New Ashes Interview

Whats on TV, March 23, 2010.

Where do we find Alex?
"We open with Gene on the run and he has to get her out of this coma to get himself out of the situation. Acting in a coma isn’t like acting dead because you can breathe. I just shut my eyes and think of England."

Is she more settled in the 1980s?
"Well, her confidence has been shaken before and things have been completely turned on their head, but in episode one something happens that takes her a step even further away from her real life. She now has a reason behind her forgetting about her past and this becoming her world. A new character called Jim Keats [played by Daniel Mays] shakes things up because he seems to know a lot more about things than perhaps she thought was possible."

How has she changed?
"She’s not as much of a feminist any more, she is Alex Drake, she is a male bird. I always knew that this would go for three years so it had to go from one extreme to the other so she has changed a lot and I think it’s quite obvious by now that she is hopelessly in love with the Gene Genie whether or not she knows it."

What is Alex’s look like this time?
"It’s slightly smarter. By now Alex has definitely had time to go out shopping and create a look of her own rather than getting her clothes from the back of a dead woman, so it is more grown-up and a very good fresh look."

Is this series darker?
Yes, it was dark last year, but now with the Keats character coming in, it’s even more so. It’s very difficult to get the balance right. You want to see the Quattro come screeching around the corner and the boots come out of the door, but you want the dark side, too. There is a bit of everything in here; I think it is the best one yet."

Are you pleased with the ending?
"Oh yes. It is something that has been speculated about so much that I’m sure someone is going to work it out what happens, but we didn’t. It is such a great ending. The scripts for the last two episodes are just so fantastic and mind-boggling. I don’t think there is anything else like Ashes on telly. It’s so inventive."

Will you miss the show?
"I was absolutely dreading the last couple of weeks because I love the cast so much. Also, Ashes is a job unlike any other. With this, you finish filming and it just doesn’t go away. People shout at you in the street... It's been life-changing for me." Read More......

Matthew is currently starring in Private Lives at the Vaudeville Theatre in London, and Keeley and Monserrat Lombard were there on press night, March 3, 2010, to support him.

Click to enlarge the thumbnails.
















(Photos: Getty Images and Wooller.com.) Read More......

Ashes (Series 3) Press Packet

The BBC has released the press packet for Series Three of Ashes to Ashes, including the interview below.

Click here to go to the press pack, which includes detailed synopses for episodes one and two. The air date for Ashes has yet to be officially announced. (It will not premiere March 23, as previously rumored, but possibly the week of March 29, according to Ian Wylie.)



March 10, 2010, from the BBC Press Office.

Sexy, sassy and more than a match for DCI Gene Hunt, DI Alex Drake is still trying to unravel the mystery of why she's stuck in Hunt's world. Does the new member of CID overseeing Hunt's empire hold the key, or is it his aim to turn Alex against Gene?

Actress Keeley Hawes reveals what's in store for the feisty DI.

"This series starts with Alex back in what appears to be the present day," explains Keeley, "but it soon becomes apparent that things aren't as they seem and odd incidents start to happen.

"She realises that the reality she is in isn't real and the Fenchurch East gang start to call her back to 1983 where she has been stuck in a coma for three months."

After Gene rouses Alex from her comatose state, she returns to CID, desperate to try and solve the riddle of how to get back home to her daughter Molly.

However, a new arrival at Fenchurch East starts to make her doubt the one person she thought she could trust.

"DCI Jim Keats is played by Danny Mays and he's very charming to Alex," reveals Keeley.

"She likes him, despite the fact Gene has a different opinion. Gene and Keats' relationship seems to take place behind closed doors and he acts very differently towards Gene than he does with the rest of the team.

"Keats tries to split up Gene and Alex's partnership. Slowly but surely he starts to drive a wedge between the two of them and Alex starts to wonder if she can really trust Gene," continues Keeley.

"Alex also believes that, if she can solve the mystery surrounding Sam Tyler, she'll be able to get home and Keats points her in the direction of evidence which implicates Gene in his death."

There may be a question mark over Jim Keats' real intentions in Ashes To Ashes but Keeley reveals the actor playing him couldn't be nicer.

"Danny is absolutely lovely!" she exclaims. "He has to play a very difficult role and I think he's done it brilliantly. I really enjoyed filming scenes with both Danny and Phil because they spar off each other so well."

Ashes To Ashes is set in the Eighties so throughout its three-year run Keeley has had to wear some amazingly colourful outfits.

But what's been her favourite costume from this series and has she taken anything home with her?

"Our costume designer has had more freedom this year and she's done a gorgeous job," reveals the London-born actress.

"I really liked the outfit Gene gave to Alex in hospital which consisted of a t-shirt with the New York skyline on it and skinny jeans.

"I think it's been easier this year because we haven't been restricted to all the clothes for the series being originals from the period. There seems to be so much Eighties stuff in the shops at the moment that we actually went out and bought some clothes. The costume department also made a lot of things.

"I have taken a couple of pairs of boots with me," confides Keeley, "and I've got Alex's white leather jacket which I think I'll auction off for charity.

"I've also got the most fantastic pair of red Dorothy-style sequined shoes with a bow on the front of them. They remind me of the moment when Dorothy clicks her ruby shoes to go home."

The finale of Ashes To Ashes is about to air and Alex Drake's journey looks set to come to an end – how does Keeley feel about the end of her journey working on the series?

"It's very sad in some respects because I've been working with the cast and crew for so long, but it feels the right time to finally find out the mystery surrounding Alex's world. In this business you find people pop up all the time so you never know when you are going work with someone again." Read More......