![\"Zo\u00eb](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/BERGERACDAY-32S1EP32024-08-25JB-055-2aaa170-e1739823189780.jpg\" "\\"Bergerac")
<\/p>\nThis article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.<\/p>\n
Your Bergerac reboot has been a hit on U&Drama, where it\u2019s aired two series already \u2013 did you expect the success?<\/p>\n
You can never take anything for granted. I\u2019ve met people who loved watching the original show with their family, it was such a massive part of people\u2019s Sundays. So, it was really important to do that justice. There was always the possibility of doing one series and then going, \u201cThat didn’t really work.\u201d<\/p>\n
But on TV, crime clearly pays \u2013 why do you think series like Bergerac are doing so well right now?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just very pleasing to watch, people really like the detection element. That\u2019s why medical dramas are popular, they\u2019re also detectives. And it\u2019s the same reason that people do crosswords on the Tube. We want to work it out.<\/p>\n
Is your Jim Bergerac more damaged than John Nettles\u2019s version?<\/p>\n
Bergerac is a brilliant renegade detective and alcohol is his kryptonite. His family life is falling apart, his wife is dead and his daughter is really all he\u2019s got left. Anything that threatens the foundations of recovery he\u2019s clinging onto makes for great drama.<\/p>\n
Has Nettles given the show his blessing?<\/p>\n
We met and he said, \u201cI\u2019ve watched the first episode and I think it\u2019s fantastic. It\u2019s very different to what we did, it\u2019s much darker \u2013 I loved it.\u201d He didn\u2019t need to say that, and I was thrilled that he did.<\/p>\n
Is Bergerac Jersey noir or cosy Channel Islands crime? <\/p>\n
There\u2019s a time and a place on television for the stuff that keeps you awake at night, like Chernobyl\u2026 but maybe I\u2019m doing Bergerac an injustice. There was a murder in series one that had brutal sound effects. I remember being shocked and thinking, \u201cActually, that\u2019s not nice, there\u2019s more danger here than I was expecting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Does the setting matter?<\/p>\n
Jersey is crucial to the show. Because it\u2019s an island, there\u2019s a limited timeframe to catch the villain. If he leaves the island, it\u2019s game over. Colm McCarthy [the series\u2019 director] would always insist that the outdoor shots, if possible, had the sea in the background. That way the viewers knew that this was confined and contained. It also adds to the kind of pressure-cooker environment of an investigation, and the pressures on Jim.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zo\u00eb Wanamaker and Damien Molony star in Bergerac.\u00a0U<\/p>\n
Jim also has to deal with disapproving mother-in-law Charlie Hungerford, played by Zo\u00eb Wanamaker…<\/p>\n
Zo\u00eb has a very particular withering look that she gives me on a regular basis. Usually in a cop show, there\u2019s an element of coming home after a terrible day at work and finding respite. But for Bergerac, it\u2019s the opposite.<\/p>\n
What have you learnt from Bergerac \u2013 better sleuthing skills?<\/p>\n
No, I\u2019m terrible at solving crimes! The writers talk about him being a lone wolf and that\u2019s not something that I necessarily am. But maybe I am learning to be a little bit more forthright.<\/p>\n
Bergerac airs on Fridays on BBC Two and iPlayer, and is available to stream in full on U.<\/p>\n
The latest issue of Radio Times is out on Tuesday\u2013 subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Check out more of our Drama<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Your Bergerac reboot has been a hit on U&Drama, where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[146,85,46,411],"class_list":["post-548760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"1-SE-31-1-Cover\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/31-Cover-98ae8ef.jpg\" "\\"1-SE-31-1-Cover\\"")
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