MINER THREAT
DAVID MORRISSEY, LESLEY MANVILLE AND ROBERT GLENISTER STAR IN THE DRAMA SHERWOOD, WHICH SEES OLD DIVISIONS REOPEN WHEN A PAIR OF MURDERS ARE LINKED TO THE 1984 MINERS’ STRIKE. DANIELLE DE WOLFE LEARNS MORE
SOMETIMES we can grow tired of crime dramas.
They can feel a little bit, well, stale and samey. We know what to expect – a gloomy setting and a grisly murder solved in about an hour by a detective with a troubled past.
But every now and then, there’s a little diamond in the rough, and Sherwood looks like being one of them.
It’s the brainchild of James Graham, the acclaimed, awardwinning playwright whose previous TV work includes Quiz, The Crown and Brexit: The Uncivil War. It’s also a project close to his heart – the story takes place in the Nottinghamshire pit village where he spent his formative years.
What’s more, it’s loosely inspired by real-life events, tying together what happened in the local area during the miners’ strike of 1984 and two shocking murders in the present day.
“It means the world to have this opportunity to bring the voices of a community I grew up in to BBC1,” explains James.
“So much is spoken about the divisions and difficulties in these ‘Red Wall’ towns, but they’re not always understood.
“I feel so honoured to be able to tell a fictionalised story about a very real trauma, but with the humour and heart and resilience of the people I know and love there.”
He adds: “And then of course, it is inspired by several real life stories; a double killing and a manhunt – one of the largest manhunts in British history.”
David Morrissey and Robert Glenister head the cast as former police colleagues reluctantly thrown together again.
David is DCS Ian St Clair, who’s risen through the ranks of the Nottinghamshire constabulary. He’s a good and empathetic detective, but isn’t pleased about being paired with old rival DI Kevin Salisbury (Glenister), who’s travelled north from his position with the Met to supposedly help him find a link between the killings.
Salisbury’s appearance also heightens the tensions running through the community, which trace back to 1984. He was around when the local miners turned on each other; some, including committed National Union of Mineworkers member Gary Jackson (Alun Armstrong), stayed on the picket line, while others returned to work, dubbed ‘scabs’ by their colleagues.
“It was important for me to play this policeman as someone who was the weight of the whole force on him,” says The Walking Dead star David, 57.
“He wasn’t a representative of the whole force. He was very much an individual in this specific circumstance. I just felt, as with all the characters actually, that personal history was dictating their behaviour.”
Also at loggerheads are Gary’s wife Julie (Lesley Manville) and her sister Cathy (Claire Rushbrook). They fell out when the latter’s quiet, reserved husband Fred continued to attend his shifts during the strike.
Somebody else stirring things up is Yorkshireman Warnock (Stephen Tompkinson), who revels in the opportunity to reopen old wounds by suggesting what undercover officers from the Met got up to almost 40 years ago.
Academy Award nominee Lesley, who will soon be seen in the fourth series of The Crown, says her own working class upbringing allowed a notable level of empathy when it came to her character Julie.
“I sort of grew up with a sense of community – not quite as politically fired as this community, but I kind of get Julie. She’s been a very passionate supporter of the striking miners. Her husband was a striking miner. And as you see in her flashbacks, she’s tough – and that kind of stoicism has stayed with her.”
Also among the town’s residents is Andy Fisher (Adeel Akhtar), a shy man who is struggling with the loss of his wife and relies on son Neel (Bally Gill) for emotional support. But Andy is fearful he is losing his son to Neel’s fiancée Sarah, played by Liar and Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt.
With stark fractures already present within the small community, any remaining threads of comradeship are severed when two killings rock the area. The first victim is Julie’s husband, Gary. After his body is found metres from their home, suspicion engulfs the community.
I remember the miners’ strike. It was something I grew up with and knew about...I’ve never seen anything so beautifully written about that time. Lesley Manville on what drew her to appear in Sherwood
Described by its writer as a chance to talk about “the death of industry and the search for a modern identity”, the drama taps into the lives of the individuals caught in the midst of the investigation.
“I remember the miners’ strike,” says Lesley, 66. “It was something I grew up with and knew about, but I’ve never seen anything so beautifully written about that time.”
Her co-star Adeel, recently on our screens in Killing Eve, notes much of Sherwood’s appeal comes from the nature of James’ writing.
“It’s dealing with a community of people that feel as though they’ve been overlooked,” says Adeel, 41. “And through that sort of prism of storytelling, you can look at things within people’s emotional lives that are overlooked as well. It feels like the television set is a window into (their) world.”
As suspicion hangs heavy in the air, one of Britain’s largest manhunts gets under way.
Trawling the heart of Sherwood Forest – a location James describes as steeped in “mythology, energy, history and folklore”, it’s a tale that quickly develops into a “spy-cop” drama according to star Robert, 62, whose son Tom pops up as a younger version of his character.
As for what audiences will make of the drama, the actor says people “might anticipate a whodunnit”, when what they actually get is a “whydunnit”.
“I think that before the strike, maybe, the police were part of the community. After the strike – and as a consequence of it, maybe, they ceased to be part of the community. And they became, I don’t know, the enemy?” suggests Robert.
“I’ve never thought about that before, but actually, of course the police were part of that community, because those communities were small and intense and mutually supportive.”
Sherwood starts on BBC1 tomorrow at 9pm