Scott & Bailey star Suranne Jones is back on the case as Anne Oldman (prounounced ‘an old man’) as Sky 1’s criminally funny crime drama spoof A Touch of Cloth (Sunday, 25 August), created by Charlie Brooker and co-starring John Hannah, returns. TV & Satellite Week called her in for questioning to find out more…
Is A Touch of Cloth as much fun to work on as it looks?
“It is one of those jobs that doesn’t feel like work – and they don’t come along very often. Not that we didn’t work hard, but it was a lot of fun. They had to keep reapplying my makeup because everyone was making me laugh so much.”
Is it strange alternating between this and a straight crime drama like Scott & Bailey?
“I treat it as a separate job. Although my Scott & Bailey co-star Lesley Sharp did say to me: ‘When you’ve finished taking the mickey out of crime drama, can you come back and play with us properly?’”
What are the key ingredients in a crime drama that are ripe for spoofing?
“Crime scene tape; the acronyms that policemen spout and nobody has any idea what they mean; and detectives with a dark past. A well-adjusted cop would be terribly boring.”
What’s the starting point for the new investigation?
There is a bank robbery involving Todd Carty. Jack Cloth’s been sacked and is working as a taxi driver, but he’s called back to work on the case. We’ve also filmed a third two-parter, and that one guest stars Karen Gillan."
What’s in store for your character, Anne Oldman?
“She meets a politician called Hope Goodgirl, played by Anna Chancellor, who takes a bit of a shine to Anne and seduces her. But Anne still isn’t over Jack.”
Has A Touch of Cloth creator Charlie Brooker ever written about you in his previous job as a TV critic?
“I asked that when we made the first A Touch of Cloth, and when he said no, I thought: Thank God for that!’ There were things he got me doing in this where I thought: ‘What the hell am I doing?’, but I trust him implicitly.”
You’ve got some heavyweight acting talent in the cast. Does that make it all the funnier?
"It’s lovely to see all these actors I admire doing something silly. I’d like to see more of those really serious actors guesting in A Touch of Cloth."
What’s the best thing about this particular acting job?
“I love the silly humour of this, as nonsensical stuff is right up my street. It reminds me of what it’s like when you’re with old friends and something ridiculous makes you all laugh.”
