Christopher Eccleston and writer Jimmy McGovern team up again to create more TV gold... From Cracker to Doctor Who, whenever actor Christopher Eccleston collaborates with writer Jimmy McGovern, the result is must-see TV, and their latest effort, Accused (BBC1, Mondays from 15 November), is no exception. Like McGovern’s BAFTA-winning The Street, each episode of the compelling six-part series centres on a different character, each of whom end up in the dock accused of a crime. Eccleston stars in this week’s opener as Willy, a plumber who is about to tell his family he has been having an affair when his daughter announces she is getting married. Willy can’t afford to pay for the wedding, but then he finds a package in the back of a cab that he thinks could be the answer to his problems, setting in course a series of events which spiral out of his control. TV&Satellite Week magazine caught up with Eccleston to find out more… How would you sum up Accused? “It’s a human drama, rather than a courtroom drama. In each episode, we meet a different character in a courtroom, and we are aware they have transgressed and are about to be judged. Then the focus is on how and why they did what they did. There are a number of things Willy could have done wrong, but the audience is kept guessing until the end.” How would you describe Willy? “He has a good life, but it has become too predictable, so he throws a hand grenade in. He’s a good man who has always worked hard and loves his family, but wanting to give his daughter a special wedding leads him into trouble, and he makes two fatal errors of judgement. “ Will we be on his side? “That question is what fascinates me. We are hoping the series will provoke debate in the nation’s front rooms and that, when we return to the courtroom at the end for the verdict, the audience will be the jury.” You have worked with Jimmy McGovern a lot. What do you enjoy about his writing? “As an actor, if the words aren’t good, you look bad, but Jimmy always makes me look like a good actor. He credits the audience with intelligence, and doesn’t give them easy options.” You appeared in the sci-fi drama Heroes in America. Would you do another series over there? “I would if it was well-written, but I have a fierce attachment to my own country and culture. I enjoyed Heroes, but it was hard for me to care about it in the way I cared about Our Friends in the North. I have always wanted the work I do to have some gravity, and I need that to fire myself up. If I do something just for the money and the glamour, I’m rubbish. I can’t deliver if I don’t believe in the project.” Is there anything left that you would still love to do? “I’d like to do some comedy and more theatre. I became a film and television actor by default, and I am fortunate that I have made a good living from it, but I would have developed differently as an actor if I’d done more theatre.” You played John Lennon earlier in the year. Would you like to play another real-life person? “I really enjoyed playing John and I wouldn’t mind playing Arthur Scargill. Playing a real person is interesting, because you can study them physically and psychologically. But it is a double-edged sword because everybody else has that information too, so they have strong views about your performance.” What role are you proudest of? “Trevor Hicks in Hillsborough. My involvement in that was the fulfilment of a dream, because I believed what we were doing had real weight and urgency, and needed to be made.” What’s next for you? “I’ve just finished a BBC2 drama called The Shadow Line. It is a psychological thriller about a devoted husband who has to do things that morally compromise him in order to support his wife.”
