This script has been lightly edited for clarity.

Jace Lacob: I’m Jace Lacob and you’re listening to MASTERPIECE Studio.

A dark storm rolls through London and Eliza Scarlet and Alexander Blake’s relationship, casting thunderbolts of newfound realization. After a series of miscommunications, the unofficial couple is on shaky ground. Eliza pays Blake a visit to inform him of her upcoming travel plans, an interaction that brings their simmering tension to the surface.

CLIP

Eliza: I’m here because I wanted to let you know that I’m going away on holiday.

Blake: An actual holiday, or…?

Eliza: ​​What does that mean?

Blake: You’ve said before you were going on holiday, but in fact were on a case.

Eliza: ​​I’m going to Paris to visit Moses and his family. His wife had a little boy.

Blake: Well, that is welcome news. Please give him my best.

Eliza: Contrary to what you believe, Alexander, I don’t lie to you. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to come and see you today?

With Eliza out of town, this episode zeros in on Scotland Yard. Inspector Blake has notorious crime kingpin Dylan Cooper in custody, and is doing all he can to transfer him to Newgate Prison as soon as possible. Meanwhile, there’s a mysterious stomach bug ripping through the station, leaving Blake with few men he can depend on. But among these men is one of Scotland Yard’s newest members, the reliable and dedicated Detective Willows.

CLIP

Blake: Willows.

Willows: Sorry, Sir. Only three men have turned up. The rest of the night shift are off sick.

Blake: Well, just to add to our good fortune, I spoke to the governor at Newgate. A mob has gathered outside the prison, and he doesn’t feel it’s safe to transfer Cooper tonight.

Willows: A mob? Newgate’s nowhere near the rookeries, that doesn’t make any sense.

Blake: What’s more worrying is Cooper seems to know about it in advance. Keep an eye out. Something isn’t right.

Willows: Yes, Sir.

Although Dylan Cooper is behind bars, he seems to somehow be orchestrating chaos inside Scotland Yard. The storm intensifies, the telephone lines are down, a mob is forming outside, and men are dropping like flies. Indeed, something is not right at the Yard.

CLIP

Blake: Willows! Discharge them, all of them. I want the whole place cleared in five minutes.

Willows: What do you mean, Sir?

Blake: We are shutting down Scotland Yard. No one comes in, no one goes out.

Today, we’re joined by actor Sam Buchanan, who discusses putting his determined Detective Sergeant George Willows through a baptism of fire and the agony of betrayal. Plus, Tom Durant-Pritchard returns to the podcast to discuss this one-of-a-kind bottle episode of Miss Scarlet.

Jace Lacob: And this week we are joined by Miss Scarlet star Sam Buchanan, welcome.

Sam Buchanan: Hi, Jace. How are you?

Jace Lacob: I’m good. How are you doing, Sam?

Sam Buchanan: Oh, good. Thank you. I’m good.

Jace Lacob: You were coming off a run as Nicky in two series of Such Brave Girls, where you star opposite fellow Miss Scarlet cast member Paul Bazely. What attracted you to the character of Detective George Willows, particularly in contrast to Nicky?

Sam Buchanan: Yeah, wow, I mean polar opposite characters from totally different worlds. Nicky is kind of a raging narcissist and quite an awful person really, only caring about himself and getting what he wants, whereas George Willows is the complete opposite of that. He’s a very caring person, someone who works incredibly hard for his family and his friends, he’s incredibly loyal. Not to mention, Miss Scarlet being a period piece and Such Brave Girls being set in modern day. So it was totally opposite. I’ve run the spectrum, which was really fun.

Jace Lacob: Unlike some junior detectives, George Willows isn’t wet behind the ears. And I’m going to quote you here, “He comes across as loyal”, you said, and he does, and hard working. He later says this season, “There’s nowhere like the Yard” having been transferred to Scotland Yard from Bow Street. What motivates George Willows? Is it a big deal for him to be at the Yard?

Sam Buchanan: Absolutely, yeah. To be at Scotland Yard and the British Police is the pinnacle of that work environment. So, he’s very work driven and very proud. And like I say, fiercely loyal. So he just wants to be doing the best work he can possibly be doing for himself, for the people around him, and to provide. So, yeah, to get to Scotland Yard, he’s immensely excited and apprehensive to start because he just wants to do the best work he can do and put his best foot forward. Yeah, it’s a big deal to him.

Jace Lacob: Let’s go back a little bit. What was your audition process like for Miss Scarlet?

Sam Buchanan: Interestingly, it was funny because I was shooting on Such Brave Girls when I was asked to read for Detective Willows, which was so funny because I was on set with Paul. I spoke to him about it, and he was like, oh yeah, I do that show. And I was like, amazing. And he just couldn’t stress enough how lovely the team were. And when I read the scripts, I thought that the part was fantastic. So I absolutely threw my hat in the ring, and they asked me to come in and meet the team and do a bit of a chemistry-type read with Tom Durant-Pritchard, who plays Alexander Blake.

And yeah, honestly, I talk about it a lot because it was hands down one of the friendliest meetings I’ve ever had. I walked in and I was instantly put at ease. And Rachael New, the creator, was there with some of the producers. Tom was there to read with me, and it was just a lovely, lovely, relaxed environment. And we had a chat and we had a play, and I got on instantly with Tom, and I knew that I’d have a real good time filming with him. We kind of had a real chemistry instantly, I felt anyway. And yeah, then a couple days later, I found out that they very kindly offered me the part. So, it must have gone as well as I’d felt it had gone. That’s not always the case. But yeah, it was a lovely experience.

Jace Lacob: I mean, you wouldn’t be sat here if it hadn’t, I guess.

Sam Buchanan: I suppose not, no.

Jace Lacob: George Willows is introduced on his first day at Scotland Yard. He’s nervous and stressed, newly transferred. And he meets Isabel Summers as soon as he enters the building. It’s the very definition of a meet-cute. They’re both lost on their first day of work as Izzy can’t find the clerical office. What did you make of their first meeting?

Sam Buchanan: Just incredibly charming and disarming. Rachael has written it so beautifully. You get two people who are kind of crossing paths in a quite stressful environment, but there’s an excitement and there’s a buzz in the air. And I think they’re attracted to each other. That’s like quite an energetic energy to meet someone in. And I think it’s really sweet. It’s a lovely first interaction. I think it quite nicely sets the tone for potential chemistry and a potential romance to blossom there.

Jace Lacob: You are shooting this non-linearly, completely out of order. You are a student of the Meisner technique of acting, which uses repetition and improvisation to focus on an emotional truth of a scene. How does that come into play for you as an actor, and how did you use that to stay in the situational truth of George Willows while filming this?

Sam Buchanan: Yeah, absolutely, I did some Meisner work at school, which I found incredibly helpful. And like you say, I think one of the key things with that is getting you out of your head and in the moment and your attention being on the other person. So I think the crux of all good acting, when people refer to being in the moment where you lose yourself in that moment, is because you’re fully focused on the other person. Acting is reacting.

I like to just learn my lines as well as I possibly can to the point where you don’t have to think about them. They’re just going to come out and then you’re totally free to react in the moment to whatever the other person opposite is doing. And me and Gracie from the get go kind of agreed on our boundaries or lack of for this, and were totally happy to just play with each other and throw things at each other. And we knew and had confidence that the other person would take that in the moment and run with it, you know? So it was very freeing and liberating to work with her on this.

Jace Lacob: What sort of backstory were you given for George Willows, and what elements did you create for yourself, whether or not they appeared on the page?

Sam Buchanan: Yeah, honestly, not too much. I was given quite a lot of freedom with it, which was lovely. One of the best things to do, I always do, is go through the script and look at what my character says about himself and what other people say about my character, and what my character says about other people. And that gives you actually a really effective map of not only how the character views himself and the facts about your character, but also how other people view your character.

And often when you get characters who are very self-indulged and have quite warped perceptions of themselves or their own or their own egos, they’re quite different in opinions, you know? Your character has a very strong opinion of himself in one way, and people see him totally differently. But Willow’s being a very grounded, head screwed on, loyal person, everything that everyone is saying about him, he’s aware of which is a positive thing.

Jace Lacob: There’s an inherent sweetness to George that comes through in his meet cute with Izzy in the corner of Scotland Yard, and initially it seems as though he’s married thanks to that baby sick on his lapel, but we find out he’s living with his sister and her child. What does he make of Isabel initially? Is he someone who believes in love at first sight?

Sam Buchanan: I think he is absolutely a romantic. He’s also a realist, so whether love at first sight is something that he would say is an absolute true thing, I’m not sure, but he absolutely is immediately taken aback by her. But I think does his best to stay focused on the task at hand. But I think their relationship grows incredibly organically, which is thanks to Rachael and her writing. So, I think it was lovely to explore that growing of a relationship really organically and naturally through. And I think he eventually succumbs to it. He doesn’t want to fight it because he thinks she’s absolutely lovely. And that’s why it’s really sweet that he goes to Blake for permission which is really sweet because it shows his professionalism and his willingness to do the right thing.

Jace Lacob: Even just the way that he asks Blake is so specific to Willows. He says,

CLIP

Willows: As I’m new here, I just wanted to…check something, but it’s a bit awkward, I don’t really know how to put it.

Blake: Concisely. I have a train to catch.

Willows: Do you think it’s alright for a copper to be romantically involved with a lady he works with?

Blake: Why do you ask? Well, if you have something to say, Detective Willows, then say it.

Willows: I’ve been out for dinner with a lady from the clerical office. Twice, actually. Miss Isabel Summers. I’d like to take her out a third time, but I wanted to check with you first.

Blake: I’m not her father, Detective Willows. What you do in your free time is your own business.

Willows: Thank you, sir.

Jace Lacob: Why do you think he goes to Blake to ask him for permission, and what does this say about his moral compass?

Sam Buchanan: I think it shows a selflessness of him in the fact that if Blake were to turn around and say, absolutely not, I wholeheartedly believe that he would have put a stop to it, and not because he would have wanted to, but because he knows that’s the the right and moral thing to do. So I think it just shows that he’s a good person and wants to do the right thing and doesn’t want to put a foot wrong. And yeah, it also just shows that he obviously really cares about his job. And I think it’s particularly in this time period, like the stakes of work and earning a good living were higher than ever. And it’s clear that he’s got a family at home to support. So that is always going to come first for him. But thankfully, Blake obviously says it’s okay, so he’s in the clear.

Jace Lacob: Willows can’t help but chuckle when Isabel says of Scotland Yard,

CLIP

Ivy: Detective Willows.

Willows: Mrs. Potts.

Ivy: The advert for the new office manager. I’ve got copies going up all over the Yard, but I want you to call the evening papers with the wording for the classifieds.

Isabel: ‘Wanted: Manager for the Clerical Office, Scotland Yard.’ You should apply, Ivy!

Ivy: Keep reading.

Isabel: ‘The Gentleman in question…’ Why can’t it be a lady? You could do that job standing on your head.

Ivy: I’ve got enough to worry about as it is.

Isabel: One day a woman will run this whole place. What’s funny about that?

Willows: Uh… I’d better get on.

Jace Lacob: Does this moment help to establish Willows, who, while kind, is also very much a man of his time?

Sam Buchanan: Exactly that, I think he’s very much a man of his time, but with the best intentions. And I think that’s what’s key. And I think there’s just a lack of education or understanding at that time, that that is something that could be completely possible. And he doesn’t mean any offense by it. And I think he’s one of those people that if he were to continue a relationship in this time, he would learn and progress over time that that is something that is totally possible.

Jace Lacob: Episode Five is a real showcase for you as George Willows. It’s a taut nail biter of an episode directed by Rachael New. What did you make of this episode when you first read the script for it?

Sam Buchanan: Oh, I was buzzing. Such an exciting episode, and what we refer to as a bottle episode often in TV and film, when the episode kind of takes place under one roof really, in one location, really exciting. And I think it really ramps up the stakes. And you are kind, as you describe, kind of nail biting, not knowing which way it’s going to go. And it was really fun working so closely with Tom and going on that kind of emotional journey together. Which would have been for any police officer at that time living that immensely stressful.

We shot Episode Five first. So my first week, I was in every scene every day for, I think, five or six days straight. I was properly thrown in the deep end with that. So we shot all that stuff first. But yeah, I’m really chuffed with how it’s all come out. I think everyone’s done some fantastic work, and I think it’s a really lovely, impactful, near climax for the series.

Jace Lacob: I mean, that is a trial by fire.

Sam Buchanan: For sure.

Jace Lacob: Wow. The episode starts off on a light footing, we have George and Izzy talking about another date at Barons, and it quickly descends into claustrophobia and paranoia. What sort of direction did Rachael give you during the shooting of Episode Five, which I can’t believe was your first episode? And what was it like filming these very intense scenes with Tom and Grace as your first introduction to the show?

Sam Buchanan: What I spoke to Rachael a lot about was how myself and Grace were plotting our relationship over the time in the arc. We did kind of the same thing for the episode, because again, it’s so much material to shoot, you need to really be pinpointed on where you are in the timeline. Because as you said, it starts off much more relaxed and then becomes something else. So it’s just making sure that every time you’re in front of that camera, and I’m talking to Tom in those scenes, we’re both married up on exactly where we are in the script and exactly what’s just happened and where we’re about to go.

That was the biggest challenge, I think. Every scene is kind of, Willows and Blake walk through Scotland Yard corridor, Willows and Blake are stood there talking. Like, you can’t navigate via location or sunlight or all these things that help you color a scene because we’re in the same place around the same time with the same people all the time. Do you know what I mean? So yeah, Rachael was very helpful in helping us block all of that out and then yeah, just playing and finding it together.

Jace Lacob: Even with the looming siege, there is space for banter here between George and Izzy, particularly with the tea. George admits, “It’s a bit too milky for my taste.” And Izzy replies, “Cheeky sod.” It’s a moment of comedy that subverts the tension here. How did you see these exchanges in Episode Five, particularly with the emotional rug pull that followed?

Sam Buchanan: I saw them as really key, actually. It’s about bringing the audience to the realization that there’s a real relationship here. I always use the term three dimensional, I like it. We’re seeing behind the professionalism, the banter and the flanter and the closeness between them, which makes it all the more heartbreaking, and as you said, a rug pull. You earn that payoff of being deceived. You feel that way as an audience as well because you’ve grown to enjoy these two characters’ romance. And I think those little moments are really key in just coloring in that relationship. When you see those little moments, you really buy that they’ve been spending lots of time together off camera, that that relationship is real.

Jace Lacob: You share a beautiful scene with Tom at the gate where Blake talks about his daughter loving the rain, and George talks about his little niece.

CLIP

Willows: My little niece will sleep through anything. Thunder, lightning. Couple next door throwing plates at each other.

Blake: Does she live with you?

Willows: Her and my sister. Her father’s not around, it’s a long story. I just didn’t want her raising the little girl on her own. Sorry, sir, I didn’t… No offence.

Blake: None taken. I can’t deny it would be easier not to be alone.

Jace Lacob: And it’s this lovely bonding moment for the two of them. What did you make of this scene? And the way that these two men allow themselves to be vulnerable for a moment?

Sam Buchanan: Absolutely, that’s kind of what I think drew me to that scene so much was that particularly in this time period as well, men weren’t vulnerable in this time period. So it’s really nice to see two men who clearly have a lot of weight on their shoulders allowing each other in for a moment. I think that’s what’s more heartbreaking about it, and again, what draws you to them as an audience because you’re watching two people struggle, who both have the best intentions and are trying to do the right thing at every turn. It’s really lovely writing. It’s one of my favorite scenes from the show for sure.

Jace Lacob: PC Murray tells George that Isabelle drugged the tea, and when he woke up after passing out, he saw her rummaging through George’s jacket pockets. George shouts, “You’re lying!” But then you see this cascade of emotions cross your face as George tries to understand what’s happening. What goes through his head here?

Sam Buchanan: Oh, it’s like a million miles an hour, isn’t it? It’s like, there’s no way, that couldn’t possibly be true, what is being implied. It’s just so devastating to think that if this is true, not only has he been duped emotionally and been completely had by someone that he’s allowed himself to be emotionally vulnerable with, but he’s also professionally let everyone down. And I think there’s a lot of him thinking or feeling like the professional gravitas of it, like he’s let his emotions get in the way of his duty, and that is something that goes so against him as a person morally. And he finds that really hard to deal with. So I think he’s just got like thousands of flashing images all at once of being lied to, deceit. Yeah, just a hell of a lot. A hell of a lot.

Jace Lacob: That all coalesces when George discovers Isabel has sabotaged the phone lines, and he catches her letting Dylan Cooper out of the station. He says,

CLIP

Willows: I’m arresting you for aiding an escape from lawful custody.

Isabel: Please, Georgie…

Willows: Detective Sergeant Willows! Hands behind your back.

Jace Lacob: His response is so cold, he says, “Detective Sergeant Willows”, which calls back their meet-cute and his inability to name himself. And here he’s very firm about who he is. He is not George Willows, he’s Detective Sergeant Willows. How much does Izzy absolutely break George’s heart here?

Sam Buchanan: Oh yeah, shatters it. It’s lovely writing from Rachael with that callback. And yeah, he’s just completely destroyed, and his walls go firmly up, and like you say, it’s really cold. And he continues to be very cold in the interview process with her afterwards because I think he’s just completely broken. And as I said, it’s the effect on his career that is so devastating as well. Everything he’s worked for, he could have potentially thrown away because this person’s pulled the wool over his eyes. I think he’s just distraught and really, really hurt by her.

Jace Lacob: As you say in that interview scene he is cold, she says. “I’m so sorry. I really did like you.” And he calls her Miss Summers and he’s struggling to control his emotions. And I do think in a way it’s worse that he doesn’t know if she betrayed them as a couple or that he failed to see who she was. What is the worst element of it? Is it the career, as you’re saying? Is it that she made a fool out of him? Has this destroyed his entire notion of love or trust? What’s the worst element of the betrayal?

Sam Buchanan: I think what I played the most, because it’s what spoke to me the most in terms of heightening stakes for me personally was that it’s the first time in his life that he’s let someone close to him emotionally, romantically, really let his walls down with someone and she’s stamped on that. The work stuff for me was secondary to just the pain of that heartbreak and the feeling of betrayal. For Willows who’s someone who prides himself on loyalty, for him to have got someone so cataclysmically wrong, and the embarrassment and the shame of that all come to a head. But, yeah, I think the thing that hurts the most is just the heartbreak.

Jace Lacob: George writes a resignation letter. He remembers his first kiss and meeting Izzy. Blake says to him, “Resigning is not the answer. You are a good detective, and I don’t want to lose you. You wouldn’t be the first man to have made a mistake when it comes to matters of the heart.” What does he make of Blake’s refusal to consider his resignation? How does that reflect that scene at the gate between the two men earlier in the episode?

Sam Buchanan: Yeah, it’s lovely because I think it touches him that Blake so firmly believes in him still and I think it’s something that he probably wasn’t expecting, actually. And I think that’s why it’s quite an emotional moment as Willow leaves that office when Blake says he’s not the first person to make a mistake with matters of the heart. It’s emotional and it’s another example of men being open and honest with each other and showing emotional vulnerability, which I think is lovely. And I think there’s probably an element of Willow’s that can see in Blake that Blake may potentially be talking from experience as well. And as his senior officer, he’s probably thinking, well, maybe I’m not the only one that’s been in this kind of situation before, which maybe makes him feel a bit better about the situation, in a way.

Jace Lacob: What do you hope that viewers take away from George Willows as a new presence in the ensemble?

Sam Buchanan: I hope the viewers welcome him with open arms. And I hope they enjoy his journey and enjoy a new presence in the walls of Scotland Yard, and a new face and a new energy. And I really hope that he’s welcomed because I think he’s a really, really good guy. And I think he’s got a really, really lovely story arc that I really hope that the viewers and the fans will enjoy.

Jace Lacob: You were named an ambassador for Diabetes UK earlier this year. As a type one diabetic, what does that role mean to you?

Sam Buchanan: Oh yeah, loads. I was diagnosed at quite a young age, I was about ten years old. So when I ended up choosing a career to pursue that could potentially put me in the public eye, I always said that if I had a profile large enough where I could get get some attention for a good cause, I’d really love to shine a bit of a light on my diabetes and my journey and how it hasn’t stopped me doing anything that I’ve wanted to do, because I really felt when I was young and diagnosed, it was hard to know where to turn, really. And I think I’d have really benefited from seeing someone like myself today when I was a little ten year old who was told that I had this thing that was big and scary and had to inject all this stuff. And so yeah, that for me was a really rewarding thing to be now involved in. And I’m really, really proud to work with them. They’re fantastic at what they do.

Jace Lacob: Sam Buchanan, thank you so very much.

Sam Buchanan: Thank you very much, Jace. All the best, mate.

Jace Lacob: Cheers.

MIDROLL

Jace Lacob: And this week we are joined once again by Miss Scarlet star Tom Durant-Pritchard. Welcome back.

Tom Durant-Pritchard: Thank you very much.

Jace Lacob: Episode Five might be my favorite of this series. It’s a taut and claustrophobic episode directed by Rachael New that finds Blake and DS Willows under siege at the Yard while attempting to transfer Dylan Cooper. What did you make of this episode when you first read the script for it?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: I was immediately just incredibly excited by this episode. There was something about the claustrophobia of an entire episode being set in the police station, and with threats happening from outside and never quite being able to put your finger on what is going on, and the stakes of the episode stay incredibly high. And you see Blake pushed to his limits in terms of stress and trying to manage a situation to the best of his ability. And I think they did a beautiful job with the writing. And I watched it a couple of weeks ago, and I just think the episode’s been shot beautifully, and I think it’s a scary episode.

Jace Lacob: I love it. So the episodes of Miss Scarlet that Rachael has directed I think are up there as some of my most favorite. How would you describe her as a director?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: She’s a fantastic director. The thing is with Rach, because she’s written the series, created the series, and she is on set every day and she is very, very present with all the decision making that goes on on a daily basis on set. We have a wonderful director for the other episodes called Ivan, who is a fantastic director, but it is a kind of double act of sorts. So Rachael is very present with all of it. So it didn’t feel like a huge shift from what we’ve been used to.

But one of the joys of having Rach come in and directing the episode is she’s written things a certain way and therefore she’s putting into practice what she’s written. So as an actor, it’s just your job to try and honor what she’s created. And she’d written an incredibly detailed episode that was slightly different to other episodes we’ve seen in Miss Scarlet, and it stands alone, I think, as a one off piece. And she just brought all her skills as a writer and a director and just brought all of it to set. And it was a really, really lovely experience.

Jace Lacob: My favorite scene in the episode has got to be the scene at the gate between Blake and Willows.

CLIP

Blake: My daughter loves the rain. Her bedroom’s up in the eaves of the house, and when it rains, she says it’s like being in a tent. Not that she’s ever been in one. I suppose she’s heard enough stories from my time in the army to know what it’s like.

Jace Lacob: I think it’s rare, particularly in the context of a Victorian-era mystery drama, to find two men being emotionally vulnerable with each other. What did you make of this scene, of this two hander?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: I thought it was just incredibly sensitive. And like you were saying, it’s very unusual to see men, especially what you would consider to be pretty straight down the line, sort of “men’s men” being open and vulnerable with one another. And what I liked is Blake is offering a fig leaf of sorts to Willows, who’s clearly going through a bit of a difficult time. And Blake knows to get the best out of him, he’s going to have to be slightly open and honest himself. And Blake’s going through it as well. So there is just a really sweet, tender moment for the two of them to look out at the rain and for Blake to open up about his life and his daughter, who he loves more than anything in the world.

And I always love it because I always think that men are very good at discussing feelings when they’re not looking at each other. And I always think of it like with my dad, for example, in real life, some of the best conversations I’ve ever had with him would be driving in the car somewhere, where you’re just looking out front so you can be more vulnerable because you don’t have to stare into each other’s eyes, which is just an awful feeling. Or a sports match where you’re sort of standing next to each other and it’s the proximity and it allows you to talk about things that you wouldn’t necessarily talk about. So yeah, I thought it was a wonderfully sensitive and strong scene. It was a real treat to do. And they had the rain machine coming down in front of the gates of Scotland Yard. And it was just shot beautifully, I thought.

Jace Lacob: You and Sam Buchanan, who plays George Willows, get some cracking scenes together in this episode. And it really cements the partnership between Blake and Willows. What is Sam like as a scene partner?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: He’s a brilliant scene partner. He’s a very good actor, and he’s also got the joy of youth, which is that wonderful thing where he brings a certain energy that I’d forgotten what it feels like to come into set with that. And it was really nice to be around. He’s a very good actor, he takes the work very seriously. And he’s just he’s committed and strong, very focused and very playful. And it was a real treat to do scenes with him.

Jace Lacob: We also get to see a very different side of Blake in this episode. He’s usually very cool and controlled, but when he discovers Dylan Cooper being strangled by his cellmate, he shouts, “Let him go or I will not hesitate to put a bullet in your head”, with such raw intensity and power. Was it rewarding to be able to let loose with Blake more in this episode?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: Yeah, it really was. It’s one of those things when you do particularly a Victorian period drama, it’s very buttoned up and there’s a lot of things that aren’t being said, things that are being felt and not released. It’s very nice after you’ve been doing that kind of acting for a while to get the opportunity to let loose and really let out some of the feelings that you’ve got underneath.

And Steve Hartley, who plays Dylan Cooper, is both a brilliant actor and one of the most terrifying actors I’ve ever come across. He really keeps you on your toes. He’s very playful, and he brings an edge to stuff that he does. And he’s fantastic. So he didn’t have to do much. And those scenes felt incredibly raw. So yeah, it was nice to let my hair down and shout a bit.

Jace Lacob: Take off that starched collar, right?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: Take off that starched collar and get down to business.

Jace Lacob: After Isabel Summer’s betrayal is discovered, Blake tells Willow’s not to resign, even if she pulled the wool over his eyes.

CLIP

Willows: My letter of resignation, Sir.

Blake: No, I can’t accept that.

Willows: I’ve let the force down. I’ve let you down, not to mention making a complete fool of myself.

Blake: Resigning is not the answer. Please. There will be an investigation into what happened here last night. And I can’t promise it turns out well for you. You may yet be dismissed. But I will speak on your behalf.

Willows: Sir…

Blake: You are a good detective and I don’t want to lose you. And it wasn’t just you taken in by Miss Summers, it was everyone. Myself included. Detective Willows? You wouldn’t be the first man to have made a mistake when it comes to matters of the heart.

Willows: Yes sir, thank you sir.

Jace Lacob: Why is he so adamant about Willows staying at Scotland Yard, and how does it reflect his own romantic issues at the moment?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: Well, I think he understands that Willows had fallen for somebody and in falling for someone had made mistakes. And Blake doesn’t have to look very far to see other examples of people who have fallen for someone and then made bad judgment calls as a result of that. And I think he believes that everybody deserves a chance. And Willows, he was deceived very well by Summers. And it was not his fault. And he’s trying to do the right thing morally by resigning, and Blake is basically trying to tell him that it wasn’t his mistake at all. And these things happen, and it would be a very, very bad idea for him to resign because he’s an incredibly good policeman. And he should be staying at the force.

Jace Lacob: How have the events of Episode Five pushed these two closer together? Has Blake realized because of this experience that he can rely on Willows and on Eliza?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: Yeah, completely. I think that this episode really cements his relationship with Willows in terms of it’s just the two of them running Scotland Yard whilst everything is falling to pieces. So they trust one another implicitly and they make sure that it works out in the end, and it’s a really strong bond that the two of them form. And it’s also a great chance for Blake to reflect on his relationship with Eliza because they have some distance because of what’s happening at Scotland Yard. And he’s there fighting fire, and yeah, he gets to think about her a lot and it puts things into perspective. And the episode finishes with him having put a few questions to bed and he has a much stronger determination about what he wants to do with his relationship.

Jace Lacob: You’re talking, of course, about the scene on the stairs between the two of them, which I love.

CLIP

Eliza: I didn’t sleep last night.

Blake: I’ve had one of the worst nights of my life.

Eliza: It’s not a competition, Alexander.

Blake: Believe me, if it was, I would win.

Eliza: What happened?

Blake: Let’s just say I’ve had time to reflect on the things that are most important to me. In fact, I’ve come to several realizations. The most important of them is this… For all your faults… I love you, Eliza. And I only hope you love me too. Faults and all.

Eliza: Of course I do.

Jace Lacob: What does this moment mean for the buttoned up Blake, who has, perhaps as we said, taken off that starched collar a little bit across the events of this episode, to admit that he loves Eliza? What’s contained within his confession?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: I think for Blake to confess his love for someone is much harder than it is for him to shout at a criminal and point a gun in their face. This is a level of vulnerability that he is not particularly accustomed to, and it takes a huge amount of courage for him to step up and make this admission and confession to Eliza, because at this stage he doesn’t know what her response is going to be. And I think he’s very hesitant to make this kind of admission. So, it means the world to him when he does say it because it’s through the looking glass. He’s down the hole. There’s no coming back from that.

It means the world to him. And he’s taken a relationship that at first, I can’t imagine that he ever thought he was going to love again, let alone be in a relationship and let alone fall head over heels for someone who, on so many levels, is so wrong for him. And yet, for all his better judgement, he can’t help himself and she is the woman of his dreams, really.

Jace Lacob: I love the fact that Eliza left the glove in his office on purpose at the beginning of the episode with the intent to retrieve it later, and Blake knows that she did it on purpose. What does Eliza’s craftiness here symbolize to Blake? Is it part and parcel of the reason he loves her?

Tom Durant-Pritchard: Yeah, it is. Also just the fact that he still doesn’t see this. She’s been doing this kind of thing for the last seven or eight episodes, and, you know, he’s supposed to be a good detective. But when it comes to matters of the heart close to home, he is totally useless. And yeah, when he finds out that she’s left it there on purpose, it’s just so wonderfully endearing because she’s always going to be, in some cases, about ten steps ahead of him, and he knows it and he loves it.

Jace Lacob: And that is why he and we love Eliza, I think. Tom Durant Pritchard, thank you so very much.

Tom Durant-Pritchard: Pleasure.

Next time, in the world of All Creatures Great and Small, the veterinarians at Skeldale House find their most challenging work is not necessarily with the animals.

CLIP

Siegfried: Handling a shire horse is definitely a two-man job.

Mrs. Hall: Oh, I’m sure. But I’ve a notion you ferreting round for a reason to avoid this may be driven by something else. Tristan: What’s that then?

Siegfried: Elijah Wentworth. The man’s a social menace!

Mrs. Hall: He’s not much of a talker is all.

Tristan: Oh, a Yorkshire Dales farmer lacks patter? I can scarcely believe it.

Siegfried: His entire vocabulary consists of three expressions – “aye”, “ah” and “oh”.

Tristan: Oh.

Mrs. Hall: Aye…

Join us next week as we talk with Callum Woodhouse about what’s been on Tristan Farnon’s mind since returning from the war, and what’s been pulling at his heart.