Television
A cub reporter chases a far-reaching story that involves sex, politics and murder, with hints of real events.
Fiona Rae
The death of newspapers may be foretold every day, but you can’t beat a good old-fashioned newspaper drama on TV. Shoot the Messenger (Vibe, Sky 006, Tuesday, 8.30pm) is a State of Play for the modern era with a touch of Canada’s Rob Ford scandal.
That’s because, for once, this is an explicitly Canadian miniseries set in Toronto and although the story about a young journalist chasing a farreaching story isn’t inspired by the city’s former mayor, “that climate influenced some of the content in the series,” says star Alex Kingston.
“When you’re hearing about the political corruption that is on your doorstep, if you’re a writer it’s going to feed your creative side.”
Kingston plays Mary Fowler, the editor of the Gazette and a woman who doesn’t mince words, although she is supportive of inexperienced reporter Daisy Channing (Elyse Levesque) after she witnesses the shooting of a source.
The miniseries was created by husband and wife team Sudz Sutherland and Jennifer Holness, whose feature film Home Again, about three people deported to Jamaica, was a minor festival hit. They have a European sensibility, says Kingston, and they specifically wanted her for the part.
“I thought it was well written and when I met them, I loved them,” she says. “I think filming it in Canada and having the support of the CBC, they were able to create something that they wanted to do, rather than do something that had a heavy network breathing over them.”
It’s a far cry from Kingston’s previous gig playing River
Song in Doctor Who, and as Doctor Who and Shoot the Messenger were filmed backto-back, she had to switch into her new role alarmingly quickly.
“I was in Wales for months filming the Christmas special,
and after my last filming day, I literally had to pack up, get in the car and be driven straight to the airport and get on a plane to Toronto and then started filming the next day. It was very intense.”
For a little bit of fun for the fans, Holness even added in a “River Song-ism”.
“Jen wrote one in deliberately to tease me and I think to tease any of the Doctor
Who fans who might be following.”
Kingston took her inspiration for Mary from one of the great female editors, Anna Wintour.
“Just in terms of somebody’s journey and going from A to B, with B being becoming a powerhouse. I imagine Mary had that sort of trajectory.”