The new series of the hit detective series, Inspector George Gently, begins tonight, and we’re terribly excited for you all to see it.
Tonight’s episode is about an investigation over the treatment of prostitutes in the North East during the 1960s, in which Gently and Bacchus uncover a great miscarriage of justice.
We spoke to Martin Shaw (George Gently) and Lee Ingleby (John Bacchus) about Inspector George Gently and the success the series has seen. We’ll be back with a part two after the first episode finishes tonight at 9.30pm.
Inspector George Gently is now on its seventh series. What do you think is the secret to the show’s longevity in a television universe flooded with detective series?
Lee: I think the relationship [between Gently and Bacchus]. I think people like that. And the nostalgia. And I think it’s not afraid to go at its own pace, it’s an hour and a half, it just allows itself to get in the nitty gritty. Peter likes to get to the human element of people and their flaws so rather than seeing someone in black and white, there’s always a reason there.
Martin: It’s not just about who did the crime, and solving the puzzle. That’s almost a side issue or a parallel issue, it’s about these people and their lives. I suspect that’s the secret but I have no idea really.
The relationship between your characters is a central focus to the show. Why do you think it works?
Lee: I think it works because they’re two opposites. They’re chalk and cheese really, but they need each other. It’s also nice to play arguments and eye-rolling and one person being more informed than the other. I didn’t want Bacchus to be just a sidekick.
What can you tell us about how important historical events are to the plot?
Martin: What distinguishes great drama from ordinary drama is that it’s not just about the story. If you think about a storyline as a line on a map, you can just follow that and it’s just like following a motorway, or, you can follow a different route, which is parallel with the motorway, and it just winds around here and there and you go through various villages. You’re still going to your destination, but you’re looking at this church, you’re looking at that old cottage, you’re looking at that view over there and I think that’s what Gently does. It’s adding texture and colouring to what would otherwise be just one storyline.
What historical events are you set to delve into this series?
Lee: In the second episode, we deal with asbestos, and that’s remembering with we didn’t know what it was and the effect it had on people in the ’60s. Whereas now we know that its carcinogenic substance that was widely used in buildings, back then it was this innocent building material. Peter uses a lot of things, quite cleverly, that we know the result of now, but back then we didn’t.
What was your favourite episode of the upcoming series?
Lee: I think I probably quite liked the last episode in the series, because Gently’s being blinkered in one respect and Bacchus has to pull him in. Yeah, it’s good, it’s quite dangerous.
Martin: I think probably that one, because it was an episode that we struggled a lot with, because it was so complicated, and there were so many parallel storylines. [It was a] triumph that we pulled all these things together and my god, it all works brilliantly! So it’s my favourite for that and because the way it ends is different to anything else we’ve ever done.
Were there any particularly memorable moments whilst filming this series?
Martin: Lots and lots and lots. It’s very hard to pick one out. There were a few scenes where Bacchus and Gently are having a few drinks together and our wonderful director Tim Whitby basically said just do something and I’ll film it. We had so much fun, made the crew laugh, and it took us out of the run of the mill. It was something different. When a series has been going for a long time and when there are so many other cop shows on TV, you’re always looking for something different.
Lee: We generally just have fun doing it. So we have a laugh basically all day and every day.
How long will the series go on and how long would you like it to?
Lee: I think as long as they keep doing different things. If it did go on again, we’d have to go into the ‘70s and it would be interesting to see what happened there.