“I can confirm that my pants will not be returning”
Prior to the first series of Primeval, it was fair to say that Hannah Spearritt was best known as the ‘girl from S Club’. However the success of the show has seen her begin to shed the ‘former pop star tag’ and Hannah is now making a name for herself as an actress in her own right. Alongside upcoming actresses such as Natalie Dormer and Manjinder Virk, the gamine star has been singled out as a face to watch for the future. And she is quite happy with being asked back for a second series.
“Being brought back for a second time is such a great feeling because it means that you’re involved with something that has worked; something that people really like. The fact that people have actually asked you back, and that there are enough people out there who have enjoyed Primeval so much that they want us to go again is very cool. It’s lovely to feel wanted!”
So with a new series come some new characters, new creatures, and some big surprises. Given the success of the first series, Primeval II has some pretty big claws to fill; however Hannah seems more than a little confident that the team’s second outing is up to the task.
“This series is so much more heightened and really takes absolutely everything to a newer and more exciting level; both in terms of the amount of action on screen as well as the emotional punch its packing. It pushes itself and definitely doesn’t relax. We are trying out new things. I hope people will be shocked, but of course delighted with what’s been done. It would have been very easy to follow the same formula that worked on series 1, but Adrian (the writer) and everyone involved has really pushed themselves. It’s very risky. But it’s been exciting to do.”
So how does it feel to be back with the old gang once more?
“It was fun to see everyone again, but what’s even better is that there are more characters in this series, so, even though it’s lovely to get back with the main crew and cast, it’s nice to mix it up with the new faces.”
Series one was very much about introducing the characters and watching them come to terms with their new realities; their new lives. Everything was very new to them and there was a real feeling of awe and incredulity about what they did. The nail biting cliff hanger at the end of episode 6 suggested that the team’s circumstances had changed again; if so, just how much of this affects Abby?
“Oh god, just about everything has changed for her. Whatever they did in the past has affected the future and altered everyone’s reality. While the changes for her are perhaps not as immediately obvious as for Cutter, Abby’s relationships have shifted a little in terms of their dynamics; her circumstances have changed, but subtly.
This new series opens with Abby in a completely different situation, not having known Claudia Brown ever, being furious with Stephen for lying and, sadly for her, not quite trusting in Cutter. He is someone she has always believed in and his opinion really matters to her, but when he comes back through the anomaly, she thinks he’s gone a little bit mad” she laughs “and he has a bit to be fair.”
But that’s not all that’s changed for the team. As she continues to talk, it’s clear there are some big surprises in store, and that Hannah is very excited about them.
“What’s really cool this time around is that we’re better trained. In this new reality, we’re much slicker as a team. And we’ve got a headquarters! How great is that! It’s called the ARC which stands for Anomaly Research Centre and is almost like a new character. I think it’s going to be the star of the show! We were all upstaged by a cute mechanical flying lizard the first time round, and now we’re about to be acted off the screen by a set!
As she goes on to talk about the ARC, Hannah becomes even more enthused:
“When I first saw it, it reminded me of the offices in ‘24’. It’s circular and while in reality it’s above ground, the windows are all blocked over so it gives the impression it’s under ground. It’s absolutely huge, is all glass and metal and looks very grand. Lester and Leek’s offices are at the top of a long ramp which runs up one side of the structure and they look out over the main arena where the anomaly detection device is. We’ve got a kitchen, a gym, a chill out room complete with a Playstation and then of course the armoury for all our big new toys! We’re fully kitted out.
When I walked into that for the first time I just never really expected it and it showed us how much people believe in the show. It’s really impressive. It actually looks like a working environment rather than just a television set. It genuinely looks fully functioning; it’s that big. You walk on to some television sets and it’s a wall and a door and that’s it; whereas this looks as though we are actually working in there. We could live in there if we needed to. There needed to be a big visual difference to the first series in order for viewers to recognise just how much has changed for Cutter. The impact had to be immediate and enormous; and the ARC really fulfils that remit admirably! The whole sequence as he first enters this new place and realises that Claudia never existed and the team are so much more than before is amazing!”
It’s clear that the new series has stepped up several gears in terms of scope and size; that things are bigger and faster. With this shift in pace and amount of action, just how involved in all of this is Abby?
“Oh she’s right in the middle of it all which is what I love about her. She is not afraid to get involved, to get stuck right into the action. Abby actively puts herself in the main arena
There is one moment, actually, when she takes on a sabre-toothed tiger; it’s my Russell Crowe Gladiator moment” she laughs. “Some of the team are trapped in this arena with the tiger prowling around and I break away from the group and there is a stand-off between me and the tiger. It’s literally me and the beast.”
With Abby right in the heart of the action, has Hannah been involved in any of her own stunt work?
“Absolutely. She’s a brave little cookie is Abby which is great because it means I’ve got to do loads of really cool stuff this series. And I wanted to do as much of it myself as I could. I’ve got to drive around in a host of vehicles; incredibly the producers allowed me to roam around the countryside in a forklift truck, a JCB, and I also I got to drive a Lotus Elite.
I think, as a character, I’ve been lucky because I’ve been trusted with all this stuff, to really go for it in all these machines, which I love. There was wirework involved on this series as well which I also really enjoyed doing.
There was one sequences in particular I really enjoyed doing, which is when Abby is fighting water creatures from the future. The idea is that she is being dragged kicking and screaming through the anomaly so basically Jamie (the director) had me lying on my back in this pool with wires going around my middle. I would then go underwater and be pulled really quickly up from my belly. With all the CGI added it’s supposed to look like I’m bursting out of the water on the nose of this horrible beast. That’s the plan anyway!”
As she talks about the various situations Abby is placed in throughout the series, each one seems a little more hair-raising than the first. And it’s not just her character whose life is placed in jeopardy more than once. All of them it seems have at least one moment where the end of the line seems to be just round the corner, which begs the question, surely at some stage someone’s luck runs out? Unsurprisingly, she’s not giving much away, but simply smiles and says:
“There is the odd death or two, to have all these dangerous creatures roaming around it would be unrealistic to think that there wouldn’t be the odd casualty, but I’m not saying who, or how many!”
With all this wire work and speeding round the countryside in sports cars, it sounds like the petite actress had more to do than the boys! Laughingly, she agrees.
“I think I have in a way. I’m not entirely sure it was intended, but it probably has ended up that way, yes, which is no bad thing at all. This show is great for the girls; the women are all really strong, independent characters, everyone from Juliet’s right through to Lucy’s character. And that’s really great for youngsters to see. There’s no messing with any of these ladies! We’ve got the guys licked in that respect!”
And in terms of guys, in series one, Abby Maitland was caught in the middle of a love triangle involving two of her team mates, Stephen and Connor. While Abby was harbouring some more than platonic feelings for the former, the latter was clearly head over heels for the pretty zoologist. Just how much has the shocking revelation that Stephen had slept with his best friend’s wife, Helen, changed things for her?
“Oh, she’s done with Stephen. It’s very easy for Abby to draw a line under that part of their relationship, and say “Okay, that’s not for me.” She doesn’t want to be involved with somebody who would do that to somebody else. To Abby it’s very black and white and so she starts to distance herself from Stephen. And then there is Connor who makes her laugh and who genuinely and obviously cares for her. He is probably is the most important person in her life, but until Caroline arrives on the scene, Abby hasn’t realised just how much he means to her.”
Caroline is one of Primeval II’s newest cast additions. Played by Naomi Bentley, the gorgeous new arrival causes some romantic soul searching for Abby and throws the traditionally pragmatic young scientist somewhat off track.
“Until Caroline comes into the equation, Abby doesn’t realise how important Connor is to her. The arrival of this new, very sexy woman in their lives who is showing more than just a little interest in him totally throws her; more than it should if he was just a friend. I think Abby is really taken aback by the strength of her feelings as it’s so obvious that she is jealous. And once she recognises that, she of course starts to question the nature of her feelings towards Connor. It makes for some genuinely touching moments which have been great to do and obviously it’s been really lovely to act those scenes with Andrew.”
With the rivalry between the two women on screen reaching epic proportions, emotions spill over and a furious cat fight breaks out. However things off screen were not nearly so strained, expect perhaps Naomi’s trousers, as Hannah goes on to explain:
“We were filming the fight sequence between Abby and Caroline and Naomi’s trousers split wide open. She went for this massive kick as these two are properly going for it and as the camera came up behind they ripped wide open and her bottom filled the shot. She’ll kill me for saying so, but it was extremely funny!”
And speaking about pants, there is a rumour circulating that despite acres of press coverage dedicated solely to Abby’s underwear the first time around, the infamous knickers have not made the final cut. Can Hannah confirm this is true?
“I can confirm that my pants will not be returning. To be honest, I didn’t have a problem at all with it, but I don’t think any of us realised just how much they were actually going to feature as we shot those scenes back to back.
Cut up and placed throughout the series, it seemed as though there were a lot more ‘pant shots’ than we first thought. Anyway, Abby doesn’t need to get in her pants; she’s got many other cards to play this time round!”
Primeval Press Release