Airdate and time AU: Unknown
Original airdate UK: N/A
Network AU: Used to be nine, not known now
Network UK: ITV
Interview: Question: In the third series Cutter has lost his old friend Stephen Hart, how has that affected him as the new series opens?
David Henshall: He’s obviously really devastated by the loss. Stephen was an old friend and no matter what had happened between them he was still a huge part of Cutter’s life. He feels like unless he can make some very real progress in terms of finding out what’s happening and why, they are heading for very dark times. There is a real sense of foreboding on his part.
Q: Helen’s back and she’s got some very specific plans for Cutter, could you talk me through those?
DH: Helen has developed what can only be described as a serious God complex. She has been to the future, has seen it decimated, barren and overrun with future predators and truly believes that Cutter is responsible in some way. Helen is driven by an all consuming desire to change the course of the future – in her really twisted reality she is going to save the human race. She is totally mad, which is why she’s such a great villain. There is no reasoning with her.
Q: There are some new faces in this series, could you tell us a bit about them and Cutter’s relationship with them.
DH: We’ve got some great new blood on the show this series. Jason Flemyng brings an incredible energy to anything he works on both in terms of him as an actor and on a personal level. He’s very lively and buoyant all the time and his presence on any set lifts it immeasurably. The character he plays is very different from Cutter but that’s what the show needs I think.
Laila is also someone who has an amazing vibe about her. She’s very, very funny and lovely to have around. I think what’s interesting about the relationship between Dr Sarah Page and Cutter is that there is a real chemistry there, but it’s not sexual which is great because there doesn’t always have to be that frisson. She’s very much his equal and is someone he can spark with and bounce ideas off. Cutter hasn’t really had another academic to discuss what is happening to them on a really serious level and he’s clearly delighted that she has agreed to join the team.
And Ben Mansfield is great too. Very fresh and new and I think the show really needed his character to give it a balance. The Special Forces play a huge part in the show and given what’s happened it would seem foolhardy for the team not to have any kind of trained professional protecting them.
Q: What creatures can we expect to see in the new series?
DH: Well we’ve got the Pristichampsus in the first episode and it opens the door for this idea that the anomalies have been a constant throughout history and that the creatures which appear in our myths and legends are in fact dinosaurs out of place and time.
It forms the basis of Cutter’s research into the notion that sightings of these time travelling dinos have become part of the fabric of these stories. Historically people wouldn’t have had names for the creatures they were seeing and couldn’t understand what they were witnessing. In some cases, they elevated them to the position of gods and in others they demonised them.
Episode three is cool as we’ve got these diictodons which are these really cute, almost cartoonish, burrowing creatures which can chew through anything. They are totally harmless in one respect, however they have been set loose in a hospital and the damage they cause by chewing through electrical cables for example, is obviously potentially life threatening. That’s what I love about this show and the set up. Not everything which comes through the anomalies has to be 40 foot high with dripping fangs and a healthy appetite. It can be in every way, totally harmless, but taken out of time and place, a two foot long burrower which can chew through wire is going to cause some real damage in a hospital.
Q: Can you tell us what it was like filming in the British Museum?
DH: That was a real coup for the show. To get to run around the British Museum, at night when it is on total lockdown with our crew was just fantastic. It was a real privilege and a wonderful location to be in. Obviously we had to be so careful with the artefacts so there was a guy on set with us who was from the museum making sure we weren’t leaning on the exhibits. But sometimes, you forget where you are and the next thing you know you’re being asked to stop resting on the arm of Ramesses II.
We also were filming around the Southbank along by the Festival Hall and Cleopatra’s Needle. I really love it when we’re out and about like that as I feel that’s where the team belongs. It opens out the show and underlines this notion that this is happening on your doorstep; it grounds Primeval in reality. I also think it builds a genuine camaraderie between us and the viewers as people will be able to say ‘oh I’ve been there. I know what that is!’ That sense of recognition helps bridge the gap between the audience at home and what we are projecting on screen.
When we were filming around Cleopatra’s Needle there was a bus load of German kids on a school trip and they knew exactly who we were and were so excited to see us out and about filming. That was really lovely as it demonstrated just how well this show is doing not just here, but in other countries too. It shows how well Primeval has translated as a concept and how much audiences are really enjoying it. It was a lovely moment.
Q: How did you film your clone sequences?
DH: It’s done using a motion sensing camera which basically allows me to act with myself by essentially splitting the screen. It records your movements within millimetres and then overlays them. You have to really precise about physically were you put yourself as if you overstep the mark, the image starts to pixilate. It’s slow, painstaking process but it’s really interesting too though a little weird acting to yourself.
Images: One (1)
David Henshall as Professor Nick Cutter
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