BEHIND THE SCENES ON Poldark
SCRIPTWRITER DEBBIE HORSFIELD AND THE CAST SHARE SECRETS FROM THE SHOW
DEBBIE, 61, GREW UP IN GREATER MANCHESTER. SHE BEGAN HER CAREER IN THEATRE, AS A PA AT THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY, WRITING PLAYS IN HER SPARE TIME, BEFORE HER FIRST PLAY WAS PUT ON AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, STRATFORD EAST, AND SHE BECAME RESIDENT WRITER AT THE LIVERPOOL PLAYHOUSE. HER FIRST TV PROJECT WAS ONE OF HER PLAYS, Out On The Floor FOR BBC TWO. SHE’S NOW BEST KNOWN FOR HER BBC ONE SALON DRAMA, Cutting It, AND FOR WRITING ALL THREE SERIES OF Poldark. SHE LIVES WITH HER PARTNER, ACTOR MARTIN WENNER, IN MANCHESTER, AND HAS FOUR GROWN-UP CHILDREN. ONE THING I KNEW WE GOT RIGHT FROM THE START WAS THE CASTING OF AIDAN TURNER AS ROSS POLDARK – HE’S JUST GREAT, ISN’T HE? I’D SEEN HIM IN TWO OTHER TV SERIES, Desperate Romantics AND Being Human, AND I SPOTTED THESE LITTLE CHARACTERISTICS HE AND ROSS SHARED – A SORT OF RESTLESSNESS AND DARKNESS, BUT A VULNERABILITY AND DEFINITELY A CHARISMA. WE DIDN’T EVEN DO AN AUDITION WITH HIM BECAUSE WE ALL JUST KNEW.
THE REACTION TO THOSE SHIRTLESS SCENES TOOK US ALL BY SURPRISE. I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT NONE OF US THOUGHT ANYTHING OF THEM UNTIL THAT TOPLESS PHOTO OF AIDAN GOT SPLASHED ALL OVER THE PAPERS. THE FUNNY THING IS THAT IT WAS A FLEETING MOMENT BETWEEN TAKES WHEN OUR MAKE-UP DESIGNER WAS BLOTTING OUT A TATTOO AIDAN HAS ON HIS FOREARM – AND SUDDENLY POLITICIANS’ HEADS WERE BEING SUPERIMPOSED ONTO AIDAN’S BODY! I HAVE TO ADMIT, IT DID AMUSE US A BIT.
WHEN I WAS APPROACHED ABOUT Poldark, MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS, “HAVE THEY DEFINITELY GOT THE RIGHT PERSON HERE?” I’D NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE AND HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE RULES WERE FOR ADAPTING NOVELS. BUT I READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS AND THOUGHT “I’D REALLY LIKE TO DO THIS” BECAUSE THE CHARACTERS SEEMED TO LEAP OFF THE PAGE. THEN I READ THE BOOKS AGAIN – AND AGAIN!
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WAS NOT HAVING SOMEONE TO TURN TO AND SAY, “IS THIS RIGHT?” – THAT’S SUPPOSED TO BE MY JOB, AFTER ALL. IN FACT, WHEN I WROTE MY FIRST DRAFT OF THE FIRST EPISODE, I CRAMMED
IN AS MUCH OF WINSTON GRAHAM’S STORY AS POSSIBLE, THEN I READ IT BACK AND REALISED I’D MADE A HUGE MISTAKE; IT WAS
“I WRITE THE SCRIPTS FOR PolDaRk ON THE TREADMILL!”
TERRIBLE. I REALISED THAT I NEEDED TO DISCARD EVERYTHING IN THE BOOK THAT WASN’T DIRECTLY RELATED TO ROSS POLDARK – I LEARNED TO BE PRETTY RUTHLESS.
I RARELY GO ON SET NOW – I’VE LEARNED TO LET GO A BIT, BUT THERE ARE SOME SCENES I CAN BE QUITE PRECIOUS ABOUT. I’LL NEVER FORGET THE “BLUE DRESS SCENE” IN SERIES ONE – WHERE DEMELZA SEDUCES ROSS.
I’D WRITTEN IT SO SPECIFICALLY, DOWN TO
HOW ROSS’S BREATH ON THE BACK OF DEMELZA’S NECK MOVED THE HAIRS ON THE BACK OF HERS, AND HOW HE SLIPS HIS HAND INSIDE THE SILK OF THE DRESS; ALL I WANTED WAS FOR IT TO BE DELICATE AND SUGGESTIVE, RATHER THAN HIM RIPPING HER DRESS OFF, AND WATCHING IT COME TOGETHER WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY MOMENT – IT’S STILL
ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SEQUENCES TODAY.
AT THE MOMENT, YOU’LL FIND ME WRITING SERIES FOUR ON THE GREATEST INVENTION EVER – MY TREADMILL DESK. I DO ALL MY WRITING WHILE WALKING AT A SLOW PACE – AND I WRITE FROM ABOUT 8.30AM UNTIL 6.30PM, WITH A 30-MINUTE BREAK FOR LUNCH, SO I CAN EASILY COVER 20KM IN A DAY. IT’S AMAZING.
IT MIGHT SOUND STRANGE, BUT I CAN’T REMEMBER A TIME WHEN I WASN’T WRITING STORIES. I WAS THE CHILD WHO WANTED TO SPEND EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY CREATING ADAPTATIONS OF FAIRY STORIES, WHICH I’D THEN ROPE MY SISTERS AND BROTHER INTO PERFORMING.
WRITING WASN’T A PROFESSION THAT WAS TAKEN SERIOUSLY IN OUR HOUSEHOLD. DAD HAD A GREENGROCER’S SHOP, THEN A JOB ON THE CANAL AT DEANSGATE LOCKS, AND MUM STAYED AT HOME TO LOOK AFTER US. TO DAD, A “PROPER” JOB MEANT BECOMING A SECRETARY AND HE TOLD ME I WAS MAD TO CONSIDER A CAREER IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES. HE STRUGGLED TO UNDERSTAND THE INCENTIVE FOR DOING SOMETHING WHEN YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO MAKE A FORTUNE FROM IT – WELL IT’S TRUE, YOU AREN’T! I’VE ALWAYS FOLLOWED THE MANTRA “WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW” AND MY IDEA FOR Cutting It CAME FROM MY TWIN SISTERS, JEANNIE AND LYNNITT. THEY HAD A HAIR SALON AND USED TO ENTER THESE BIG HAIRDRESSING COMPETITIONS. NOW, A HAIRDRESSING COMPETITION MIGHT NOT SOUND PARTICULARLY EXCITING, BUT TRUST
ME, TO THIS DAY, THEY’RE STILL SOME OF THE MOST DRAMATIC THINGS I’VE EVER BEEN TO! THE THREE OF US HAD SUCH FUN RELIVING ALL THOSE MEMORIES. >>
IT NEVER REALLY OCCURRED TO ME I COULD MAKE THE TRANSITION FROM THEATRE TO TV – BUT BOY, DID THINGS CHANGE WHEN THAT HAPPENED. MY AGENT HEARD THE BBC WERE LOOKING FOR NEW WRITERS SO HE SUGGESTED MY PLAY, Out On The Floor, ABOUT THE NORTHERN SOUL SCENE, AND
THAT LED TO ME BEING COMMISSIONED TO WRITE AN EPISODE OF Crown Court.
I REMEMBER GOING TO REHEARSALS AND SEEING A GROUP OF FAMOUS ACTORS IN
THE CANTEEN AND THINKING, “OH MY GOD, I WONDER WHAT THEY’RE DOING HERE!” THEN THE PRODUCER MET ME AND SAID, “NOW COME AND MEET YOUR CAST”. THAT WAS A REAL PINCH-ME MOMENT. “There’s a part of me in every character. I have to get inside their head and see the world from their point of view” THERE’S A PART OF ME IN EVERY CHARACTER I WRITE – EVEN THE ONES THAT ARE DELIBERATELY UNLIKEABLE! NO MATTER
WHAT CHARACTER IT IS, I HAVE TO GET INSIDE THEIR HEAD AND SEE THE WORLD FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW. I THINK THAT’S ONE OF THE THINGS WRITERS SUCH AS KAY MELLOR AND SALLY WAINWRIGHT AND I HAVE IN COMMON – EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE A BRILLIANT THRILLER LIKE Happy Valley, FIRST AND FOREMOST
IT’S THE CHARACTERS THAT YOU’RE ENGAGED BY, ISN’T IT?
WHEN I’M NOT WORKING, YOU’LL FIND ME WATCHING MANCHESTER UNITED PLAY. WHEN I WAS 10 I BEGGED MY DAD TO TAKE ME TO A GAME – AND I FELL IN LOVE. GEORGE BEST WAS PLAYING, SO IT WAS HARD NOT TO! AND NOW, MARTIN, THE KIDS AND I ALL GO TOGETHER – I LOVE THAT TIME.
ONE OF THE MOST WONDERFUL THINGS THAT’S HAPPENED IN THE PAST YEAR
IS THAT I’VE BECOME A GRANDMA. THE BEST PART IS THAT MY SON, HIS PARTNER
AND BABY LIVE NEXT DOOR TO US, SO IT’S WONDERFUL TO BE ABLE TO POP OVER AND SEE THEM ALL. AND MY FATHER-IN-LAW AND STEPMOTHER-IN-LAW LIVE NEXT DOOR ON THE OTHER SIDE! IT’S BRILLIANT.
POLDARK starts on BBC One this month.