| PAUL MCGANN PLAYS RICHARD REEVES
Paul McGann recalled how he cheated death in a terrifying road accident when he was filming Collision. The accident happened 16 years ago when he was on holiday in Spain with his brother Joe. But the memories of the crash which nearly killed them both have stayed with him. “I really shouldn’t have survived that accident. It was terrible. I was with my brother and the paramedics said that we were remarkably lucky, they were shaking their heads thinking ‘How on earth are you still here’,” Paul recalls. “I remember being in a neck brace and I was in a lot of pain. I was being given these painkillers by this medic and I said to him ‘What do I do now?’ and he said ‘Go have a party! If that didn’t kill you this certainly won’t!’ and we did. “We have some photographs of me and my brother in traction having a ‘do’. “We flew off a bridge in a car I was driving. The car spun in the air and landed on its roof. This was 16 years ago and still every now and again I have to get chiropractic treatment for the injuries. “More than that though, I think you cheat death and it is really alarming. I remember weeks later when I saw my brother again bursting into tears, because shock takes a long time to work out, thinking that we could have lost each other. “I have to admit, if I am driving now and occasionally I find myself in exactly the same manoeuvre; the road is shaped the same, it comes straight back to me and it’s a weakness I have. I have flashbacks and I have to pull in and adjust what I am doing. If our example shows anything – you don’t get away with it even if you think you have got away with it. Despite the trauma of his accident Paul was not afraid to take on the role of property tycoon Richard Reeve who is a victim of the road crash in Collision. “I’m not afraid of the memories, but if things had been different and one of us had died at the scene then it would have been hugely different issue. Perhaps a genuinely traumatic event, but on that day we were lucky.” His own experience has made Paul much more aware of the dangers on the roads, and he recently undertook special driving courses. “I am doing an advanced driving course, and I have recently done a course on speed awareness which I could recommend to anybody! Don’t wait for the 3 points on your licence do this course. I didn’t dread doing this course; I just didn’t want three points on my licence. “The course was riveting. You completely change your view on driving. It’s a skill that we never master; we can always learn and relearn the basics. It was during that course that I mentioned to the lecturers my accident and he recommended an advanced driving tuition course.” Paul plays wealthy Richard Reeves who is on his way to a black tie charity function in his chauffeur driven car when they smash into a multi-vehicle pile up. Richard escapes with an injured shoulder, cuts and bruises. He is taken to a nearby service station café to be treated. But his driver is more seriously injured. At the café he meets waitress Jane, a pretty 20 year old blonde, and he is immediately smitten. “Jane spots immediately what Richard has done to himself – he has dislocated his left shoulder because an ex boyfriend played a bit of rugby and she has seen the injury before. “She even helps the paramedic put the shoulder back in, and this is how they meet! It’s a nice scene when they meet in extremist over his vulnerability and squealing pain. “Richard returns to the café with his arm in a sling to see her and begins to woo her.” Richard is attracted by her freshness and naivety. Bored and suffocated by his marriage he relishes the “excitement and happiness” he feels with Jane. .“If we have a crush or fall for somebody, it’s a combination of things, but the first element is the rush and the novelty that these people actually see stuff that we are looking at but there is freshness perhaps. “This girl is looking at things Richard has seen a thousand times, but she makes it feel like the first time.” “Perhaps the accident itself or at least the shock of the aftermath impresses him more than he knows. It nearly kills his chauffeur; he could have been killed. Any of us who have ever been in a serious accident know that you are giddy for some time afterwards and it’s probably questionable as to whether you have all your marbles or you can make the best judgement.” Paul alternated working on the set of Collision with doing Dr Who audios for radio stations. Paul was the eighth Dr Who, but he is quick to quash any rumours that he will return to the tardis for a one off special show. “I don’t know anything about a special show. Since I shot a Doctor Who pilot in 1996, I’ve not spoken or had any contact with the makers.” Paul returned to the musical stage to sing with a band called the Matinee Idols for a charity gig. But his children were most impressed when he appeared in the feature film Lesbian Vampire Killers. “My kids were chuffed! It was the first time my eldest son had ever said ‘Can I come and visit you on set?’ It was a throw back to Hammer Horror and I play a vicar.” Paul made his name as the infamous British deserter Percy Toplis in The Monocled Mutineer and in the cult comedy Withnail and I. His other television credits include Hornblower, True Dare Kiss and Tripping Over. He recently starred in Helen of Troy at The Globe, and will appear in a forthcoming Jonathan Creek special. |