Directed by the acclaimed British film director Clio Barnard (Ali & Ava, The Selfish Giant) and Tom George (This Country, See How They Run), this new and original drama from Nottingham-born James Graham features a stellar cast line-up including David Morrissey (Red Riding, The Walking Dead), Lesley Manville (Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, Mum), Monica Dolan (Black Mirror, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe), David Harewood (Homeland, The Night Manager), Lorraine Ashbourne (Alma鈥檚 Not Normal, I Hate Suzie), Robert Lindsay (Maleficent 2, My Family), Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones, Vigil), Sharlene Whyte (Stephen, Small Axe), Perry Fitzpatrick (Line of Duty, This Is England), Christine Bottomley (Domina, Back To Life), Philip Jackson (Raised by Wolves, Peterloo), Aisling Loftus (The Midwich Cuckoos, War and Peace), Bill Jones (Sherwood, The Village), Adam Hugill (1917, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Ria Zmitrowicz (The Power, Three Girls), Robert Emms (Andor, Chernobyl), Michael Balogun (Top Boy, The Lehman Trilogy), Oliver Huntingdon (The Rising, Happy Valley), Jorden Myrie (Mood, The Strays), Conor Deane (All Creatures Great & Small, Newark) and Bethany Asher (Wild Bill, Mobility).
The second series further explores the powerful themes that made the first so resonant to audiences across the UK. Set in the present day it introduces two new families that find themselves entangled with the Sparrows, entering a complex web of local gangs, old rivalries, revenge, and betrayal. Meanwhile, a newly appointed Sheriff of Nottingham is passionately fighting against a proposed new coal mine for the area, which brings the promise of much needed jobs and prosperity but also unwelcome reminders of the legacy that has mired the community for so long.
Sherwood series two is produced by House Productions and will air on 成人论坛 iPlayer and 成人论坛 One. James Graham has written all six episodes and is an executive producer on the series.
Clio Barnard is lead director and executive producer, with Tom George directing eps four, five, & six. The producer is Kate Ogborn (Life After Life; The North Water). Juliette Howell, Tessa Ross and Harriet Spencer are executive producers for House Productions, with Jo McClellan for the 成人论坛. 成人论坛 Studios, which owns House Productions, is the international distributor of both series.
Sherwood series two was filmed in and around Nottingham.
- Watch Sherwood series 2 on 成人论坛 iPlayer and 成人论坛 One from Sunday 25 August at 9pm with new episodes premiering on Sunday and Monday nights across three weeks.
- Watch Sherwood series 1 on 成人论坛 iPlayer now
Sherwood@organic-publicity.com
Meet the Sherwood cast
David Morrissey (Ian St Clair)
Can you give us a brief overview of where we find Ian at the start of series two?
Ian has now left the police and he's heading up a new unit for the local council, which is a Violence Intervention Team, a unit that brings together all of the social services. It tries to join up everything from housing to public health to the police and emergency services.
What drew you to the role of Ian St Clair in Sherwood series one? And what keeps you excited about it in series two?
I've always been a fan of James Graham. I think he's one of our greatest writers. When they approached me about the role, I spoke to James, and we went for a long walk. He outlined the world and what he wanted to do with it. I immediately signed up and said 鈥測es鈥�, it sounded great to me. I thought it was a brilliant piece of drama to get into; the exploration between families who are still traumatised from the events of the miners鈥� strike in the early 80s.
Once we started filming series one, I just fell in love with the character, I thought he was pretty wonderful and complex but slightly compromised at the same time. When it was floated that they might do a second series and James found a role for Ian, I was delighted.
What themes and issues does series two explore that you find particularly compelling?
One of the issues that resonates a lot is around a breakdown of social services and the cracks that young people 鈥� particularly young men 鈥� can fall down. Particularly in regard to gang culture. I think a lot of the other themes explore the dissociation between talk and action for the rejuvenation and investment into local communities. Broken promises and superficial political rhetoric which have let down people and their communities for too long.
How does the dynamic between Ian St Clair and other characters shift in the new series?
Ian is outside of the police force now, and he's very critical of it. Of course, he still has colleagues and friends inside the force and he's also still a valuable person as far as the police are concerned. Criminal gangs are going to go to war again and Ian was instrumental in policing that when he was in the force. Now he's being drawn back into the police force in an advisory capacity to help. I think he feels compromised because he doesn't really want to be back inside the police force.
It feels at odds with the work he鈥檚 so passionate about outside of the force. We see this conflict in how he interacts with so many of the characters. We do see him reconnecting with characters such as Julie (Lesley Manville) and the Sparrows (Lorraine Ashbourne, Phillip Jackson, Perry Fitzpatrick and Bill Jones), using his relationships from the past in order to help him with his present.
What challenges does Ian face in his personal and professional life in this series?
His personal life is falling apart in a lot of ways. He's divorced and he's living on his own. He鈥檚 a single man living out of boxes. On a professional level though, he's passionate and motivated in his new role in the Violence Intervention Team. I think he feels energised by the new role. However, because of what is happening in the community, those plans are derailed slightly, and he has to ride two horses into town. One as the policeman that he thought he鈥檇 left behind. The other as the community liaison. I think he finds those two roles and identities increasingly harder to marry.
Are there any new characters in series two that significantly affect Ian's story?
Yes, there's Harry (Michael Balogun). A police officer whom Ian is teamed up with. There's also the Branson family (Monica Dolan and Stephen Dillane), who Ian crosses paths with frequently. Lastly, we see a new character in Ryan (Oliver Huntingdon). He鈥檚 a loose cannon and the focal point of everyone's anger.
What was it like to reunite with the cast and crew from series one, and have the new cast join you for the new series?
It was really interesting. Some of the crew were the same, but many of them were new. We had new directors who I loved and got on incredibly well with. But it was nice to be back with a few of the old guard in Perry (Fitzpatrick), Lorraine (Ashbourne), and Phil (Jackson), who are all good friends. It felt very familiar and warm to be with them again. I loved working with the new characters though. Robert Lindsay is in this series and he鈥檚 an actor I've admired for a long, long time, so it was wonderful to get to work with him. Likewise with Monica Dolan and Stephen Dillane.
Can you speak to the importance of James' storytelling and shedding light on real world issues?
The main thing about James is that he has this ability to hold a mirror up to society as it is now. Of course, series two was written during a different government to the one when the show airs, but the issues still exist. I think James highlights the problems that are facing our society. He also offers potential solutions to it, or certainly points you in a direction of where to be looking in terms of healing. I think it鈥檚 a very important drama for us in terms of where we are now with the breakdown in society, how we seem to have become more and more isolated in where we are, and that we need to be more conjoined, particularly around social service.
In what ways do you think Sherwood addresses relevant social or political issues today?
James is certainly involved in looking at characters who live and breathe on the streets of Britain, particularly in Nottingham. They are people who are having to live with the consequences of major decisions that are made by big business and big government. I think that鈥檚 ultimately what鈥檚 relevant and resonates.
Are there any aspects of Ian St Clair鈥檚 character that you particularly resonate with or you find particularly challenging to portray?
I think that Ian takes on a lot of responsibility. He feels responsible for many, many things. Many of which are out of his control. He feels the need to fix, and that can take him into two areas. One is that he can be guilty of having a martyr complex, and the other is a narcissistic belief that he can bring light and justice to the world.
What do you hope audiences will take away from series two?
I hope that it鈥檚 similar to what people took out of series one. That it鈥檚 a great ensemble cast, portraying a wonderful story by James which resonates with their lives in a very immediate way.
Monica Dolan (Ann Branson)
Can you give us an overview of Ann Branson鈥檚 storyline?
Her husband and her family run a drugs cartel in Ashfield. They have their fingers in a lot of pies, and they鈥檙e used to being able to get what they want, even from the people at the top. We start to see what Ann is really capable of though when a tragic event occurs which causes a ripple effect throughout the series.
What attracted you to the role and how did you prepare for it?
I read three episodes of the script, and I thought they were extraordinary. It was like reading a George Eliot novel in the way that it slices through society. Every one of the characters is so different with their own unique voice. In terms of my character, I found Ann to be very intriguing. In some ways, she is very straightforward, and her motivations are cut and dried. However, her means of operating and manipulating people to get what she wants can be quite complex. She鈥檚 brave, and if something doesn鈥檛 smell quite right, she follows her instinct.
When you read the script, you鈥檙e constantly looking out for how she鈥檚 behaving. What is driving her, rather than simply what she is saying. One thing that director Clio (Barnard) and I talked about was her relationship with her husband (Stephen Dillane). As viewers will see, the trust between them is complete, he鈥檚 used to her leading and they almost don鈥檛 need to communicate between each other. They operate as a unit; they know that and everyone else does too.
In terms of her psychology and what drives her, I spoke a lot with James (Graham) about this. She鈥檚 incredibly territorial when it comes to the drug cartels, and the disruption in episode one drives the subsequent repercussions but how much of that is motivated by turf war and how much of that is driven by grief? Well, I鈥檓 not quite sure that she knows that herself.
What was it like working with the cast, especially those playing the Branson family?
Working with Stephen Dillane is the experience of a lifetime. He鈥檚 a very intuitive and generous screen partner. As for Lorraine Ashbourne, I fell completely in love with her. I knew that I was going to because I love watching her. She brings so much humour and humanity to everything that she does, and I think audiences can identify with the characters she plays so strongly.
I鈥檝e worked with David Morrisey before, but I was playing his stalker on that occasion, so it was quite nice to do some proper scenes with him where I am actually talking to him, rather than just following him around! Everyone in the cast and the crew were just brilliant and it felt like a very safe experience.
How does Ann Branson differ from other characters you've portrayed in your career?
I think that Ann Branson differs not just from other characters that I鈥檝e played, but from many characters I鈥檝e seen. She has absolute self-confidence. I don't know if it's because she's had her husband鈥檚 support since she was so young, but she really trusts herself. There aren't many people, even in life, that have that self-belief and the knowledge and intuition of what to do next when they鈥檙e faced with something. Somebody said whilst we were filming a scene 鈥渨ho鈥檇 be a criminal, it鈥檚 so stressful鈥� but Ann Branson is just able to stand up to that kind of stress. She鈥檚 always considering her next move, she鈥檚 very much a person that thinks ahead.
Television dramas often can provide communal conscience by highlighting widely unknown issues, stories and communities. Given your work in Mr. Bates vs The Post Office, and now starring in Sherwood, how important do you think it is for some dramas to address these social and political issues?
I think that's drama鈥檚 job. It holds a mirror up to you and others. Moving you to put yourself in other people鈥檚 shoes. It's very easy when you鈥檙e in a bubble, to judge other people and think 鈥淥h, why don't they just do this? Or that? Why don't they solve their problems like this?鈥�. When something's well written, and when something's well inhabited, then I think that the audience can see what choices people have. I believe that you only have the choices you can see in life. Some people can't see another choice, and some people just don't have options available to make another choice. I think what James' writing does is gives you a sense of how those different people and the different circumstance impact each other.
Did working on this series open your eyes to anything you didn't know?
Yes, it did. It made me very aware of drugs cartels and the alliances and rules which govern them. It's almost like having its own law and order, and Ann's in many ways a law enforcer within this world. Obviously, no one wants to live in a world where these people are operating freely. However, that being said, it appears within this world these families have established a form of ordered chaos where there is relative peace. And I think we start the series with that. When that peace is threatened, the police are very concerned about that and rightly so.
Throughout your career you鈥檝e had to portray a variety of accents. What challenges did you face with the East Midlands accent in Sherwood?
I was very lucky because I worked with Jamie Matthewman, as many of us did. It's funny because the accent can be so in the middle. There are some sounds that sound London, there are some that sound Birmingham, there's some that sort of sound Yorkshire, but it's very easy to think to yourself 鈥渙kay, I鈥檝e got this now鈥�, and then you鈥檝e made the wrong sound.
Lorraine Ashbourne (Daphne Sparrow)
Series one of Sherwood was such a huge success and there was a huge revelation in terms of your character Daphne Sparrow at the end, what has it been like returning for series two?
Well, the difference for me was that I felt that in the first series it was all about having to hold everything in and hide emotionally and keep things very, very close to my chest with the family. Any relationship Daphne had outside of the family was kept to an absolute minimum. She doesn鈥檛 have friends; she doesn鈥檛 have confidantes outside of her family.
The Sparrows are a tight-knit bunch, they have this public facing business with the taxi company but it鈥檚 a front and they kind of live on the hill and keep themselves to themselves. This series she is out in the world a lot more, she is still having to hide but she has to start to open up and confront her past and she鈥檚 come to the end of the road in terms of someone knowing her secret. Series two is very much about the unravelling of Daphne and the fight for her family.
Viewers spent the whole of series one trying to uncover the identity of the Spycop. Did you know much about that before you took the role on?
I only knew about Spycops because of the public enquiry and the news, I didn鈥檛 really know anything at all before that and then taking the part. What I loved about the revelation is I think most people expected the Spycop to be a man, because in the cases that have been reported on, they were men who had taken on the role, often had two families, or fathered children and committed these huge acts of deception, so I loved that Daphne was a woman. It felt really refreshing and very unusual to have a woman in that situation.
How does Daphne's past continue to influence her actions and decisions?
Well as a result of what happens with her children, Ronan and Rachel, she ends up going back into the criminal world. She doesn鈥檛 want it for herself or for them, but in order to defend her son and her family she is willing to go to any lengths, knowing that terrible things will happen.
Her skills have long been honed, and she quite quickly slips into this role as this criminal matriarch. She鈥檚 always been the backbone of her family, but this is different, this goes against every grain in her body, but she's willing to do what she does because her family is always at the heart of it, and is her driving force. She has these tough blokes around her, but she is the guts and the brains, and they respect her hugely and they give her that status. What she says goes.
What aspects of Daphne's character are you most excited for the audience to see this season?
What's brilliant about Daphne and what I love about her is she鈥檚 a complete contradiction. She鈥檚 brilliant at lying, she鈥檚 good at being secretive and devious and deceitful. It's a skill. But she's actually incredibly solid and in the day to day she is incredibly honest with her family, and they have a really strong, loving relationship and that鈥檚 why they respect her so much.
She is brutally honest with them, and she says what she thinks. In a funny way, you can trust her. Everyone knows what she thinks of them, she鈥檚 whip smart and there is an unapologetic honesty with how she talks to people, you see that a lot with the way she talks to David Morrissey鈥檚 character.
How does her relationship with the other key characters change this season?
Well, first and foremost with her family, her son Ronan discovers that his mum really isn't the person who he always thought she was. So, she has that kind of revelation to deal with and then that later plays out with her husband (Phillip Jackson) and her son Rory (Perry Fitzpatrick). In terms of David Morrissey's character obviously they left on almost a level playing field last season in terms of the confession and him listening and not doing anything with that information.
But this series, I think she feels he's almost got that back over her again. Last series he was the local cop, and they were the family who had been in a bit of trouble, and they butted heads whereas this season they're sort of trying to suss each other out a little bit. I think she does feel she鈥檚 held at ransom, but at the same time she鈥檚 brilliant at holding her own and she is very dignified, so she never lets him feel in any way superior to her because I think though she knows that what she did was probably wrong she did it for what she believed were the right reasons. She might have somewhat ambiguous morality to other people at times, but she鈥檚 done or doing things with a good conscience, and I think there is a respect there.
Do you have any favourite moments or anecdotes from set?
I really enjoyed working with Monica Dolan and Chrissy Bottomley, I fell in love with them. I love the Sparrows and those boys dearly, we all love each other, we see each other off set and we hang out, it鈥檚 just brilliant and lovely and respectful but it was great having girls as well, it gave it a slightly different energy. We went to Skegness for a day which was really fun, I can鈥檛 really talk about it without spoiling things too much, but I also got to do some big stunts, I鈥檝e got some real action scenes this series.
David Harewood & Sharlene Whyte (Dennis & Pam Bottomley)
How do Dennis and Pam fit into series two?
David Harewood: I would say that they represent the innocence of all the people who are impacted by the actions of others.
Sharlene Whyte: I think they represent ordinary people. Sherwood is full of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. That's how Pam and Dennis fit in.
In this series, you both work closely with up-and-coming actors Bethany Asher and Oliver Huntingdon. Can you share your experience of working with them and how your characters work together?
DH: It was wonderful. It's great to see the whole project full of young actors who came out of the Nottingham Television Workshop. It just shows that Nottingham has produced so many wonderful young actors. It's nice to have that experience working with people who have a freshness and a new approach. They were just a joy to work with.
SW: It was really interesting because I'm from the Television Workshop alumni. So, when you work with someone like Oliver, you sort of expect a certain level, you take for granted that they're going to be good. I knew he was going to be raw and edgy and just brilliant. As for Bethany, it was great working with her. She鈥檚 so focused, so driven, and very dedicated to playing her character.
How does your character's past influence their present actions and relationships?
SW: I think Pam's marriage to her husband greatly impacted her path in life because now Ryan is her adopted son after her husband died. She has her own struggles with her own mental health and some addiction problems too.
DH: I know from my own family, that when someone is in trouble you just drop everything, and I think that's what Dennis does. Having seen his sister experience trauma and loss, it's almost like he doesn't matter, he's just purely being a big brother to her.
How do Dennis and Pam grapple with the themes of family, loyalty and justice?
DH: I don't think they understand it. As Sharlene said, they are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. I think when they walk into that police station, they just have no idea. They think they're going to get released, go home, brush up, put some new windows in and get on with their lives. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, they're in witness protection and their lives are just completely turned upside down. They're in a very extraordinary situation and doing their best to maintain some sort of normality.
SW: Pam is very loyal and very family-orientated. Just like a lot of the characters in this because she didn't have to take on her ex-husband鈥檚 children, but she did. So I think she has some real strong family values.
Sherwood addresses various social issues. How do you see your character's story contributing to these themes?
DH: There are a lot of people, generations in fact, that were impacted by the decisions to close the mines. I think our characters represent the people who just got caught up in that and out of deprivation came crime. Subsequently, those people who've been impacted by that have really suffered and generations of people have suffered through no fault of their own.
The neglect has created real Dickensian issues in certain areas. I think our characters represent the good, honest people in those communities who are just trying to put one foot in front of the other and live their lives in the most extraordinary circumstances.
SW: I think they represent the social issues of drugs and addiction in Britain today. Young people feel neglected because of so many budget cuts and not enough resources for young people to be involved in. When we were growing up, there was lots more to do. There were more youth centres for example, so maybe the lack of these facilities has contributed to the increase in drug taking and living a life of law breaking.
Oliver Huntingdon (Ryan Bottomley)
What attracted you to the role?
I鈥檇 been a huge fan of the first series and jumped at the chance to work with James (Graham). Also, Clio (Barnard) being attached was a big selling point as well. In terms of the role, it鈥檚 a very 鈥渏uicy鈥� character to sink your teeth into. It was something different that I hadn鈥檛 done anything like before.
How would you describe Ryan鈥檚 character and his main motivations?
As well as being someone we see commit a terrible crime, Ryan is also a victim in many ways. He鈥檚 someone that has been lost in the system. When we first meet him, the viewer is thrown straight into the very dark and serious phase of his life but as things progress we start to see how he has ended up there and why he is the person that he has become.
What aspects of Ryan鈥檚 character are you anticipating the audience to discover?
I think people will in many ways sympathise with Ryan, as strange as that might sound. As his story progresses we start to see more about his character and how he operates. He鈥檚 having to battle with himself and for those that he loves, specifically his sister, played by Bethany Asher. His sister is the main driver that keeps him going because at the end of the day they鈥檙e all each other have. I think the audience will empathise and resonate a lot with that relationship as well as seeing that there is in some ways a caring and intelligent person underneath it all.
How does Ryan fit into the broader narrative of the series?
There鈥檚 an all too common theme and occurrence within today鈥檚 Britain around young men, particularly from less privileged areas, who don鈥檛 have enough support or opportunities. Young men who struggle to express themselves in positive ways. I know personally myself from being from those sorts of areas and the people I鈥檝e known that it鈥檚 hard for people like Ryan to get themselves out of the situation that they鈥檙e in and stop themselves from going down the wrong path.
How does Ryan鈥檚 past influence his actions and decisions in the present?
It鈥檚 influenced everything. I鈥檓 not too sure that he feels that he has a choice anymore in his decisions and actions. He鈥檚 had a tragic event in his life that鈥檚 seriously impacted his mental health and that鈥檚 taken away any sense of control over his present and future.
What was your experience like working with the cast and crew of Sherwood?
David (Morrissey) is an actor that gives the oxygen to you when you need it in your performance and then takes it when he needs it. There鈥檚 not many actors like that around. He鈥檚 a fantastic actor and an incredibly generous scene partner. Then with David Harewood and Sharlene (Whyte), working with them was a joy. I felt that I learnt so much from them.
The greatest experience for me though was to work with our lead director, Clio. She cultivated a really breathable environment, where you could go out and perform without pressure to give as an authentic performance as possible. It felt like such an organic process which was incredibly gratifying. Hopefully that translates on screen. Clio together with James worked so well together, like cheese and crackers. The discussions we had pre-production, talking through reference points and building this character from real life experiences was brilliant. It鈥檚 a project that allowed a lot of truths to be brought into mine and other performances.
Did you have any specific preparation or research for portraying Ryan?
Absolutely. With his sort of character, the root of the research comes from characters in real life. Who do I know or who have I seen that I can take some sort of inspiration from? Even if it鈥檚 someone that I鈥檝e passed on the street one day and noticing how they walk, how they carry themselves.
Interestingly enough, we talked a lot about the animalistic side to humans in developing Ryan鈥檚 physical demeanour. I started watching nature documentaries, and looking at images online of Hyenas and Lions. Dangerous and predatory animals. Not because Ryan and his character is an animal, but it was tapping into this dark side to him. That wide eyed, intimidating, feral look to capture his physicality and through that help guide my performance.
That was more the physical aspect of it, but it鈥檚 really important with a character like this that you capture that humanity as well. So really drilling into why some young men take these violent paths. Asking why do they join gangs, and get caught up in crime in a very honest and upfront way without looking to glamourise or overly sensationalise. It needed to feel real so it was very important that there was a process to developing this character.
How does Ryan grapple with the themes of identity and belonging?
I think Ryan as a person is very isolated. He鈥檚 set up his own gang to not just make money but also to feel like he has somewhere to belong. I think that鈥檚 a sad truth unfortunately for many of the young men across the country who turn down these dangerous paths, because ultimately they feel like they don鈥檛 belong, and these gangs give them a sense of belonging, however toxic it is.
How do you feel about the representation of Nottinghamshire in the series, especially in relation to your own upbringing?
All of James鈥� work is very grounded and real. When you鈥檝e grown up in these areas, you read the scripts and the characters and so much resonates with you. It feels like you know these people, that you鈥檝e met them before. You鈥檒l read a line or paragraph and think 鈥渢hat鈥檚 so and so鈥� or 鈥渢hat鈥檚 what's his name鈥�, not because they are based on real people but because they are so relatable. There are always sensitivities when writing about a specific area, and people will always have an opinion, but when it comes to Sherwood so much of what James writes is told from truth. The people of Nottingham love the show and they love James. He鈥檚 one of our own.
Meet James Graham (Writer & Creator)
The first series of Sherwood was a critically acclaimed smash hit. Can you please give us a brief overview of what fans can expect in series two?
In series two fans can expect the return some of our legacy characters including Ian St Clair (played by David Morrissey) the incredible Sparrow family played by Lorraine Ashbourne, Phillip Jackson, Perry Fitzpatrick and Bill Jones, and Julie Jackson played by the wonderful Lesley Manville, but a lot of it is brand new. It鈥檚 a brand-new story which explores other sides of the community that you saw in series one and it branches into new territory.
I love the fact that every community has many stories and though we meet some of the characters that we loved from before, we have introduced lots of new characters whose lives intersect, and we ask questions about the world via them. I hope it taps into what audiences felt like they connected to in the first series, which at times was a police crime drama, but also something that digs down into big political and social and historical themes, and tries to understand our post-industrial legacy and how the past and the present are always in dialogue with each other.
I hope that once again it elevates and lifts the procedural into something more state of the nation, but always driven by characters. As with the first series we have some of the best of British acting talent with Monica Dolan, David Harewood, Robert Lindsay, Sharlene Whyte, Christine Bottomley and a whole host of incredible actors joining our ensemble.
What were the main challenges in terms of writing series two?
It鈥檚 my first ever returning series, I鈥檝e only ever completed my stories in a single series and never had to come back, so that was something new but that wasn鈥檛 really a challenge. It felt like a privilege and a joy because I really like these characters, especially because they, and this series, matter so much to me, because they are inspired by my hometown, and so - while they are fictional - in a way their voice is the voice of family and friends.
I think the challenge is about expectation, the pressure you put on yourself to not let your audience down, because I know people really connected with Sherwood and were very moved by it and that鈥檚 because of the amazing performances and production too. It鈥檚 another difficult story in that while it isn鈥檛 based on any real event, it is inspired by a load of different violent occurrences that happened in Nottingham, and I always feel the weight of that responsibility. I want to get that right and handle that sensitively and to convey the truth of what it must feel like to live through a difficult time, in this case an outbreak of gun violence.
The first series was inspired by two devastating killings in the community in which you grew up. Does series two follow the same formula?
It is essentially the same formula in that it is inspired by the area that I grew up in, in the East Midlands, but I have used more creative license this series and it is even more fictionalised than the first. I've taken inspiration from many, many events within Nottinghamshire across multiple timeframes to create a brand-new fictional story.
I hope it will have resonance because it is inspired by periods in which the area faced very high levels of crime and violence, including when Nottingham was termed 鈥楽hottingham鈥�, and other dark periods. It being more of a fictional work liberated me to move the characters we know from series ones forward, and I hope that people will enjoy it as a piece of drama but be able to see the impact of such industrial and political and socioeconomic factors.
The Spycop storyline formed such an integral core to the first series - do we continue to explore that in the second series?
We do. Our undercover officer, who we revealed to be Daphne Sparrow (played by Lorraine Ashbourne) in the first series, is still very much living within her made-up identity and dealing with the consequences of that and trying to contend with her family not knowing, but with Ian St Clair (David Morrissey) knowing.
We also introduce a brand-new element of that storyline, which some of our new characters are integral to, and whose past extends back to what happened in the 1980s, although this series is all set in the present day. We ended series one with Daphne thinking her secret was safe, but we discover very early on that she is going to have to stare into the darkness of the past and what she鈥檚 done, and go even further in apologising and reconciling her past. The effect it has on her and her family is huge.
Can you talk a little bit about your writing process and how you dig into something that perhaps feels more personal for you?
Sherwood will always mean more to me than almost anything else I do, because it's my community and my voice, so it feels like something I must dig down deeply into, in terms of my past and my emotional life. You don't want to do it alone, and the joy for me of being a television writer is that you have an amazing team around you. In my case that included our producers, Juliette Howell and Harriet Spencer and Kate Ogborn at House Productions, and our director Clio Barnard and the commissioning team at the 成人论坛.
I also get to work with an amazing company of actors; for example it was a real privilege to be able to work very closely with David Morrissey on the development of his character this series. We spent time together in Nottingham speaking to local stakeholders, community activists, people in the police and in social services, to build a story in a world that felt authentic but that we could test and push our characters within.
So, even though the process is so personal, whenever I sit down on my own in the darker moments of the night and dig into the wounds of my community to write it, I don't ever really feel like I鈥檓 alone, because I get to work with an incredible team and I feel very grateful and supported.
Speaking of research what research, other than living in Nottingham during the days of reported violence, did you do?
I spoke a lot to people who lived there during those times and remember them - either in the police or in communities. I also read books, which covered the time period and the dark days of gang violence in the county. Because we wanted to move it slightly away from the common areas of a returning crime drama, i.e. standard police detecting, it was a personal thrill to discover places like Violence Reduction Units of which we have a fictional version in our story, called the Violence Intervention Team. It is inspired by these new organisations that I think an audience will be unfamiliar with.
They exist outside of the framework of the police and they are independently funded but have been created to go into problem areas and connect loads of different areas of the community including schools, hospitals, mental health units, youth groups, community centres to reduce violence in communities, and particularly violence amongst men. To have access to something like that which is very new and radical and successful in reshaping policing was a delight. It鈥檚 always a thrill as a writer when you think you know something, but then you go and research and find out about something you鈥檝e never heard of in that way, and get to explore it.
Thematically, what did you want this series to touch on?
Series one was mainly about digging into the legacy of the miners鈥� strike and the impact that it had on certain communities and their relationship with the police. For series two, especially given the climate I was writing in, which is during the cost-of-living crisis and during the bankruptcy of councils and some really difficult times in local government, I wanted to really understand the human cost to individuals and communities.
For example, what do the decades of neglect by central government and particularly cuts in local government and services mean for those on the frontline trying to prevent vulnerable people falling into a life of crime? Industrialised cities and communities are often the ones who bear the brunt of that, and I think it鈥檚 such a false economy to cut money in the short term because it costs you more in the long term. I want to really try to reflect how bad I think it鈥檚 become mainly in local services and the pressure that people have in their communities. You want to always reflect the news of the country when you鈥檙e writing.
Series one ended with the character of Scott, played by Adam Hugill, being caught. In series two we meet Oliver Huntington鈥檚 character Ryan, who is another troubled young man who has slipped through the cracks of society. Is the disparity and abandonment of young men in particular something you wanted to highlight?
Yeah, definitely. We're not repeating that story, but I think we certainly wanted to advance the themes of it forward in terms of understanding the character of Scott in series one. He wasn't part of a gang, he grew up in a village and environment like mine which was built on the embers of mining which gave a lot of men their identity. Scott lived in a quiet street in a quiet town and yet was completely disenfranchised and existed outside the normal bounds of society and commits unforgivable acts of violence.
Ryan in series two is very different. He goes through his teens embroiled in gang culture on an estate and he鈥檚 fallen through the cracks. I don鈥檛 want to look at individuals who go off the rails as isolated incidences, I don鈥檛 think anyone should, I think everything's connected.
Hopefully the joy of Sherwood is that you're allowed space to not forgive but to understand all the factors that lead to young men, in particular, responding to trauma or to trigger moments with violence and rage and getting all of their validation from that kind of gang culture, finding community there. To me that isn't separate from a lot of things we explored in series one and I think that is entirely connected with the legacy of deindustrialisation, the closing of the mines and industry and the hole that it can create within the soul of a place.
There is such a thing as collective memory. A place remembers and affects the people who are born into it, and we see those problems every day in communities all over the UK.
What challenges do the existing characters that we know from that first series face in the second series?
I think, generally speaking, they have tried to resolve the trauma for the first series and the second is about how they move past that and in some cases through it. I think with David Morrisey鈥檚 character, who plays Ian St Clair, he is dealing with the shame and the feelings of being a police detective in a community where their relationship with police has been difficult, and he was torn apart by that.
I guess in Julie's (Lesley Manville) case she is dealing with the grief and death of her husband, while Daphne (Lorraine Ashbourne) is contending with the fallout of a revelation that she has buried for over half her life and is still hiding from. As they start to try to resolve that, the new challenge is almost 鈥淲hat next? Where do I go from here?鈥�.
I think particularly with David and Lesley鈥檚 characters, and those two gorgeous actors, we are watching them very beautifully negotiate things that almost exist outside of the police procedural - taking them to a different place in terms of the emotional stakes of their story. With Daphne and the Sparrows I have never cooked up fictional characters like them and I have never put characters through what I put them through in this series, and there are a few highs but some incredible lows.
I just had complete faith in the quality of those actors, and that they would be able to convey all the human emotions they experience. I think people are going to be quite surprised and quite shocked about some of the events.
Though series two finished filming in 2023, we now have a new government in power. Do you think that changes anything in terms of the series?
I don't think it changes the relevance of a series that is looking back at what it felt like to live in Britain over the past decade, which has been an incredibly divisive time and during which the social fabric has frayed and some political actors have tried to insert themselves and create even more for their benefit.
I think we all recognise and are quite exhausted by that, and whatever happens in the future we always lived through this moment. I think drama is about trying to help us make sense of the moment that we've just lived through and, dare I say, maybe even contribute answers to how we might move forward in a healthier society.
What are you most excited for viewers to see in the new series?
I am very excited to introduce the audience to our new characters, and equally show how far we're taking the ones that they know and hopefully love. It was a thrill to be able to create almost a dozen new characters with their own backstories and to invite new actors into our company.
I was very aware, thanks to social media and from speaking to people, that people couldn鈥檛 quite believe the talent within our series one ensemble, and how we had assembled the great and the good of British acting. Actors with such integrity and presence, and with such phenomenal reputations. To be welcoming so many more actors of such calibre, and for them to take ownership of their characters in a world of existing characters, is thrilling so I'm particularly excited to see the reaction to them.
Did you write any character for any actor in particular?
I鈥檝e wanted to work with Monica Dolan for about a decade. We've crossed paths loads of times and I have always wanted to write for her. I can't remember at what point in writing Ann that I thought she might be the one to play her, but when she said yes that felt right. And then when I first saw her on set in Nottingham, in our first days of filming at Nottingham City Hall, and she marched up the stairs she just was Ann Branson. It sent a shiver through myself and the crew and it's very, very thrilling and delightful to watch.
We see the Sheriff of Nottingham in this series, played by Ria Zmitrowicz, which is such an infamous role. What was the decision behind that?
Whenever I tell people we still have a Sheriff of Nottingham they don't believe it. I feel like mythology and folklore was a big part of the first series, the stories that we carry forward through generations or even just the associations that we make to certain titles are so important in general. Obviously the first series had outlaws hiding out in Sherwood Forest and people drew that line to Robin Hood, and The Sheriff is a character people mostly know from that. In our series we have a young, queer female Sheriff of Nottingham. I just thought that felt modern and important to include that representation, and to make that character and that title fully drawn.
How do you become The Sheriff of Nottingham in real life?
You mean if you鈥檙e not Alan Rickman or Ria?! It鈥檚 a job I want to go for one day as it's such a unique role! It鈥檚 a job that鈥檚 part of the council. I think it's a yearlong tenure, so you have to represent your ward on a local level and be a councillor and you鈥檙e selected from there.
It's a symbolic and ceremonial role, where you represent the county on arguably a world stage. When we were filming we got to film in the actual Sheriff鈥檚 office in City Hall and we got to meet the real Sheriff at the time, she was brilliant and lovely. It's those little pockets of civic life that some people might find boring and drab, but I find quite fascinating and curious and I just thought we had to include our own Sheriff.
One thing you do so well in terms of blending those genres is adding the humour in there. It鈥檚 not a 鈥榞rim up north鈥� drama, though it鈥檚 sometimes dealing with difficult topics. Is that important to you?
Definitely. Ensuring it was not a 鈥済rim up north鈥� thing was one of my top missions with the first series, and we carried that on in this series. We wanted to make it look beautiful, because I think where I am from is beautiful. It鈥檚 not traditionally beautiful in maybe the way we think The Lake District or The Cotswolds are, but it鈥檚 got its own post-industrial beauty, with some pretty exceptional landscapes and forests and valleys and meadows.
We wanted to always film in the summer so that we鈥檙e shooting against blue skies and with sunlight coming through the window, that was really important, but humour is obviously such an incredible antidote to the bleakness that can come by accident or by default with some of the themes we are tackling. People are funny in some of their worst moments, bad people can be funny, and scary people can be funny - and I think you always have to search for those moments.
What would you like people to take away from series two?
I would like their understanding and their curiosity about the people and communities inside the red wall to extend beyond what we learnt in the first series, as we go out into the city of Nottingham and beyond. I guess the first series gave the impression that some of these wounds were linked and tied to the past and are perhaps unique to these communities, but I think there are more universal and social themes to this series which shows what happens to any community that is neglected.
I think it examines the trauma and the violence and the issues that can come from taking your eye off the ball and ignoring people. I think it鈥檚 a broader and wider story that extends beyond Nottingham, and I would like people to see that.