FIGHTING TALK
JAMIE BAMBER AND YASEMIN KAY ALLEN ENTER INTO THE FRAY AS SECTION 20 RETURNS…
Strike Back returns to our screens this week, and when we use the phrase ‘with all guns blazing’, trust that we’re not speaking figuratively. Mcallister (Warren Brown), Novin (Alin Sumarwata) and Wyatt (Daniel Macpherson) are all back, only this time they’re being led by new commanding officer Colonel Alexander Coltrane (Jamie Bamber), with Russian agent Katrina Zarkova (Yasemin Kay Allen) also playing a key role. We caught up with Jamie and Yasemin to find out what it was like to be the new arrivals on set…
Hi, Jamie and Yasemin! What can you tell us about each of your characters?
Jamie Coltrane lost a bunch of young men in Helmand – he’d had a pretty stellar military career up to that point, then it all hit the skids and he got sidelined into training and other roles. But now he has come out of retirement to do this last job – it’s his measure of salvation; a chance to look in the mirror and redeem himself.
Yasemin My character is a Russian soldier who loves her country very much – she’s borderline nationalist, I guess. And she learns lessons along the way that make her more of a patriot than a nationalist. She’s very mission-oriented – she’s a badass soldier!
Did the cast give you any tips on what to expect?
Yasemin There are so many hands-on elements that you have to get to know, like talking to the military advisor or the fight choreographer, so they did have a fair bit of advice to give that was very cultural.
We had less preparation
time than they did on the last series, so I learned a lot of stuff on the job – it was very handy to have them there!
Jamie I love them dearly, but there were a lot of passive lines about “we need more training” – and by that they meant “you need more training”!
What was the biggest ‘Strike Back moment’ for you during filming?
Yasemin Probably shooting a fight scene on top of a big wooden crate. I’m not good with distances, but it was probably about 20 metres up in the air. I had a rope, so it was all secure, but fighting in the air on a crate that’s swinging back and forth was definitely a high point!
Jamie For me, the highlight was a bar fight with a pool cue. I’ve always wanted to bash up a bar, so that was great!