A thriller to die for
CRIME DRAMA FILMED IN BRISTOL SET TO GRIP VIEWERS TONIGHT
ABREATHLESS crime drama set in Bristol is set to grip viewers across the country tonight.
Before We Die is a British remake of an edge-of-your-seat Swedish thriller of the same name.
It stars Lesley Sharp as Hannah, Patrick Gibson as her son Christian, Vince Regan as Billy and Croatian actor Tony Gojanovic as Davor, the boss of the Mimica family who have left Croatia to set up a restaurant in Bristol.
The series was filmed in both Bristol and Belgium.
Executive producer Jo McGrath said Bristol was the perfect setting for the UK adaptation of the hit series.
She said: “We wanted to set it in a port city, as that is important to the drug trafficking storyline.
“We were looking for something a little less familiar and Bristol is one of those cities that actually has been used as a backdrop for filming a lot, but you wouldn’t know it because a lot of series are filmed there but not set there.
“Bristol is such a visually interesting city and editorially it fitted with our storyline.
“Belgium also features in our drug trafficking storyline. We did shoot many of the interiors in Belgium.”
And while Bristol often doubles as other cities in TV and film productions, this time it worked the other way with Belgian locations being “Bristolised”.
Director Jan Mattys said: “For me, part of the challenge was making Belgium match with the other scenes in Bristol – which was interesting. We became specialists in ‘Anglifying’ Belgium. It was simple things such as putting double yellow lines on the streets which made it instantly Bristol. I love the magic of my craft and this was a good way to bring the series to life.”
Lead actress Lesley Sharp said she was instantly drawn to the story: “Hannah is a superb role and the show built a brooding sense of suspense. The police genre is capable of holding and shaping many forms of storytelling. Our show investigates a character at the centre of a crime thriller who is also trying to learn something about all the mistakes they’ve made as a partner, a mother and a colleague. It unwittingly sets in motion a dark trail for her to follow into the crime underworld, endangering her own life and the life of a child she loves but is estranged from.”
The show was filmed during the pandemic, with rehearsals done with all actors wearing masks, daily Covid tests and other restrictions in place.
Actor Patrick Gibson, who plays Christian Radic, said it was just good to be on set again.
“I was just so grateful to be around people and making something, especially something as exciting as this. Filming through a pandemic certainly had its challenges. Any shoot is at times pressured and you’re running on adrenaline. I think it brought a certain energy to the set, everyone was happy to be back working and out of hibernation!”
» Before We Die starts at 9pm on Channel 4 and the whole series will be available to watch on All4 afterwards.
❝ Bristol is one of those cities that actually has been used as a backdrop for filming a lot, but you wouldn’t know it because a lot of series are filmed there but not set there. Bristol is such a visually interesting city and editorially it fitted with our storyline Executive producer Jo McGrath
LESLEY Sharp, star of Scott & Bailey and Clocking Off, leads the cast in this chilling Bristolset crime thriller, based on a Swedish show of the same name.
She plays Detective Inspector Hannah Laing, who looks to be in marital bliss with fellow police officer Sean Hardacre, played by Bill Ward.
But he’s actually married to someone else, and she is the other woman.
“I want to be free to be with you,” he tells Hannah, admitting that he wants to leave the force and also leave his wife.
Channel 4, 9pm
But later on, while she’s on the phone to Sean before they go into the office, the line suddenly cuts out.
Sean has gone missing in mysterious circumstances, and Hannah, knowing that something is not right, persuades her colleagues to launch an urgent manhunt.
Clues, including grey vans and discarded phones, are already stacking up to suggest that he’s been kidnapped.
She manages to contact one of Sean’s confidential sources, but can ‘Issy’ help her to find Sean before it’s too late?
In other bad news for Hannah, her son has gone off the rails and is implicated in a terrible crime.
It’s a fast-moving thriller, with lots of twists and turns delving into drug gangs and a shady mafia-type family, also starring Vincent Regan and Patrick Gibson.
And if you’re hooked, the whole series is available to stream on All4 immediately after the first episode.