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Robson Green as DI Dave Creegan
Robson followed in the footsteps
of one of his screen heroes as he chased a murder suspect along a
windswept beach in Northumberland for the new series of Touching Evil. The
same beach provided the setting for the dramatic scene where Michael Caine,
as a racketeer seeking revenge on Newcastle gangsters for his brother’s
death, in the crime thriller Get Carter, is shot by a sniper. "Get Carter
is one of my favourite films and we took inspiration from it for Touching
Evil," says Robson. "We filmed in many of the same areas as Get Carter."
The locals were delighted that the
area was to be in the lime-light again. "When we were in Blyth a lady came
up to me and thanked me for putting Blyth on the map. I told her she might
not thank me when she saw the story of gruesome murders. But she said she
didn't care, Blyth would still be famous!"
Blyth provided the setting for
dramatic and dangerous scenes for Robson, which took his breath away. "It
was January, freezing cold, and I had to plunge into the sea to try to
rescue a man who was trying to drown himself. But every time I dived under
I kept floating back to the surface. So we had to do the scene several
times. I was so cold by the time we had finished my brain was chilled. The
water was cold, dirty and dangerous. There are certain stunts which have a
novelty value, but this one had none. The underwater scenes of the
attempted rescue were filmed in the comparative warmth and comfort of a
special tank but the water had to be dyed to match the murky depths of the
sea. I had the same problem in the tank as I did in the sea. The leather
jacket Creegan wears made me float to the surface so they gave me lead
weights to hold as I jumped in. I plunged seventeen feet to the bottom of
the tank so fast my ears popped. Then the water was so murky I couldn’t
see a thing," explains Robson. But he devised his own signal system. "I
pulled a card out of my pocket on which I'd written 'Where are you?' and
held it up to the camera."
Two divers stood by to bring
Robson to the surface. "When the divers brought me up, which was after a
matter of seconds, I felt quite spaced out for a while because the oxygen
had gone out of my body."
After his daredevil exploits in
the water, Robson then had to be set on fire for scenes in episodes three
and four, where he is investigating a murderer who burns the victims. "I
had no trouble making Creegan look concerned for those scenes. My main
concern as they struck the match, and the flames start to leap along my
jacket, was where was the guy with the extinguisher," says Robson. "I
wasn't frightened, I was re-assured by the stunt co-ordinator, Terry
Forrestal, that I would be safe and that the scene was being done in a
controlled environment."
Robson says he has no desire to
risk life and limb to be the all-action hero. "I refused to do some stunts
on Soldier, Soldier if I thought they were too dangerous."
As the new series opens, Creegan
is on sick leave after suffering a nervous breakdown. The trauma of losing
his ex-wife and two daughters, who had to move away for their own safety,
and the brutal murder of his girlfriend, had finally taken their toll. But
he hears that a murder case in Northumberland against Anthony Matchin has
been re-opened. Creegan was the arresting officer in the case but he was
never convinced that Matchin was the murderer. Creegan knows Matchin is
innocent and he defies orders to return to Newcastle to prove it. He
realises the damage that has been caused by putting this man behind bars,
and he feels he owes it to him to find the real killer. "Creegan
sacrifices everything in his pursuit: the rules of the OSC, and his
colleagues' reputation. They have to carry the can for his actions."
The character is so different to
the numerous other television roles he has played, Robson welcomed the
return to Touching Evil. "It is interesting for me to play a character
like Creegan who has an unusual perspective on life. He is not a text book
cop, he’s unorthodox. He is a man who lives for truth and justice. Saving
lives is what keeps him going."
The series also gave him the
opportunity to work in his native North East. "Filming the first story in
the North East was a big plus. We were providing a backdrop to the story
which was not a cliché of the North East - no lingering shots of the Tyne
Bridge, but reflecting the grittiness of the area."
Robson’s own production company,
Coastal Productions, is the co-producer of the third series of Touching
Evil. The company has been keen to promote the potential of the area to
other filmmakers. "We can prove to film makers that the North East can be
a backdrop for thrillers," he says. He formed Coastal Productions with
business partner Sandra Jobling three years ago, and secured a deal with
ITV to produce 32 hours of drama. The first series of Grafters was the
company’s first project and Rhinoceros the second. A second series of
Grafters starts shooting in May.
The company has two new projects
for ITV. The Last Musketeer is a "modern day swashbuckler" starring Robson
as an Olympic fencer, who trains a team of girls from a Glasgow public
school for the European Championships. Robson is currently having fencing
lessons to prepare for the role. "It is hard work, but I’ve got to make it
look convincing for the audience," he says.
Robson is also limbering up for
another athletic role as a blind runner in Blind Ambition, a tale of
"triumph over adversity", written by actor Eric Deacon. Robson has yet to
be tempted by Hollywood, despite scripts dropping frequently through his
letterbox. "The scripts we are getting from Britain are far superior," he
says. And his game plan is to eventually spend more time behind the
camera, developing projects for film and television.
15 May 1999
At the launch for Touching Evil,
Robson admitted that being set on fire hardly fazed him. "I was not
frightened" he says, "I had been reassured by the stunt crew. I had no
trouble making Creegan look worried though, my main concern as they struck
the match was, where was the guy with the fire extinguisher?"
An atmospheric scene in the new
series involved Robson diving into a tank of water. Fine, except he
wouldn’t sink. "It was very cold and that was the real problem. The
novelty value soon wore off as I hit the water", he explains. "I was
wearing a leather jacket and it kept me afloat so they gave me lead floats
to hold as I jumped in. I plunged 17 feet to the bottom so fast my ears
popped. "Touching Evil has never been a series to pull punches. It’s had
shocking scenes previously and the new series is no exception", says actor
Robson Green. "I don’t think the violence is gratuitous in any way",
explains its star, "I think its makes a perfect backdrop to the show. It's
about the minds of the killers and how they work. In this third series you
don’t know who the killers are, unlike to last two."
The new series of Touching Evil
sees Robson and his team of crack cops move out of London and back to
Green’s native North East. He says, "Filming the first story up here was a
big plus, we were providing a backdrop to a story without clichés. There
were no lingering shots of the Tyne Bridge. Instead we reflected the areas
grittiness proving to film makers the North East is a fine backdrop for
thrillers".
Robson Green's new TV drama sees
him taking up fencing. He stars in The Last Musketeer, a drama where he
plays a fencing teacher at a girl’s school. "But learning the skills of
the foil haven’t been easy. My instructor tells me I suit white, but
that’s about it", he laughs. "I’ve only had a few lessons but I’m starting
to improve. Its such a great physical activity - I thought I was a fit
person until this".
© Teletext
14 May 1999
Robson Green and Nicola Walker are
back on the trail of serial killers in this third series of Touching Evil
devised by Paul Abbot. There are two, two-part stories - both of which are
gruesome.
Creegan is on sick leave,
traumatised by the loss of his family who have changed their names and
gone into hiding for their own protection, but if you've seen this series
before you'll know that he's one of them TV mavericks and so it won't be
long before he gets back on the case. And it's a typically nasty case
involving several women in the same North East town who are strangled,
have their hearts cut out and are dumped near their homes. It's happened
before and it was Creegan who secured a confession and conviction. But he
still has his doubts about the result.
© Radio Times
14 May 1999
Robson Green returns to his native
North East for the first of two new crime thrillers featuring the troubled
detective Dave Creegan. Dramatic scenes of Creegan chasing a suspected
serial killer were shot on the windswept Northumberland beach used in the
1970's Michael Caine gangster flick Get Carter. "Great movie, great
place," says Robson. "But it was a bit too breathtaking when I had to
thrash around in the North Sea, trying to rescue a drowning man! The water
was cold, dangerous and dirty, but the underwater scenes were filmed in a
tank, thank goodness."
In the second two-part story, DI
Creegan is set on fire while investigating a series of killings by
arson. "But I'm no all-action hero," says Robson. "I refused to do stunts
in Soldier Soldier if they were too risky." Robson is joined in the new
series by Nicola Walker as DI Susan Taylor and former Emmerdale star Ian
Kelsey who appears as the distraught boyfriend of a murder victim.
© TV Times
