Doctor Foster’s Tom Taylor reveals how his character Tom Foster spirals out of control in the tense thriller
The bitter feud between vengeful GP Gemma (Suranne Jones) and her cheating ex-husband Simon (Bertie Carvel) is gathering pace in Doctor Foster. But the one person who has been bearing the brunt of their toxic hatred is anxious son Tom whose behaviour has spiralled out of control.
Here Tom Taylor, aka troubled teenager Tom in Doctor Foster, tells TV Times what’s in store...
TV Times: What impact is their split having on him?
Tom Taylor: “We’ve seen what his dad is capable of and the relationship between his mum and dad fall apart and you can see how it’s affected him in a way that is unpredictable. He never really knows who’s the more honest parent and one day he wants to go to his mum’s and then he wants to go to his dad’s. His frustration builds up so that he doesn’t know what to do. Now he has hit his friend and you see things reach a climax throughout the rest of the series.”
TVT: Are his parents feeling guilty for what they have done to him?
TT: “In the first series he was just being ignored and they were quite both selfish in their decisions and when he grows up a bit in series two you see how the isolation has made him a bit more independent. But I think they’re finally going to realise that actually they were being a bit selfish and they need to consider other people for once but then is it too late?”
TVT: Do you think they have been using him as a pawn
TT: “Definitely. A lot of my friends have parents who are divorced, it’s like whoever has the kid for the longest time is the better parent and whoever has the kid on their side shows they’re more powerful, so children my age who have had the same experience will be able to relate to Tom and feel for him and understand him.”
TVT: Whose side are you on, Gemma’s or Simon’s?
TT: “I don’t know! That’s the big debate isn’t it? Who’s the better person? As this series goes on you don’t know anymore. You kind of get persuaded to different sides in each episode. There have been a lot more unpredictable things this series.”
TVT: What do you think viewers will make of the finale?
TT: “Hopefully they will love it. They might think ‘I wasn’t expecting that’ or they want to see some more, but I’m hopeful they’ll be pleased.”
TVT: Do your family and friends ask you what’s coming up in the series?
TT: “I think they don’t want to spoil it for themselves to be honest because it’s such a good series, they want to watch it and find out like everyone else. But when I first started doing it they said, ‘I didn’t realise you were doing something so good’!”
TVT: Has the show opened doors for you as an actor?
TVT: “Doctor Foster was great training and it has made me realise I really like TV. It’s given me a lot of acting experience so hopefully that will help me in the future.”
TVT: Did you make friends with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey when you filmed The Dark Tower, which was in cinemas over the summer?
TT: “Yeah, especially Idris, it was just me and him filming a lot of the time, so we had a laugh on set and became good mates and Matthew and I had a good time too.”
Doctor Foster continues on Tuesday on BBC1 at 9pm
