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Ashes To Ashes
Day and time to be confirmed BBC ONE
Programme copy
It's 1981: the year of the Royal Wedding, the Brixton riots, Bucks Fizz winning the Eurovision Song Contest – and the year that Gene Hunt takes the Met by storm in Ashes To Ashes.
Programme Information hears how the new series was born; discovers some behind-the-scenes secrets; and catches up with Philip Glenister, who plays the gloriously maverick Gene Hunt.
Gene Hunt, the politically incorrect, loud-mouthed and sexist DCI from the hit drama Life On Mars, was, on the surface, an unlikely cult figure. However, the combination of his winning personality and somewhat "traditional" approach to policing helped to firmly establish him in the national consciousness.
When the highly acclaimed drama bowed out after two series, it did so at the height of its popularity. However, just because the writers and producers deemed that Sam Tyler's (John Simm) story had reached its conclusion, did that also spell the end for his much-loved "Guv"? Jane Featherstone, joint MD of Kudos Film & Television and executive producer of both Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes, explains the genesis of the new series.
"As Life On Mars was drawing to an end, the BBC approached us and asked if we thought there could be a sequel or follow-up with the character of Gene Hunt, but a few years later," she explains. "We sat down and all realised that it could be brilliant to bring Gene into the early Eighties, a fascinating time of cultural, musical and political transition."
From the start, the production team knew that Ashes To Ashes had to offer viewers a totally fresh journey and say new things about the much-loved Gene Hunt. Life On Mars had offered very little information on Gene's past and personal life, making him something of an enigma. The introduction of a female DI, Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes), meant that a totally new dynamic could be created, without garnering comparisons to the good cop/bad cop "buddy" relationship experienced by Sam and Gene.
"The relationship between Gene Hunt and Alex Drake is critical to Ashes To Ashes," continues Featherstone. "It is tumultuous, sexy, intellectual, instinctive – and totally different to his relationship with Sam."
As the creative process continued, it became clear that the sexual tension between the two characters would be one of the key hooks to the series.
"Gene has never come across a woman like Alex before and she rocks his world," explains Featherstone. "How is it possible to work with someone so incredibly confident and attractive, not to mention posh and from London, and bloody hell, a woman? Through Alex's presence at the station, we see a different side to Gene – a more complex, gentler side, a man with dreams, hopes and fears."
Despite a new era and leading lady being added to the mix, it's not all change. Gene Hunt will still offer his unique take on the ghost of England's past.
"We thought we'd bring him to London where his Northern views would come into sharp conflict with 'the Southern ponces' he finds there," adds the show's producer, Beth Willis. "And, of course, he should take his A-team of Ray Carling [Dean Andrews] and Chris Skelton [Marshall Lancaster] with him."
With the series set in the early Eighties, the production team recognised a great opportunity to display the change in policing since 1973 – changes which have perhaps had an impact on the once supremely cocksure Gene?
Writer and co-creator Ashley Pharaoh explains: "All the research we did indicated that the police knew the Scarman Report [on the Brixton riots] was on its way and they knew it wasn't going to be good news, so the threat of that hangs over the whole series. A very specific era of policing is coming to an end. I think there's a slight sense of melancholy to Gene at times – he misses the North and the old days. But he's a fighter, he refuses to give up."
The next challenge was how to take Alex Drake – a police psychologist and thoroughly modern woman of the 21st century – into the world of Gene Hunt, a world she knows about only through her sessions with the now-deceased Sam Tyler.
Matthew Graham, co-creator, writer and executive producer, realised that the premise would have to be watertight to work on screen.
"Through Sam, Alex has learnt all about Gene Hunt, Ray Carling and Chris Skelton," he explains. "Alex is called to an intense hostage crisis involving a drug dealer who shoots her in the head at point-blank range. Next thing she knows, she's in 1981."
As if waking up dressed as a prostitute in the early Eighties, with Ultravox ringing in your ears, isn't bad enough, Alex is forced to confront a much larger problem.
"Alex is horrified to discover that sharing her delusion are the very characters she heard about from Sam Tyler, in particular a certain DCI Gene Hunt!" continues Graham. "Furthermore, 1981 was the very year her parents were mysteriously killed in a car bomb – is that somehow connected to her presence there?"
However, in the meantime, Alex must find a way to get on with her new boss, concludes Featherstone. "Alex finds that Gene is a compassionate man, fighting for justice and what he thinks is right, despite his incredibly dated views of womanhood. The result is funny, electric and surprising."
It's time to dig out that Rubik's Cube – 1981, here we come!
Behind the scenes
The year 1981 evokes images of leg warmers, Rubik's Cube and the ZX Spectrum. However, those with less rose-tinted memories will remember that era for the Brixton and Toxteth riots and the identification of the Aids virus. It was also the decade in which Margaret Thatcher's privatisation of national industries sharply divided political opinion. With those years so fresh in the minds of today's viewers, the production team were aware of their responsibility to get the look spot on.
"The Eighties was a very colourful decade, so we felt that needed to be reflected in the costumes, make up and locations in the show," explains producer Beth Willis. "There was lots of big hair, so DS Ray Carling has a tight perm and DI Alex Drake has big, curly hair. Our other characters have moustaches and mullets and there's lots of blue eye shadow, plus polo necks, bomber jackets, Ray-Ban sunglasses and off-the-shoulder tops. Alex wears a fantastic white leather jacket and matching white boots; she looks a million dollars."
Despite the fact that Ashes To Ashes is set in the not-too-distant past, much research was still needed to fine-tune each of the characters' distinctive looks.
Costume designer Rosie Hackett drew inspiration from a variety of publications and icons of the era. "My first port of call was a library in Westminster where they have all the back issues of magazines like Vogue, the Sunday Times supplements, Woman magazine, TV Times and the Radio Times," she explains. "We looked at what famous men and women were wearing – for example, Joanna Lumley was really popular then, and we were able to get a flavour of what was going on over a wide cross-section of society."
Once the team had referenced archive material, the wardrobe department had to find clothes that expressed the look they were aiming for. Hackett and her team searched high and low to discover the right clothes.
"Recreating the Blitz Club in episode two was really fun," she smiles. "The New Romantic scene was all about hand-made clothes; people used to beg and borrow stuff from anyone, even their gran! Often, their clothes would be from the local jumble sale, so it certainly wasn't slick. Coincidently, there's a New Romantic revival going on at the moment, so we got a load of people coming down to shoot the Blitz Club scenes, having styled themselves from their own wardrobes!"
Finding the right locations for the era proved much trickier. The past two decades have seen major changes to London's skyline – for example, Lord Foster's award-winning "Gherkin" and the London Eye. Even at street level, the environment has become a very different place. Everything from shop fronts to street signs have undergone changes without people even noticing, making locations that look like London, circa 1981, almost impossible.
"Our location department spent hours scouring London for roads which didn't have buildings beyond 1981," confesses Willis. "We can safely say that there aren't many left out there!"
Detail was all-important and so the hard work for Willis and the team didn't stop at just finding a suitable location.
"We've had to take down a lot of TV dishes, cover road markings and put up strategically placed greenery and we asked lots of people to move their modern vehicles!" laughs Willis.
So, once you've uncovered a location and sourced the ideal wardrobe, how do you go about adding those extra details that add authenticity and make the show feel real? Finding necessary tools to bring the set alive was one of the surprise challenges of the series.
"Even though the Eighties weren't that long ago, sourcing props was harder than you'd think as technology has moved on so much," continues Willis. "The Ashes To Ashes production team has spent a lot of time on eBay this past year!
"People had just begun to get VCR players but not slick models like the ones that have only recently been replaced by DVDs. In 1981 the machinery was massive and you loaded the tapes from the top rather than the front; they took for ever to load up."
Although the modern technology that today's police take for granted was not available to their 1981 counterparts, DCI Gene Hunt's office proudly sports a rare treat that should take people back and raise a few smiles.
"Gene has the most enormous computer in pride of place on his desk," reveals Willis. "Even though it only tells the time and date and he only uses it to play the game 'Pong'."
Gene's new toys don't stop there and, like any self-respecting Eighties man, he now drives a sexy, red, sports car. Even though the model finally chosen for Gene wouldn't have been for sale in the UK in 1981, the producers wanted to show how the newly divorced Gene Hunt might have coped with his midlife crisis by importing a flash new motor.
Willis explains: "In 1981 the Audi Quattro was THE car to have, although you could only get them in Europe at the time. Gene's wife has left him, he's moved to London and the flash new car reflects his brand new start in life."
With the car in place, the props department had to make sure it could cope with Gene's somewhat over-enthusiastic driving.
"As one of the first four-wheel drives, it clung to the road like no other car," continues Willis. "We had a hydraulic handbrake fitted because, even though he'd die for this car, he still wants to rag it round corners when he's chasing criminals."
The painstaking work of the Ashes To Ashes team in recreating the era has left no stone unturned. Those who remember the decade will cringe with recognition at the shoulder pads, the mullets and the demi perms, while those whose memories do not stretch that far will marvel at just how much things have changed.
Now – anyone for Campari and soda?
Philip Glenister talks to Programme Information about "Manc Lion" Gene Hunt
What does Gene think of "newcomer" Alex?
When Alex arrives, Gene is immediately suspicious of her motives. The world around him is changing and he wants to cling on to what he knows. Alex drives him up the wall with her endless psychology and theories. He often complains she gives him brain ache and yet he knows that when they work together, they make a good team. So sometimes, despite himself, Gene agrees to trust her. He's drawn to her and doesn't really know why; they're a great match.
Taking Alex's rank into consideration, how does Gene cope with working so closely with a woman?
Alex is tougher than any woman he's ever met – so although he takes every opportunity he can for a jibe about her being a woman, he also treats her like one of the team. Gene also has respect for ranks within the police force – so when Ray says women DIs "shouldn't be shag-worthy" and complains about her, Gene has a go at him for insulting a senior officer. He'd never admit it, but Gene is very protective of Alex.
Gene clearly fancies Alex – does he think they will get together?
If he does, he'd never admit it. Alex seems to get him by the balls; their relationship has a different dynamic to what he's experienced before. Alex is a female from the modern era and a police psychologist, so it's a different battle between them. There are elements of "will they/won't they?" and there is an attraction between them that viewers will find quite fiery!
Gene has the Scarman Report hanging over him which aims to phase out his way of policing. How does this affect him, for example, has Gene changed his ways and modernised his policing methods for Eighties London?
Fundamentally, Gene hasn't changed at all. Scum is scum wherever you are – London, Manchester, wherever – and Gene knows how he likes to deal with that. At the same time, Scarman's report is hanging over him (he actually meets Scarman in the flesh later in the series and gives him a piece of his mind) and Gene is determined to protect his team. He occasionally admits very, very reluctantly that getting evidence is quite fashionable these days. What we see is a man losing his grip on the power he had as a policeman, the changing face of the police force, particularly the Met in London. He's trying to do the right thing, but finding it extremely difficult to fit in with the changing times.
Gene is now working for the Metropolitan Police. Why has he left his beloved Manchester behind and what does he think of the Southern criminal scum?
Gene never gives much away. We know he needed a change – his wife has left him, Sam has gone and the job came up so he took it. He also thinks he, Ray and Chris can show the Southern nancys a thing or two about how to police a community the right way.
There are quite a few high-speed chases in the series. How are you enjoying the Quattro and how does it compare to the Cortina?
I love it! The Quattro was one of the first four-wheel drives that properly clung to the ground – that's why everyone wanted one but we couldn't do Gene's high-speed handbrake turns so we had to fit a hydraulic handbrake so I could rag it round those corners! It's a two-door car as well, so Ray and Chris can only get out the back when I say so.
What's been your favourite scene to film?
That would have to be when we were on a speed boat going under Tower Bridge carrying machine guns. Say no more.
Do you have any favourite quotes from Gene this series?
"Today, my friend, your diary entry will read: took a prozzie hostage and was shot by three armed bastards."
"Careful... this is one bloke you don't want letting his load off."
"Careful Bols – this Formica was hewn from the hills above Florence." (In reference to a naff table in Luigi's).
Are there any funny stories from your time on set?
Mooning with the boys on a Bank Holiday Monday night in the middle of Finsbury Square was pretty hilarious. After half a bottle of wine we all forgot our nerves and dropped our trousers for every take – even Keeley's close up. Her reaction is very real!
What were you doing in the Eighties?
Nothing as cool as Gene! I was just trying to get laid while listening to Human League, wanted to be Simon le Bon and spent a lot of time squeezing my spots.
I remember [HRH Prince] Charles and [Lady] Diana's wedding because I went and slept on The Mall with some mates the night before so we could be near the front. On the day their carriage went past and they waved as they went by, I was convinced Diana gave me the eye. Who were we to know the fairy tale of the day would end in tears?
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