SUN KIND OF WONDERFUL
JULIAN LOOMAN AND ELEN RHYS STAR IN A NEW SPANISH-SET DETECTIVE DRAMA…
As the weather has taken a chilly turn and Inside TV has been adding more and more layers to our daily ensemble, to the point where we look ready to cross the Arctic Circle, some telly sunshine wouldn’t go amiss right now. Fortunately, we can bask in a little bit of vicarious Spanish sun, thanks to new BBC daytime drama
The Mallorca Files.
Being sent to Spain for work might seem like a dream assignment, but DC Miranda Blake isn’t too thrilled by the prospect because she’s only there to ensure the safe return of a slippery informant – and she just wants to get him back to the UK in one piece, as quickly as possible.
“Miranda’s a witness escort – she’s been demoted from her role for reasons you’ll find out later,” teases Elen Rhys, who plays her. “But things go very wrong, and she finds herself stuck on the island policing in a partnership with Max Winter.”
“Max has lived on the island for about three years,” adds Austrian-born actor
Julian Looman, who plays the German detective. “He knows the ins and outs of the place, and he’s comfortable with every barkeeper in town! He likes the quietness and the way that everything is so laid-back, which is a complete contrast to Germany. It’s kind of an escape for him.”
Miranda quickly learns that the way things are done in Mallorca isn’t quite how she’s been used to working back home – and nothing prepares her for a ride in the passenger seat of Max’s car as he zips around the narrow streets…
“I was with Julian at 9am on a Monday morning hitting 100mph!” recalls Elen. “I think there are definitely a lot of my natural reactions in there!”
“There’s no green screen,” confirms Julian. “It’s real driving. I felt safe, as I was controlling it – but I can’t talk for Elen!”
And while the pair might not see eye-to-eye at first, there’s clearly a developing respect for each other that, if we know our chalk-and-cheese detective clichés, could well blossom into something more.
“It’s very subtle – there are missed moments,” hints Elen. “I think it will be fun for the audience to want it to happen and then it doesn’t, so there’s a lot of misunderstanding each other. That’s what I hope will bring people back, to want to see more of what happens with Max and Miranda.”
While the pair had many long days on set, they always felt lucky to be filming in such
THERE’S NO GREEN SCREEN – IT REALLY IS ME DRIVING!”
JULIAN
a beautiful location – and it gave them plenty of ideas for how to spend their days off!
“We would get to explore loads with work,” shares Elen. “They’d take us to the most incredible places, then we’d cherry-pick the best bits of the island to show to our families at the weekends – places that maybe we wouldn’t have found by ourselves.”
“We had a lot of Mallorcan people in the crew,” adds Julian. “They’d tell us where to go, where was not so touristy, and some hideouts and secret spots: ‘Go to this bar; the best beer in town is here’ – so that was very nice!”