My role was that of Barry Gibson, a teenage tearaway who has raped a girl and may have contracted HIV from her.
I was booked for a week of filming at BBC Birmingham. I was the episode’s central ‘guest character’ and had a really wonderful juicy scene at the end of the story where Barry finds out the deeper consequences of his actions. Unlike television drama, serial television allows very little time for rehearsal.
For actors with little experience in this field (as was my case) this can be very scary. So much time is spent lighting, and setting up the ‘shots’ that little time is spent rehearsing the scene.
The old phrase ‘Get your lines right, and don’t bump into the furniture’ springs to mind!
I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play a really nasty, messed-up character on television. Quite out of character I would add! … an opportunity rarely afforded to TV roles these days when casting decisions are often made ‘with type’ rather than ‘against type’.
‘Doctors’ has gone on to become a very popular daytime favourite on the BBC.
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