© ITV Pic/Mark Bourdillon
MIDSOMER MURDERS
RED
IN TOOTH AND CLAW
GUEST
STAR INTERVIEW
© ITV Pic/Mark Bourdillon
Steve Pemberton - Timothy Benson
Steve Pemberton tells us about his character in Midsomer Murders and his relationship to a certain fluffy creature.
'My
character's name is Timothy and he is a champion rabbit breeder.
Timothy runs a pet shop with his soon-to-be ex-wife who has thrown
him out because he cares more about the rabbit than he does about
her. The episode centres around a pet show where my character's
rabbit has been the champion for the past few years running, his name
is Hercules.
'Suddenly
there is a murder in the middle of the show and a body is discovered
with all of these rabbits and guinea pigs, who's cages have all been
mysteriously opened, freely hopping around it. My rabbit, Hercules,
mysteriously goes missing and unsurprisingly, Timothy is more
concerned about his missing rabbit than he is about the murder that
has taken place.'
Having not
worked with rabbits prior to this, Steve tells us of this strange experience.
'I had never
worked with rabbits before but they were very good actually. There
were great professionals on hand to show us what to do and the
rabbits were a lot easier to work with than most other animals I have
encountered on a set. My rabbit was very placid and we had a great
working relationship...'
Whilst working
with rabbits was an unexpected treat, Steve also enjoyed working with
his fellow actors.
'I did quite a
few scenes with Sara Crow who played my soon-to-be ex-wife and we got
on very well. Everyone was really lovely in the cast. We also had
Amit Shah who had been in a few episodes of Benidorm so I knew him as well.
One of the
best parts about being in Midsomer Murders for Steve was filming in
all of the beautiful locations.
'It was very
pleasant because you go to these beautiful locations in the
countryside, not too far out from London and you get to see a whole
other side to the country. It's this idyllic, typically English
countryside. In a couple of locations we filmed in I got serious
house and garden envy. We had great weather too so it was fantastic
to sit around chatting to the other actors in these beautiful
locations, it was really great.'
Steve reveals
what it was like working with the Midsomer cast and crew.
'Neil
(Dudgeon) and Nick (Hendrix), the two returning characters, are so
friendly and welcoming and they really enjoy having new guest stars
each episode to work with. The crew, many of whom have been doing it
fora longtime, are fantastic. The show is an institution now and it's
so nice to be asked, it was great to join the long and distinguished
list of people who have appeared in an episode of Midsomer.
'There is a
nice vein of humour running through the drama and it's comforting.
It's like comfort food on the television!'