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The first volume of this audio CD series features interviews
with Gareth David-Lloyd, who is currently gearing up towards
his second series as Ianto Jones in the BBC 3 smash hit Torchwood,
Phil Willmott, who chalked up an impressive 150 episodes as
science officer Finbow Lewis in the satellite television sci-fi
soap Jupiter Moon, and Deborah Watling, who remains
best remembered for her role as Victoria Waterfield alongside
Patrick Troughton in Doctor Who...
First
up is Gareth David-Lloyd, though apparently his was not actually
the first segment to be recorded - interviewer Dexter O'Neill
opens it by saying, "Hello and welcome to another edition
of Cult Conversations..." I theorise that the folks
at Fantom Films decided to go for a reverse-chronological
running order after the interviews had been conducted. The
CD kicks off with 21st-century star David-Lloyd, before moving
back to the 1990s with Phil Willmott and then to the '60s
with Deborah Watling.
David-Lloyd betrays his relative youth and inexperience by
stammering a little during an interview that won't raise many
eyebrows, even when the discussion turns towards the sexuality
of his character and the nature of his relationship with Captain
Jack. The actor responds to some rumours about the series
and touches upon the connection with Mine All Mine,
the Russell T Davies scripted comedy/drama in which he played
a character called Yanto Jones. About the most surprising
revelation is that the ghastly Countrycide is his favourite
episode of Torchwood.
The
interview with Phil Willmott makes for a good contrast. He
speaks in a forthright and in-your-face manner about all aspects
of his life and profession, including his own sexuality. Whereas
the success of Torchwood has come at an early point
in Gareth David-Lloyd's acting career, Jupiter Moon
marked the end of Willmott's. Not in a bad way, as he explains
- it just so happened that at this point his vocation shifted
towards writing (which he took up in order to pass the time
during recording breaks) and ultimately directing. Willmott
is now Artistic Director of his own multi-award-winning theatre
company The Steam Industry and an Associate Director of The
Kings Head Theatre. He also discusses the punishing production
schedule of Jupiter Moon, which reminds me somewhat
of the non-stop rehearsal/recording routine of '60s Who.
Which brings us rather neatly to Deborah Watling, who, though
best known for her role as Victoria, has enjoyed an extensive
acting career on stage, film and television. As she recalls
here, she started early, with child roles in William Tell
and The Invisible Man before hitting the big time (with
her face on the front cover of Radio Times) as Alice
in The Life of Lewis Carroll. Her post-Who work
has included The Newcomers on television and That'll
Be the Day
(with David Essex) on film. Watling's recollections are full
of funny anecdotes and observations about her own bad behaviour
- as a juvenile actress hiding from her chaperones and generally
driving them round the bend - and as well as that of her mischievous
co-stars, including Keith Moon and Adam Faith.
All in all, this CD is a mixed bag. I can see the value of
variety in combining three very different interviewees, but
perhaps they should all have been chosen from the same series.
What if (like me) the listener or potential purchaser isn't
all that interested in one or more of the shows (in my case,
Jupiter Moon)?
In its favour, in addition to its 65-minute running time as
a standard CD, the disc offers two hours of uncut interview
material in MP3 format. Unfortunately for me, I have been
unable to access these extra tracks, despite usually being
able to play MP3 files on my computer. Hopefully other listeners
will have better luck.
Richard
McGinlay
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