The full official Press release from Fremantle Media announcing 'Suspects'.
CHANNEL 5 ANNOUNCES FAY RIPLEY, DAMIEN MOLONY AND CLARE-HOPE ASHITEY AS LEAD CAST OF NEW DRAMA, SUSPECTS
12 Nov 2013
Channel 5’s new crime drama Suspects lead cast has been announced as Fay Ripley, Damien Molony and Clare-Hope Ashitey.
With dialogue being improvised by the actors – and the use of filming techniques and a directorial approach usually associated with factual programming and fly-on-the-wall documentaries – Suspects takes a different approach to how crime drama is created and executed.
Fay Ripley will play D.I. Martha Bellamy. Witty and warm, Martha fiercely protects her team – and she’s exactly the kind of cop you want knocking on your door when your world has been turned upside down. Damien Molony will play D.S. Jack Weston, whose easy charm belies his killer gut instinct. Jack is a man of action – coupled with acute emotional intelligence. Finally, Clare-Hope Ashitey will be D.C. Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Steele, who has a keen eye for detail and whip-smart instincts which help her cut to the heart of any investigation. Passionate yet level headed, Charlie believes the police can make a real difference...
Fay Ripley comments on starring inSuspectsand working without a script: “I have shied away from playing cops for years, but I have always wanted to work on the right cop show. The whole method of filming [Suspects] brings to it a sense of reality, so I am playing myself as a cop, rather than playing someone else’s telly version of me. We all feel like we’re in this new and exciting thing together, we are all allowed to pitch in - which you rarely are as an actor - so it definitely is handing us something that we are not normally handed. It’s all up for grabs.”
A Newman Street (part of FremantleMedia UK) production for Channel 5,Suspectsis co-created and Executive-Produced by Paul Marquess (The Bill, Footballers’ Wives, Hollyoaks). The series focuses on a team of three detectives and their distinctive approaches to the job of policing. Each of the ten episodes tells a discrete, self-contained crime story. The episodes start with a news report, then follow the detectives as they investigate the circumstances of the crime, collate and analyse the evidence, and interview their suspects – until they finally identify and charge the perpetrator. The cases themselves are hard-hitting and contemporary – ranging from the disappearance of a soldier with PTSD to the hunt for a serial rapist. The team also investigates the shooting of a popular clergyman and a gang of sex traffickers who prey on teenage girls.
Paul Marquess, Managing Director, Newman Street says: “Working without a script means that you need actors who are confident, intelligent and articulate. Fay, Clare and Damien have wholeheartedly embraced this very new process; the results have a spontaneity about them that is fresh, engaging and hugely watchable. “
Bafta nominated Fay Ripley found fame as Jenny in ‘Cold Feet'. Subsequently she starred in dramas for ITV such as – ‘I Saw You’, ‘Bon Voyage’ and ‘Monday Monday’ – and the BBC’s 'The Stretford Wives’ and ‘Reginald Perrin’. In the last few years Fay has found success as an award winning food writer in the form of ‘Fay’s Family Food’ and ‘What’s For Dinner’ with her latest book 'Fay Makes It Easy' out in March 2014
Damien Molony is known to audiences as vampire Hal from BBC Three’s ‘Being Human’; he joined the drama for series four until its conclusion earlier this year. Theatre work includes director Nicholas Hytner’s Travelling Light at the National Theatre and "If You Don't Let Us Dream, We Won't Let You Sleep" at the Royal Court Theatre. He is currently starring in season two of BBC One’s glossy drama, ‘Ripper Street’.
Clare-Hope Ashitey started her career in film, starring in 'Shooting Dogs' alongside John Hurt and ‘Children of Men’ alongside Clive Owen and Julianne Moore. She’s delivered performances in respected dramas such as Channel 4’s ‘Top Boy’.
Suspectswill air on the channel in the New Year.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS: - Suspects has been developed and is produced by Newman Street (part of FremantleMedia UK) for Channel 5. It was formerly announced as Evidence. - TX Quarter 1 2014 - Commissioned by Ben Frow, Director of Programmes Channel 5
Random thought - He finished filming Ripper street late-ish August, then did The Commitments. They "wrapped" Suspects mid Novish... that means he was likely only filming suspects for maximum of 2 1/2 months. That seems short for 10 whole episodes. I'm wondering how this production is going to be, if it's not only "unscripted" but also a minimalist type of style.
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The budget is probably a lot less than RS and, I suspect(!), there is a lot less requirement for VFX and other accoutrements, so there'll be less time for extras. Plus, I suppose, do we know it's even an hour-long show? Could be half-hour (although unlikely I think)
I'm relieved to see this press release no longer uses the word 'unscripted'. The dialogue is improvised, but other shows and films that do that do have tight scripts for the arcs. Phew!
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"Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realise you're wrong."
There may have been some overlap with Ripper Street and Suspects whimsy, maybe they were just incredibly well prepared and shooting went smoothly. The press release mentions the filming style as 'fly-on-the-wall' factual documentary style, not sure if that would make a difference to the filming time but agree with you Kat, less post production with a production not heavy in VFX.
I thought there had been a mention of episode length being 1 hour, but that info is eluding me right now.
I am not sure i ever saw it as being unscripted UJ, more that some of the dialogue is improvised by the actors, very exciting for us and as Fay commented, for the actors:
"We all feel like we’re in this new and exciting thing together, we are all allowed to pitch in - which you rarely are as an actor - so it definitely is handing us something that we are not normally handed. It’s all up for grabs.”
You're right, domino. The press does say just the dialogue. For some reason I missed the links in the other thread and was going by other posts about an unscripted show. D'oh! On the upside, huge relief!
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"Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realise you're wrong."
I am happy for you UJ! You and i see the unscripted thing differently i feel...the more creative freedom Damien would have in any role the more excited i would be by it - unscripted means he becomes the writer as well the actor, something I would anticipate with great enthusiasm! Appreciate it may not have worked in the past on other projects thought, but then...they didn't have Mr M.
It means transmission (TX) in the first quarter of the year, so anytime between January and March. As the rumours have been about TX in the first week of Feb, then they are bang on! Which is unsurprising as this is the official Channel5 press release, lol!
Just to add, we have a 'Suspects' episode date of February 1st 2014, but no idea if this is the opening episode or not! More info on that in this topic!
You and i see the unscripted thing differently i feel...the more creative freedom Damien would have in any role the more excited i would be by it - unscripted means he becomes the writer as well the actor, something I would anticipate with great enthusiasm! Appreciate it may not have worked in the past on other projects thought, but then...they didn't have Mr M. 
