will they become targets too?
And will Jodie be dissuaded from speaking out?
If there were threats to my family, and my child, I don’t know if I’d be as brave. I might have to back away
Nina Toussaint-White
■ Witness Number 3 is on Channel 5, Monday at 9pm