Running to catch up (From The Northern Echo)

Running to catch up

2:56pm Friday 6th January 2012 in Tonight's TV By Steve Pratt

Law & Order: UK (ITV1, 9pm)
The One Lenny Henry (BBC1, 8.30pm)
New Girl (C4, 8.30pm)
Top of the Pops: The Story of 1977 (BBC4, 9pm)

PAUL NICHOLLS says he had to run to keep up with fast-moving production Law & Order: UK when he joined the cast for the seventh series of the police drama.

The former EastEnders actor said: “It was terrifying coming onto it, even though everyone was lovely.

“I had done all my research, turned up on set all prepared, but they shoot very quickly. If you start off in drama like that from the beginning, people find their way through it together, but I walked in and it was all up and running, and I had to run to keep up.

“I wasn’t used to that pace of work but I got used to it very quickly. Brad is an absolute diamond and did help me a lot. He sat me down on my first day and said, ‘Let me tell me you how this show works – like lightning’.”

Brad is Bradley Walsh, one of the stars of the show. “He’s one of the funniest guys I’ve ever worked with,” says Nicholls.

“I’m terrible at corpsing, so he knew that within days and would say something just before I was about to go on. He is such a joker, but always keeps a straight face and does a great job. Then he’d tell me I’m unprofessional because I’m laughing. We had such a great time on set.”

Nicholls plays Detective Sergeant Sam Casey, a headstrong young officer with a strong sense of justice brought in to investigate the shooting of Detective Superintendent Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber).

He joins a cast that also includes Harriet Walter, Freema Agyeman, Peter Davison and Dominic Rowan.

This seven-part series features the police and legal teams facing a shocking crime captured on video, up against the clock in the search for a hostage, and exposing a tragic, medical coverup.

Cases are reopened, the past threatens to catch up with Ronnie (Walsh) and careers are on the line.

Nicholls sees his character Sam as a nice guy who lives for his job. “As a kid I think he probably could have gone either way – become a career criminal or joined the police force. The way I approached the part was by thinking, ‘If you’re going to be a good detective, you have to know how a criminal thinks’. So I did a lot of research on criminals and criminal behaviour.

“I read a lot about organised crime and London gang culture. I was really shocked, I could not believe it.

“Then I started watching this Discovery Channel show 48 Hours, which was perfect for the part I was preparing for. I know reality is reality and fiction is fiction and any drama has to take liberties, but what I saw about murder investigation was fascinating and I watched it religiously.”

He can see why people want to be a homicide detective or in CID, although that kind of public service takes over your whole life.

He says: “It’s all-consuming and it takes a certain type of person to be like that; to live through their work and live for it.

“In a small way, it is like that for me when I’m on set. Often when we were filming this, I had an 18-hour day door to door. There was no time for anything else. I love that, it gives you meaning and purpose and makes you feels useful.

I love getting lost in my work. I’m never happier than when I’m working long hours.”

To relax, Nicholls boxes. When he’s not working, he finds he still gets up early so he goes to the gym. He might do a two-mile run, go on the bike or do five rounds with a punch bag – he doesn’t spar any more after getting concussion once.

He says: “I just find whatever has been going through my head, whatever stress I had, simply lifts. I don’t do it every day, but when I’m not working gym is massive part of my life.

Healthy body, healthy mind.”

In tonight’s episode, a drive-by shooting outside the Old Bailey leaves one police officer dead and another wounded in what appears to be a targeted attack on a witness giving evidence in an attempted murder trial. However, as the team investigate, they learn the gunman was specifically targeting police officers, believing his family to be the victim of a police cover-up.

THERE was once a time when Lenny Henry was the hottest thing in British comedy. Nowadays he’s advertising a certain hotel chain, which no doubt helps subsidise his theatre work.

These days you’re just as likely to see him performing in classic theatre as doing a standup routine.

Two years ago he won acclaim for his portrayal of Othello, first at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, and later in London. He can currently be seen in another, lighter Shakespeare play, The Comedy of Errors, at London’s National Theatre.

The One Lenny Henry gives him a chance to return to his roots, and maybe reconnect with the former fans who feel he’s lost his comedic ways in recent years.

Henry will be treating viewers to a mix of brand-new stand-up, combined with characters reprised from his early career – some of which haven’t seen the light of day for 20 years, including pirate radio DJ Delbert Wilkins.

Joining him on stage will be Ronni Ancona, Omid Djalili and Peter Serafinowicz.

UNTIL recently, Zooey Deschanel was probably known as that pretty girl with the familiar face who kept cropping up in various okay-grossing Hollywood efforts.

However, she always deserved her very own little something – and she’s finally achieved it with US sitcom New Girl.

She stars as a recently broken-hearted twentysomething. After discovering that her long-term boyfriend has been cheating, Jess Day moves in with three men.

In the pilot episode, we meet the housemates – bartender Nick, womaniser Schmidt and personal trainer Coach. The trio are on hand to help Jess through her difficult time in ways only men know.

The show went down so well in the States that the Fox channel quickly snapped up a further 11 episodes, and if it does half as well over here, the chances are that we’re soon about to see so much of Zooey Deschanel we’ll be saying her name in our sleep.

STEP back in time 25 years for this look back at the sounds of 35 years ago in Top of the Pops: The Story of 1977.

It was the year in which punk really took a stranglehold on the charts, although disco was still around, and certain rock and reggae acts also did big business.

Musicians such as John Otway, JJ Burnel of the Stranglers and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols, reveal what it was like to appear on Top of the Pops, while fans of the era, including Nicky Wire, Alexis Petridis and Pete Paphides, offer their opinions on the music.

Listen out too for recordings by Donna Summer, Bob Marley, the Jam and Eddie and the Hot Rods.

If the programme leaves you in the mood for more, fret not, because it’s immediately followed by Top of the Pops: 1977, which picks up where Top of the Pops: 1976 left off by broadcasting the first chart of that year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.