Victoria
SUNDAY 1 October, 9.00pm ITV Drama
Line of Duty star Martin Compston guest stars in the historical drama this week. He plays Dr Robert Traill, a key campaigner in the petition to gain support for those suffering from the potato famine in Ireland during the
1840s.
Martin Compston joins Victoria, playing a battling
Irish campaigner...
News of the devastating potato famine sweeping Ireland reaches Queen Victoria and although she wants the government to do more to help, her Prime Minister Robert Peel is reluctant to send food, fearing it could destabilise his party and damage his own career.
With Prince Albert a firm supporter of Peel, the young Queen feels further isolated as shockwaves from the famine reach right into the palace and divide the household. The crisis reaches a critical point when Victoria receives a desperate visit from Irish campaigner Reverend Dr Traill begging for help.
Big responsibility
‘Dr Robert Traill was the rector of Schull in County Cork,’ says Line of Duty star Martin Compston, who guest stars as Traill. ‘He was a key campaigner during the Irish Potato
Famine in the 1840s.
‘I knew a fair bit about the character as he was a distant relative of the show’s creator, Daisy Goodwin,’ explains Martin. ‘Daisy sent me some material on Dr Traill and the horrors of the Irish potato famine, so I felt a great responsibility playing him.’
As Dr Traill delivers a heart-breaking account of how he’s been forced to watch the people of his parish starving to death, Victoria is faced with a humanitarian dilemma. Will Traill’s plea be enough to overcome her country’s deep-rooted prejudices?
Revelation
‘The biggest revelation for me in playing this role was finding out about the actions of the Irish authorities and landowners during the famine,’ says Martin. ‘Food was being sent abroad from Ireland at a time when the Irish people were suffering the most!’