Hiddleston for Bond? He looks like an estate agent

Suspects star James Murray on why HE should be 007 – and how he and his wife Sarah Parish are using the legacy of the daughter they lost to help others

James Murray has wanted to be James Bond since he was seven years old. The star of shows as diverse as Primeval, Cutting It and recent police thriller Suspects isn’t exactly one of the favourites for the role but he’s got the looks, at 41 he’s about the right age, and as a former pupil of independent Malvern College he’s got the perfect upper-middle- class accent. He doesn’t think much of the top contender either.

‘I heard it was going to Tom Hiddleston,’ sighs James. ‘ But he’d be wrong for it. He reminds me of an estate agent I know who worked for Foxtons. I know Tom’s well loved but maybe he should go and be an estate agent. I’d love to audition for Bond. Let’s start a campaign to get me the job. Daniel Craig’s audition was the film Layer Cake, mine could be my new show.’

James is talking about HIM, a genre-defying ITV drama in which he plays a surgeon named Edward who left his wife and son some years ago. The now teenage son, played by newcomer Fionn Whitehead, is known only as ‘him’ in the show and his behaviour becomes ever more erratic as both his father and his mother, played by Katherine Kelly, start new families. Their son, flitting between both homes, is a reminder to his parents of the failure of their past and a threat to their future domestic bliss.

But the boy’s behaviour is also triggered by a struggle to contain supernatural powers he inherited from his grandfather. He has the ability to make things happen using only his mind. His ageing grandmother understands this and urges him to use his power for ‘good’, but when his stepsister Faith moves into the family home he finds himself drawn to her, and they know their attraction could rupture the family – and unleash his power. ‘It’s something I’ve never seen before on TV and I’d definitely want to watch it,’ says James. ‘There’s an element of kitchen-sink drama, but the paranormal is slotted in and it fits really well. Edward’s father had the same gift – or curse – that the boy now has and it led to his suicide. So Edward decided after his father’s death that he could either obsess about the paranormal or deny it. It’s not a coincidence that he ended up a doctor. He relies on facts and figures rather than a belief in the supernatural.

‘But the magic is just a small part of the story. It’s also a look at divorce. There’s a debate about whether people should stay together for their kids or if an acrimonious relationship damages them. I think there’s a strong argument to try to make it work rather than splitting up.’

James’s wife is Sarah Parish, of Mistresses, Atlantis and W1A fame. The pair’s daughter, Nell, turns seven next month, but eight years ago they lost their first child Ella-Jayne at just eight months old due to a congenital heart defect. James and Sarah channelled their grief into setting up a charity, the Murray Parish Trust, which recently announced a campaign to raise £2 million in two years to create a paediatric A&E unit at University Hospital in Southampton. Not only is raising money together in their daughter’s name cathartic, but it’s also brought them closer together.

They first learned there was something wrong at a routine 35week scan. The next day Sarah had an emergency Caesarean and Ella-Jayne was born with a rare condition called Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, which causes heart problems. She had open-heart surgery at three days old and a second operation at four months.

Although she was allowed home for three months, EllaJayne died in her sleep shortly after her first Christmas with her parents. ‘When we lost her we wanted to deal with our grief on our own so we went to work in orphanages in Cambodia and Vietnam,’ says James. ‘When you work in places like that you think, “We’ve had a rough ride, but life is terrible for these people.” The way they smile in the face of adversity is a real inspiration.’

Despite their fame, the pair have rarely spoken of the tragedy. But the new campaign has changed that. ‘It’s a personal, private thing,’ James says, ‘but we’re ready to use Ella- Jayne’s legacy to help others. So many people have gone through bad things with their kids and our work resonates with parents. People say we’ve touched them and that is touching for us.

‘There isn’t enough money in the NHS. Southampton Hospital needs more resources for its children, and this is our way of keeping Ella-Jayne’s memory alive. It’d be wonderful if she could help people going through hell. And just think,’ he muses, ‘ if I got Bond I could raise all the money we need.’

James with his wife Sarah Parish