James Murray
James, 43, is best known for roles in HIM,
Cucumber and Cutting It – Debbie Horsfield’s tale of hairdressing folk, on which he met his wife, actress Sarah Parish. Now, he returns to our screens in Horsfield’s new drama, Age Before Beauty, set in a Northern beauty salon. James lives with Sarah and their daughter Nell, eight, in rural Hampshire.
Cutting It was a brilliant drama that became compulsory viewing. Will
Age Before Beauty be the same?
Yes. Even though it’s been a few years since Cutting It, this drama has the same style and tone. And a salon of any kind, of course, remains the perfect world for drama.
Tell us about your character…
I play Wesley who is married to Bel (Polly Walker). They’ve just seen their twins off to university and they’re relationship is flatlining a bit. Then Bel’s brother-in law, Teddy (Robson Green), who also happens to be Wes’ best friend, asks her to take over the family business. It’s run down, not making money and needs a facelift.
Do things get rocky?
They do, and it’s not helped by Wes’ own midlife crisis. Sadly, he does the same as many other middle-aged men – he has his head turned and risks his marriage.
You and your wife Sarah have experienced great tragedy with the death of your first daughter, Ella-jayne at eight months old from a heart defect. How do you cope with that kind of loss?
Well, they do say that 75% of couples that have lost a child break up as result, and you can definitely see why, because there’s no greater trauma. In the end, it can either ruin your marriage or make it stronger and we were lucky that it was the latter. I think it has helped a lot that we decided to set up the Murrayparish Trust in Ella-jayne’s memory and to deal with her loss by trying to
do something that would help other children. It was a way for us to keep her memory strong and alive.
Tell us about the trust…
It’s a charity we set up after we worked with Southampton Hospital – where Ella-jayne was treated – to raise £500,000 for their PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) appeal. But after that, we wanted to form a charity of our own, which has involved trying to raise £2m – to match £2m promised by the government – to build a brand-new trauma and A&E unit for children at Southampton hospital.
Your relationship with your daughter, Nell – born a year after Ella-jayne’s death – must also be a huge consolation?
It is and, in many ways, I feel that Nell isn’t just my daughter – she’s also my best friend. We get on really well and there is no greater pleasure than just hanging out with her.
How important is laughter in your life with Sarah now?
Very. And although we’ve been through sadness, I wouldn’t want to give the impression that our life is morose. There’s a huge amount of laughter in our house and a lot of mickey-taking, too. That’s what happens when you’re a man outnumbered by females in your own home. It’s why I spend so much time with the dog!
Age Before Beauty, BBC1, April. To support the Murray-parish Trust with donations or fundraising, visit themurrayparishtrust.com