Life On Mars
Liz White plays Sam's "rock" WPC Annie Cartwright
What was it like getting back into those flammable fabrics and Carmen rollers?
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"It was a really easy flip back into the Seventies because we'd done all the ground work for the first series. When we started on the first day back it was just like putting on an old coat. It was a really nice feeling; I knew the storylines that were coming up were going to be really exciting – it was a really happy return."
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How does Annie change this series?
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"She gains more respect and certainly more confidence. Annie certainly realises that
she is receiving more respect from her team, but she tries hard to keep hold of her principles that got her there in the first place. Annie is very good at taking the boys' sexist comments in her stride so she still manages to rise gracefully above it during the next series."
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Since she has a degree, and is therefore more qualified than most of her team, do you think she gets irritated by their reaction?
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"I think that a degree even then wouldn't have helped her in the police force. Obviously, it's fantastic that she went to University but, in terms of policing, it doesn't help much with her job. I guess she feels that after having graduated she has gone back to the bottom of the pile.
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"I don't think that Annie feels intellectually superior because she's so aware of her lack of experience. Even though she is brave enough to take on these hard jobs, at the end of the day she lacks experience and therefore the full confidence to do her job very well. She's still a pupil, almost an apprentice, so Sam's support really helps her."
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Annie is torn between her allegiances to Sam and to her team. How does she deal with these split loyalties?
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"I think she's protective over the team, and she's trying not to let her personal preferences get in the way of her work. She has to do her best to stay neutral to the cause and not let affairs of the heart get in the way.
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"She's trying to be objective, and Sam has a tendency to be rather petulant at times and that's what she doesn't agree with. She doesn't see any huge attempts by Sam to rectify his wrongs."
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In episode four, Sam and Annie go undercover to investigate a murder and end up at a wife-swapping party. Sam seems very protective over Annie in such an extreme situation...
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"Yes, Sam doesn't want Annie to show herself up in front of Gene. They are investigating a man who may have assaulted someone, and possibly killed a young woman, so she is potentially at risk. Sam is well aware of that, and really looks out for Annie because it's a very serious situation.
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"It takes a more experienced guy to see how a young detective can get carried away, getting dressed up and the glamour of an alluring party. Sam is well aware that Annie might get carried away thinking they were safer than they actually were – she actually does very well but he just lets his protective nature take over."
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How do you feel about the series coming to an end?
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"Life On Mars was the first programme I'd done two series in a row of. It was really nice to come back for the second series as I felt like I had already done my homework and was really prepared!
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"But now that it's finished rather than trying to make it last too long and string it out it's much better to have two really solid series. I think they're both really good and it was a fantastic project to work on."
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Have you got any new projects coming up?
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"I'm doing a play at the Almedia called Dying For It which starts on the Thursday 8 March. It's directed by Kathy Burke, and it's a Russian play that was first written in the Twenties – it was actually banned by Stalin.
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"It's been completely re-written by Moira Buffini. I play a woman called Masha – the main bread-winner in her family and the very supportive and providing wife of the main character, who decides he is going to commit suicide."
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