ROBSON'S SECRET STRUGGLES
Telly star Robson Green has admitted for the first time publicly that he suffers from the reading disorder dyslexia.
And, in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Sun, the popular North actor said he had lost roles in the past because of the disability, which went undiagnosed as a schoolboy.
And Robson, married to former model Vanya Seager, confessed to being envious of their five-year-old son Taylor's ability to read.
In his latest role he plays a dyslexic rocket enthusiast in the BBC1 series Rocket Man, which hits our screens later this month.
Robson, born in Hexham, Northumberland, said: "The character I play, George Stevenson, is dyslexic and that came from me. I talked to series creator Alison Hume about it.
"I can't read easily. If I'm at an audition and they go 'Right. Could you read that ?' I go `No, you have to give me half an hour'.
"I just go off on my own, take my time, then I come back and I know it. I have to learn it, know it, understand it then deliver it. So when I do shows like Rocket Man I know all the words. I don't have a script in front of me in the morning. I couldn't work like that.
And Robson, 40, said he envies his young son Taylor's ability to read with ease, which is something he has never been able to do.
He said: "I mean Taylor's five and he's reading Little Red Hen and the Magic Porridge Pot and reading it beautifully, and I envy that."
It's so different to Robson's youth when, he says, there was no understanding of dyslexia and teachers at his Newcastle secondary school virtually wrote him off.
He said: "I studied at Seaton Burn High School. We filmed Wire in the Blood there earlier this year and there was a teacher - who shall remain nameless - and who, when I said I'd like to be a performer or an actor said `Don't be ridiculous Green, you're a clown. You'll always remain a clown.' He was still there when I pulled up, so that was good !"
But Robson admits that his dyslexia has lost him work in the past, including a role as a dashing French swordsman in a West End production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
He said: "I had to play the best swordsman in the whole of France, and I couldn't read it. I just fluffed all the time. I just couldn't get it out, and I lost it."
Yet Robson admits his dyslexia was instrumental in his becoming an actor, and he is now a household name after roles in Soldier, Soldier, Grafters and Wire in the Blood.
He said: "It was a case of confront your nemesis !"
Philip Whitchurch, Kai Owen and Dave Hill also co-star. The series is created and written by Alison Hume, who also wrote Coastal's drama Beaten for BBC ONE.
Writing duties are shared by Shaun Prendergast (Grafters, Soldier Soldier) and Simon Block (Trust).
Sandra Jobling, Executive Producer for Coastal Productions, says: "We are excited to have secured Coastal and Touchpaper's first drama series commission for BBC ONE.
"Alison Hume's delightfully-written family drama has a light touch while pulling some big emotional punches.
"It's an upbeat, moving and funny story about a man who still dares to dream."
Rob Pursey, Executive Producer for Touchpaper TV, says: "Rocket Man is a modern tale about men who are dealing with love, loss and an uncertain future.
"The rocket is the perfect outlet for George's engineering skills and his grief over the loss of his wife.
"But George also has to confront the fact that this dream of his may be impossible to achieve.
"I believe Robson Green is perfect for the role."
Julie Gardner, Executive Producer for BBC Wales, adds: "Rocket Man is a series full of heart and emotion.
"It has warmth and humour but also deals with the realities of all our messy, busy lives.
"BBC Wales is delighted to be working with Coastal and Touchpaper for the very first time on this contemporary series."
Rocket Man is produced by Phil Leach (Wire in the Blood, Touching Evil) and directed by Jon East (Beaten, New Tricks), Jane Prowse (Between The Sheets, Green-Eyed Monster) and James Strong (Casualty).
A Coastal Productions and Touchpaper TV Co-production for BBC Wales, it is filming now for transmission on BBC ONE in 2006.
THE SKY'S THE LIMIT FOR ROBSON GREEN IN ROCKET MAN
Robson Green stars as a bereaved husband who dreams of sending his wife's ashes into space in Rocket Man, a new six-part family drama for BBC ONE.
Made jointly by Coastal Productions and Touchpaper Television for BBC Wales, the series follows George Stevenson's attempts to build a rocket, while juggling a chaotic life as a single father.
A skilled engineer who came to South Wales to build trains, George (Robson Green) is now employed on the assembly line of a chocolate factory after the closure of the carriage works.
Building the rocket gives George a sense of purpose and a chance to use old skills.
The rocket is also George's last love letter to his beloved wife - a way for George and his children - young son Tom (John Rhys Halliwell) and teenage daughter Angela (Lucy Evans) - to say goodbye.
But nothing is easy. Will the responsibilities of daily life and the sheer difficulty of finding liquid oxygen in South Wales keep the rocket earthbound?
Rocket Man also stars Charles Dale as George's best friend and fellow inventor Barney, with Alison Newman as Barney's wife Diane, Janine Wood as scientist Mary and Kay Bridgeman as Tom's teacher Pam.
Newlands Corner is a wide and breathtakingly beautiful expanse of open chalk moor, and it's here I meet up with Robson Green.
Five miles from Green's Surrey home, this is one of his preferred rocket sites. He turns up full of enthusiasm, relishing the prospect of a day's rocket-launching.
It's been a hectic 12 months for him, filming not only another series of City Lights but two entire series of Wire In The Blood.
"Now James Brown has popped his clogs," he says, "that makes me the hardest-working man in showbusiness." This is one of his rare days off and he's determined to make the most of it.
He opens his car-boot to show off the seven rockets he's brought along and explains some of the dedication that's gone into making them.
"Some of the bigger models can take up to seven or eight weeks to build. You start with a cylinder, then the fin assembly, then the engine housing has to be installed, which is the most fiddly part.
"The glue takes ages to dry so you need to take three-day breaks. Get one detail wrong and that rocket is unlikely to be heading to infinity, it's more likely to be a damp squib.
"Right up to the last minute, you're making sure everything is absolutely as it should be. I was in my garden shed until 2am this morning ensuring that all the engines were properly primed and fused for firing."
The day's sunshine has drawn a small crowd of picnickers and dog-walkers. Given his fame, Green's arrival does not go unnoticed.
He happily signs a few autographs and seems unperturbed by the ready-made audience.
"I actually quite like having a crowd when I'm setting up rockets," he says. Maybe there's something about the activity that appeals to the performer in me."
An old lady passes by with her beagle and observes Green setting up the first rocket of the day.
"Boys and their toys," she chuckles. "That's exactly it," Green decides. Stick me out in a field with a bunch of rockets and it's like I'm seven years old again."
He painstakingly explains the procedures. The first two to go up will be small C-stage rockets, employed purely to test the electronics and the wind direction, reaching a modest height of 400ft.
All being well, three D-stage rockets will follow, burn for five seconds and hopefully peak at 500ft. Two E-stage rockets, with the potential to climb to 1,500ft, will provide the grand finale.
As the picnickers move in closer for a better view of proceedings, Green explains that all of these rockets work on a similar principle.
"The rocket is placed on the launch pad. The lead connects the igniter to the rocket's motor. When the launch button is pressed, the motor burns and propels the rocket upwards. At peak altitude, the engine fires an ejection charge that triggers the parachute which, hopefully, will bring the rocket safely back to ground. "
"The main objective is to get the rocket to return as close to me as possible. Three yards is my all-time record. But the beauty of it is that you never know how any rocket is going to behave until it's launched. It's a leap into the unknown."
As the day's events prove. Over the course of the afternoon, I observe Robson Green's emotional roller coaster.
He looks utterly crushed when events don't go to plan and his SpaceShipOne comes a cropper.
Then he swells with pride when his sleek black E-stage rocket whooshes up to its expected height of 1,500ft and lands no more than five yards away.
"Result !" he shouts as applause rings out.
He couldn't look more chuffed if he'd just scored the winner in a cup final.
"That's what it's all about," he explains. Months of planning has to go into a rocket like that. The preparation is like foreplay. When it comes off, that's the orgasm." With this sexual analogy in mind, he sums up the afternoon's fun. "
"Out of seven rockets, we've had two minor disasters, one major disaster and four great results. On balance, that's a success. After all, four triumphs count as a multiple orgasm. I'd say that's pretty good going.'
Jon Wilde - 30 June 2007
"Growing up in north Tyneside," he says, "my dad worked as a miner and we never had money for things like fireworks. But I was always fascinated by the idea of something leaving the surface of the Earth and soaring into the sky."
"My first ambition was to be an astronaut. Also, I always had a fascination with building things and figuring out how things work. I was the kid who'd take a radio apart, put it back together again and find that I'd got all these bits left. I still do it today. If something goes wrong with the car I say, I can fix that. I've ruined many a car that way."
By the mid-Nineties, Robson was already one of the most recognisable faces on TV after roles in Casualty and Soldier Soldier.
He was also about to become a somewhat unlikely international pop star. Teaming up with fellow actor Jerome Flynn, their debut single Unchained Melody sold nearly two million copies in the UK alone.
Further hit singles and albums followed. Suddenly, he found he was working nonstop and needed to find a way to relax in between intense bursts of acting and recording.
"I was watching a neighbour set off rockets in his back yard," he remembers. He was surrounded by friends and family and everyone was having a great time. I thought the whole thing was brilliant. That's when I decided I'd have a go at rockets myself. My first purchase was a £30 replica of Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 Mercury capsule. After that, I never looked back."
Down the years, he's tried his hand at other hobbies but none succeeded in holding his interest quite like rockets.
"I bought a racehorse in 2003. I called him Magic Hour but there was nothing magic about him. He should have been called Dobbin. I put him in a race at Sedgefield. For all I know, he's still running. That was the end of my career as a racehorse owner. I'm a keen fisherman, however, and I do a fair bit of long-distance running."
"I'm also into astronomy. I was given a £1,000 Russian reflector telescope as a present from the producers of the show Close And True and I get enormous satisfaction gazing at the night sky. But nothing gives me more pleasure than rockets."
"Once I'd let the first one off, I knew I'd found my hobby. But it wasn't just about the excitement of lighting it and seeing it whoosh up into the sky. Early on I made the decision that I didn't want to be one of those rocket enthusiasts who buys them ready-made and sets them off. "
"The appeal for me was putting something together, trying it and seeing if it worked. I wanted to be involved every step of the way."
In this he is ably assisted by junior rocket expert Taylor Green, his seven-year-old son from his second marriage to former model Vanya Seager.
"Taylor was four when I first introduced him to rockets and he took to it immediately. He wasn't remotely bothered by the loud bangs and whooshes. Rockets are a great way for me to relax but they're also a perfect way for me and my son to spend time together.
"It's fun for him but it's also a great education. He loves the building aspect to it. He also gets to learn about orbital mechanics and the physics of rocket flight. He understands that the principles applied to our model rockets are the same as those used by the bigwigs at Nasa. "
"The laws of motion are exactly the same. Through rockets, he knows how many planets there are in the solar system and that the sun is the nearest star to the Earth.
"Nothing gets past him. Nor does he let me off lightly if things go wrong. On average I lose at least one rocket a week so I'm always hearing him say, You're clever, Dad, but not half as clever as you think you are. "
George, an engineer who has found himself in a low-paid job in a chocolate factory after the local railway carriageworks have closed, is aided (and hindered) in his endeavours by his former workmates.
Green says Rocket Man was "a labour of love" on several levels.
Although set in Wales, it was filmed in Northumberland in north-eastern England, where he was born and where his father worked as a coal miner (part of it was filmed at his father's colliery, which was one of the last to be shut down).
The characters left searching for identity and purpose after the closure of the carriageworks in the series face the same challenges that the men of Northumberland did after their mines and shipyards closed.
" These guys are skilled engineers. They've now lost the way to exercise the things they know, " Green says.
He says George is more like him than any other character he has played - " someone who doesn't accept mediocrity ", someone who makes mistakes but keeps pursuing his dream.
" When I was a kid, I always knew I wasn't going to be a miner, " he says, even though "leaving a village surrounded by five mines to, for want of a better term, prance about in make-up", wasn't exactly the done thing.
He might also share a little of George's eccentricity ("Anyone who's got rocket parts in their back garden is a bit unusual"), and he acknowledges that Britain seems to lead the world when it comes to producing genuine eccentrics. " I don't know what it is; it's just something inherent in our psyche. "
Green is proud to have helped create a program "that mum and dad and grandpa and grandma and the children can all sit down and enjoy together. We set out our stall saying, 'This is a family show'. These weekend-event programs have to come back sooner rather than later.
"I think there's far too much reality TV, which I think is very damaging in terms of storytelling. I'm a Celebrity, Wife Swap - get rid of them ! "
Despite reports of there being a second series of Rocket Man on the cards, Green says this six-part series will be the only one. "It was a one-off story arc, which I like. To do another series would be heading into the territory of soap, because then you're left with following characters because you care about them. I don't think that's a good way to fly.
" Get the hankies out for the last episode. We were treading a fine line between schmaltz, treacle and truth, and I think it paid off. "
Green says he is also pleased with the fourth series of Wire in the Blood. He now stars opposite Simone Lahbib (Monarch of the Glen, Bad Girls) following Hermione Norris' departure.
" I think the new series is the best one. We've got great scripts and production values. "
" What Simone has brought to it is a warmth that I don't think was there in the first (three) series. It was all 'Will they or won't they ?' with Hermione. "
" We've got young and energetic directors and young writers. There's just a whole new energy to the show. "
Rocket Man - May 25, 2006
"I am a huge fan of engineering and I want Rocket Man to celebrate Stephenson's work and make science popular again. Launching rockets on the beach were just some of the challenging moments on set. "
" There is a scene where George goes out to sea to rescue the rocket. I was literally dumped in the middle of the North Sea with the rocket and when I looked around the filming boat had moved off, leaving me bobbing up and down. I just hoped they would come back for me ! "
" In between scenes I dried out so I had to have a bucket of sea water thrown over me for continuity. It was freezing but it's all part of the glamour of filming ! But the special effects scenes with all the flames and sparks were great fun, and we were pretty lucky on the beach launch days, because the weather was good. "
Robson went straight from finishing Rocket Man to Manchester to film Northern Lights, a series spin-off from ITV1's festive hit Christmas Lights. He will then return to Newcastle for a fourth series of Wire int he Blood, alongside new co-star Simone Lahbib.
One of British TV's best-loved actors, his previous roles include Beaten, Like Father Like Son, Soldier Soldier, Casualty, Unconditional Love, Trust, Touching Evil, Close and True, Blind Ambition, The Last Musketeer, Reckless, Grafters and Take Me.
Says Robson : " I'm probably working too hard at the moment but I feel very lucky to be involved with good scripts and good people. I work long hours but it means that I get to either go home at weekends, or Taylor and my wife Vanya come up to Northumberland, which is very important for us. "
The drama begins with George's first attempt to send his wife Bethan's ashes into space, a distance of 62 miles.
Explains Robson : " George has always been obsessed with the moon and space travel. He used to be an engineer at the Aber Ivor Carriage Works with his mates but when it closed down they had nowhere to exercise their skills. Incredibly skilled craftsmen were effectively put on the scrapheap. Building the rocket is a way of keeping them going. They find they can work together and pool all their skills into getting it into the air. "
Filming on location brought back poignant memories for Robson.
"We've filmed the series in Newcastle using some talented local and Welsh crews. Some scenes were filmed overlooking the Swan Hunter shipyards in Wallsend. I was there from the age of 16 to 21 and it was very emotional to come back. They are pulling down the shipyards, dismantling the cranes around where we filmed. As a setting, it's very atmospheric. "
"We also filmed at my dad's old colliery, Ellington, which was one of the last to be closed down. My dad was a miner and it was a very tough job, working in dangerous environments. It was strange to be there with a film crew. "
His character in Rocket Man pays homage to one of the area's industrial greats, George Stephenson.
"Geordies were given the nickname after Stephenson, who built a rocket and also a train called the Puffing Billy. His son Robert built the high level bridge across the Tyne in 1847, which is absolutely beautiful, and his father's train travelled across it. "
ROBSON GREEN : LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
Wire in the Blood star Robson Green tells Liz Thomas why it is time to turn his hand to comedy after a string of dark, gritty hits
In the past five years Robson Green has been involved with a lot of productions tackling life’s darker side, from the powerful domestic violence drama Beaten to chilling murder series Wire in the Blood.
Now the star, who became a household name as Dave Tucker in Soldier Soldier, is turning his attention back to life’s lighter side. Green says: “I was on the lookout for scripts that were a lot lighter, maybe a comedy-drama. Something with a bit of romance and a bit of fun in it.”
Audiences can currently see him in BBC1′s Rocket Man, where he plays George Stevenson, a widower determined to grant his dead wife’s final wish – that her ashes are sent into space in a rocket. Billed as a family drama, the series follows the character’s attempts to build and launch the rocket with his children and friends.
The six-part drama, which is a co-production with his company Coastal, BBC Wales and indie Touchpaper Television, has taken four years to come to fruition. He explains: “We took it to ITV and Nick Elliott [controller of drama] said, ‘Oh, rockets? Don’t be ridiculous’. We went to the BBC, who went, ‘Don’t be ridiculous’. We went to Channel 4 and Sky. Nobody wanted it.”
The project was then taken to BBC Wales, who agreed to help fund the project and the show is set in the region and much of the cast are Welsh. Now that it is off the ground, the actor is confident that it will be a hit. A second run has already been commissioned and Green is hopeful there will be five series in all. He is also starring in ITV1 show Northern Lights, a spin-off of last year’s seasonal special Christmas Lights. The show follows competitive brothers-in-law who also live next door to each other and is written by Jeff Pope and Bob Mills.
Green says: “I just loved the new scripts. Just as in Rocket Man there’s a rivalry between blokes but also the love that is often between them but which is never ever spoken. It’s that male bonding thing, women can actually talk about their relationships and men can’t. Men talk about cars and football, women talk about all sorts of deeply personal things. Women seem to have progressed so much in the last 100 years, while men have done nothing in the past century.”
The talent, whose credits include Trust, Grafters and Reckless, hasn’t turned his back on gritty drama entirely. The fourth series of Wire in the Blood is currently in production in Green’s native Northumberland, although this run will not feature regular co-star Hermione Norris. It too is made by Coastal and has been sold to more than 100 countries worldwide. He’s very proud of the firm, which he says injects £13 million into the local economy every year.
Green reveals that his first starring role was in a school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat but admits that growing up was pretty difficult because he suffers from dyslexia.
He says: “I was terrified of being asked to read out loud. It caused me a lot of problems when I’ve had to read scripts – I need to know them off by heart, learn them until I’m word perfect – so I need to see things in advance. Of course it has cost me jobs. I had an audition for a part in a West End production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame once and I only got the script when I walked into the room. I blew it totally. Taylor [his son] is only five and reading beautifully and I envy that.”
Things have obviously picked up for the star, whose first break came when he played cheeky porter Jimmy in long-running BBC1 hospital drama Casualty and he has found those that gave him a hard time during his childhood have eaten their words. He laughs: “We filmed Wire in the Blood at my old school earlier this year and there was a teacher there who, when I said I wanted to be an actor, said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Green. You’re a clown. You’ll always remain a clown’. He was still there when we pulled up, so that was good.”
It may be ten years since he released his version of Unchained Melody with Soldier, Soldier co-star Jerome Flynn, which stayed at the No 1 spot for seven weeks but Green is still something of a housewives’ favourite and promises he has no intention of leaving the UK. He has rejected reports that he is trying to boost his television career in the US by moving to California but hasn’t ruled out the possibility of working in film.
He says: “There have been a few TV offers but they work on the USA idea of the actor signing up for at least five years and committing themselves to a particular project. I need to be doing a lot of things, being creative and not dedicated to just one series. Just a single concept for five years, whether it is a success or not? I don’t think so.”
Green has been vocal in his criticism of reality television in the past and it seems, if anything, he is even more dismissive of it now. He says: “It’s demeaning. God, when you see people doing things like Celebrity Detox you lose all respect for them. I think that TV is at its best when it is telling a good story, fact or fiction, and we have to get back to that.”
Starring in a drama about a man who dreams of launching a rocket into space is the perfect job for Robson Green. "Rocket Man is about a man who is carrying out a promise he made to his wife before she died that he would send her ashes into space. He promised his son and daughter that he would do it so when they look up at the sky at night they will know their mum is up there.
It's also a story of light at the end of the tunnel and never letting go of your dreams, because everyone should have a chance in life. I'm proud to be associated with it – and I also had a great time working with the rockets because I love all that. It's every boy's dream.
" Like George, I build rockets with my son in the shed in my garden. We have just built a stage 3 rocket and we love mucking about there. I let Taylor help me stick things together and I love the fact that he is interested in building things. We let one rocket off and it went sideways, so together we rebuilt it. He is learning all the time and so am I. "
Robson also went on a course to learn about rockets and fireworks and now has a Category 4 Fireworks certificate.
" George is the closest character to the real me that I've ever played and it's a strong role with lots of potential. I love the writing and I like George. He makes mistakes but he never gives up. It's also good not playing the romantic lead for a change, and I love the comedy that comes through the series. "
"I just think it is all round family viewing of the kind that is hard to get on TV these days. There's not much that Taylor has been able to see of my dramas, but this is one he'll be able to watch. "
ROCKET MAN : ROBSON GREEN
Houston, we have a Robson: Robson Green's stratospheric career in TV and music matches his weekend obsession with rocketry
Robson Green is very, very distressed. He's standing on a hill on the outskirts of Guildford in Surrey and the unthinkable has just happened.
Robson's favourite pastime is letting off rockets sky high.
As he puts it himself, "I've killed my rocket!" And it's not just any old rocket that's crashed and burned on its maiden flight, but Green's absolute favourite, a 3ft-high replica of Richard Branson and space pioneer Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne.
"Two months!" wails Green. "It took me two months to make that rocket and look at it now ? smashed into half a dozen pieces beyond all hope of repair. It's a complete disaster. Apart from anything else, that's £400 up in smoke."
Before disaster struck, our day out with Robson and his rockets had gone reasonably smoothly.
Sure enough, one of Green's small tester rockets had errantly zoomed off into the far distance, never to be seen again.
But Green seemed unbothered by this. "It only cost me £30 that one and I wasn't too emotionally attached to it."
Then there was the medium-sized rocket that started its trajectory promisingly, taking off in a puff of smoke like a cartoon stick of dynamite, only to prematurely eject its parachute and begin its descent at a paltry 20ft.
"A faulty ejection charge," Green decides. "The manufacturer is to blame for that. Nothing to do with the way I built it." However, he's taking full responsibility for the spectacular demise of his beloved SpaceShipOne, which, instead of climbing to the expected height of 1,200ft, opted to shoot off horizontally like an intercontinental missile.
"The aerodynamics were all wrong," he says mournfully. "I just didn't design it right."
As he's explaining all this, the main section of the rocket lies on top of a hedge a few hundred yards from where we're standing.
I can't help noticing that it appears to be emitting smoke and sparks. Is this something to be concerned about?
Yes, it is. Green hares off across the field to ensure one of the best-loved areas of the Surrey countryside doesn't go up in flames.
Mission accomplished, he returns, clutching the various pieces of his SpaceShipOne.
By this time his mood has lightened somewhat.
"Part of the fun and excitement with rockets is when they go wrong," he says, philosophically. And I've had my share of rocket disasters. We avoided a fire today but I've set cornfields alight before now. Then there was the time I had a rocket party at my house and underestimated the power of some of the attractions. "
"One of them flew into my neighbour's garden and the engine burnt a hole in their tennis net. Another time I was at a wrap party in Ayrshire, Scotland, and I put on a display for the cast and crew. I didn't properly test the rockets for wind direction so they were flying about all over the place. "
"The scene was complete mayhem. I was yelling, ? Run for your lives and there were people screaming, 'We're all going to die ! It was a firework display with edge. There was an outbreak of post-traumatic Robson rocket syndrome after that."
It was 12 years ago that Green decided rockets would be the main hobby in his life. But his fascination with them is life-long.
| Robson Green | Charles Dale | Alison Newman | Lucy Evans | Janine Wood | Dave Hill | Philip Whitchurch | Kai Owen | Kay Bridgeman |
FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
ROBSON GREEN came uncommonly well qualified to play the part of a backyard rocket scientist in his new family drama series - he is one.
Green and his son Taylor, 6, spend much of their spare time working to propel large tubes of metal high into the sky. And these are no gimcrack firecrackers - they even have on-board cameras that take aerial photographs and video to be retrieved after the flights.
Green, who is perhaps best known as Dr Tony Hill in Wire in the Blood, says rockets and fireworks have been a passion of his since childhood, partly because his family was too poor to buy fireworks and partly because of the magic of the first moon landing.
" When this ballistic missile went into the sky and put a man on the moon, it had a big effect on me. Maybe it's a completely male thing. "
In Rocket Man, Green plays George Stevenson, a widowed father of two who is determined to keep his promise to his wife to send her ashes into space so that she will always be there when the children look up to the night sky.
Eight-year-old Tom is wholeheartedly devoted to the project, but 15-year-old Angela wishes her father would devote a little more time to cooking tea and paying the bills.
Kay Bridgeman went back to school to prepare for her role in Rocket Man. "I recently played a teacher in a play called Sweet Little Thing and I went to a school in Harlow to research. They let me sit in on a class and it was a great experience both for the play and Rocket Man. I went back to the school after I'd got the role as Pam. The kids were great and they just want to learn at that stage."
Pam is a special needs teacher who meets George (Robson Green) when his son Tom starts missing school. Says Kay: "Pam is an amazing character, she believes in the kids and, although she's tough, she wants to help. When she has to find out why Tom is not coming to school, she's not interested in anything apart from the kids. She gets down to the kids' level and she's soft and approachable, not too serious.
"She has a completely different look from me, she's preppy with twin sets and flowing skirts. But I loved her because she's gutsy, ready to challenge, and also to admit when she's made a mistake. She even offers to help George read better. I know a lot of people don't like working with kids but I think as I was playing the teacher, they gave me more respect than the other actors!"
The role is an important breakthrough for Kay. "I normally get to play down at heel estate mums or lap dancers. I've done episodes of Holby, but this is my first major television series and I was literally screaming with joy when I got it. After years of struggling it was the job of my life. Fingers crossed, it will be good for my career. It was great working with Robson – he made everyone feel really welcome. Pam's relationship with George shows there could be a bit of a frisson. She is definitely attracted to him and he is to her."
Kay's other credits include Red Cap, Cutting It and Murder in Mind.
Kai Owen had to conquer his fear of heights to play Shiner in Rocket Man. "In one episode, Shiner gets depressed and heads out to a viaduct. The setting was fantastic but it was a horrible day with driving rain, wind and grey skies, which added to the atmosphere of his attempted suicide. It was such a height and I genuinely don't like heights, so it was an epic day to get through.
"The cast and crew were soaked through and I felt really sorry for the stunt guys. I didn't like the look of what they were doing at all and I don't think Robson was too keen on the heights either. But it will look particularly spectacular."
Kai is ideally placed to play the role. "I related to Shiner instantly. I come from a town in North Wales and I know people just like him. Guys who have always got their heads stuck in car bonnets looking at engines. They've been brought down to earth by losing their jobs and keep their hand in by tinkering with cars. Alison Hume's writing had me laughing out loud and I thought I could give it my best."
Shiner is desperately trying to make ends meet by working as a security guard at the abandoned Carriage Works. "He's very proud of his uniform and he wears a big pair of Doc Marten boots which he shines and wears to work, hence his name. I got a few blisters to begin with but I soon broke them in! He also has lots of flat caps with Welsh flags," says Kai.
"Shiner is a lovely lad with a heart of gold and he wouldn't want to hurt anyone. That's what's endearing about him. He idolises George and would do anything for him. He sees the other guys as mentors, too, and genuinely likes being around them. He might not be the brightest spark but he's very enthusiastic and would do anything for the boys and Mary. But at the same time, he's in trouble financially. He's being chased by debt collectors and he loses his job. Rather than looking for more work, he puts all his time into the rocket, which causes more problems for him."
Adds Kai: "I don't have a scientific mind but since Rocket Man, I've been keeping an eye on the Discovery Channel and it fascinates me a bit more. When I was in Cornwall recently there were clear nights and I watched the stars. I've also been reading Andrew Smith's Moondust, about the nine astronauts who walked on the moon!"
Kai appeared in Casualty and he is now starring in a tour of The Life of Ryan and Ronnie around Welsh theatres.
Philip Whitchurch admits he was drawn to the role of the selfish Lloyd in Rocket Man. "I always like playing difficult, irascible people because I enjoy the challenge of finding empathy with the audience. Lloyd always sees his cup as half-empty but at the same time he is an honourable man and probably cares too much about things.
"He doesn't suffer fools gladly and he is angry that one of the things he enjoyed most, his job, was taken away from him. What drew me to the story was the fact that it was about a group of men with talents who were then no longer allowed to practice their talents. It's a story for now, really."
Lloyd runs the scrap yard, making money from the remains of Wales' once proud industrial heritage. "He is isolated at the beginning and yet he wants to be part of the gang because he's intrigued by the building of the rocket. But he's not the kind of person who asks to join in. He joins by default because he has scrap metal in his yard and George needs it. But even then he doesn't compromise his attitude to things because he cares too much, and that is the sad thing."
Philip enjoyed creating Lloyd's look. "He works in the scrap yard so most of the time I am in a boiler suit and woolly hat. I took the decision that he shouldn't shave, because he has let himself go. While he was at work, he was probably a very smart man, but now he has lost his job and his wife he is rarely seen out of his boiler suit. He's in greasy, mucky clothes, with stubble. I greatly enjoyed playing him and the whole series was fun from start to finish. I know a lot of actors say this, but it was one of the nicest jobs that I've ever had."
The drama reunited Philip with Robson Green. "I did the very first episode of Wire in the Blood, playing a very cross policeman called Tom Cross. He was a bit of a loose cannon and jumped to too many wrong conclusions. So I was happy to work with Robson again."
Philip is now playing another outspoken character, on stage. "I am taking over the dad's role in Billy Elliot from October. It's a lovely job and a long time since I did a musical. It's going to be a challenge but one I look forward to. I did An Inspector Calls with Stephen Daldry in the West End and he's a great guy to work with."
Philip's other credits include Sharpe, My Hero, Hope & Glory, Shot Through The Heart, The Gift, Out of Hours, Plotlands, GBH and New Tricks. Film work includes Treasure Island, The English Patient, To Kill A Priest and the forthcoming Beowulf & Grendel.
Dave Hill was able to put his love of rockets and space to good use playing Huw. "I love fireworks and setting off rockets and I used to make them from model shops for my daughter. It was more for excitement than being technical and I still love it – I'm always in charge of the firework display at any celebration. I had a telescope when I was younger and used to look at the moon. I didn't get any further than that but I remember thinking it was amazing that the moon travels so fast."
Huw is one of George Stevenson's (Robson Green) band of volunteer rocketeers. Explains Dave: "He is a decent sort of bloke who was thrown out of work but he doesn't have a huge axe to grind because he was nearing retirement. He was a union organiser and had some health problems, but he's obviously a good engineer and he knows electronics. He finds himself a little niche in the group and deals with the tracking device.
"I am quite practical, too – I can build things and take things to bits, but I can't always put them back together, whereas Huw would! His wife sends him out terribly smart every morning, with clean shirt, tie and pants. But left to his own devices he would be quite scruffy. He goes down to the social club and changes into his dog-walking clothes, like an old anorak or waistcoat, and takes his dogs for a walk. It's a great way of keeping out of his wife's way and seeing his mates. Adds Dave: "I had a terrific time and the boys all got on really well, a bit like in the series. We had a right laugh and enjoyed each other's company.
Dave's many credits include The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Circle of Deceit, Peak Practice, Linda Green, City Central, Real Women, Chef, In Suspicious Circumstances and Bob and Rose. His film work includes The Full Monty, When Saturday Comes and The Raggedy Rawney. "Work comes and goes and it's always up and down, but I still enjoy it, even though I don't like the uncertainty. My daughter Polly is a producer and she's going back to work with John Yorke at the BBC. So now we are both working for BBC One!"
Janine Wood found it easy to relate to space boffin Mary in Rocket Man – even though she knew nothing about the science of rockets. "Mary has an engineering degree and she is passionate about rockets and space – at the age of four she was getting up and watching the Apollo launch. She also has an intellectual understanding of the components that are needed to make a rocket and send it into space. She has the connections George needs and is able to tap into the right sources.
"I didn't know anything about space before and I don't have an engineering degree or her intellectual capacity. I was never that interested in science at school, I was doing the drama and the sports, rather than the chemistry lab. But you can get away with knowing absolutely nothing about science, because Rocket Man is also about dreams, ambitions and community.
"The jargon can be quite complicated but there are some fantastic sites on the net which give you the basic information without having to become a geek. There are so many rocket societies in this country and they are huge in America, so that was fascinating and helpful too. I also watched a Philip Kaufman film The Right Stuff, about seven pioneering astronauts – it was inspirational." Adds Janine: "Apart from the space and science I don't think I am that different from Mary. She is an optimist and so am I, and she is a genuinely happy person. I fell in love with the scripts and felt privileged to be involved with the series."
Mary works at the Patent Office but knows George (Robson Green) from the Carriage Works where they were both employed. "She's incredibly down to earth and has a great sense of humour. She's damn good at her job, but she's also looking for someone to share her life with. George brings something to her and, through her passion for rocket building and space, she finds friendship in a community that might otherwise have been slightly alien to her.
"She is a bit posher than George, but Mary transcends that – she has no prejudices and is able to get on with everyone. There is a hint of romance between them, but her respect and liking for George and his dreams overrides any relationship complications."
Mary is the only woman in the team of rocketeers. "She's the only woman who's allowed because she is immensely valuable to them. Essentially she wants to get her hands dirty, she likes putting on her boiler suit and working out how to get the rocket up into space. But she's not fully integrated into WASA until the last episode when she gets her badge."
Janine worked with Robson on an episode of Touching Evil and her other credits include Trial & Retribution, After Henry, Holby City, Down to Earth, Attachments and The Bill. She appeared in the feature films Elephant Juice and Wuthering Heights. She lives with her partner, director Sam Miller, in London and has two sons.
Lucy Evans was delighted to get a chance to combine acting and singing in Rocket Man. "I really liked the idea of Angela as a character as I was told she would evolve and grow up during the series. I also got excited when they said she had to sing. I had my first job in musicals at the age of eight, in Les Miserables, and I was in my first opera at the London Coliseum in The Cunning Little Vixen when I was 15.
"At my audition for Rocket Man, they asked me to sing something upbeat so I did Fame. They checked all the nearby offices first in case we made too much noise, but they seemed very happy. In the show I sing more indie stuff, Oasis and Pretenders. I have quite a few solos but it wasn't nerve-wracking, particularly doing the songs in a band rehearsal situation. Luckily my brother is a musician and he helped me prepare. I had to do one big gig and it was my last day of filming, so I couldn't possibly be nervous. I was up on stage in my most glamorous dress of the series and I had a great time."
Angela is learning to cope with life since the death of her mum. Explains Lucy: "She has taken over the role of mum in the house, which she doesn't mind, but it means she does lose a bit of herself in the process. She becomes insecure and she's not very trendy. When she gets her relationship with her dad back on track her clothes change and she slots into her style and becomes more funky and sure of herself. After a slow start, she begins a relationship with Ed. He is the first boy to take notice of her, so that makes her happy as well.
While Angela is trying to attract Ed'’s attention she dyes her hair blonde. "I have to wear a wig as it would be hard to keep the continuity. It was a bit strange but by the end of the series she is back to dark and I am back to my normal hair colour. I am very different from Angela. I look more like a pop singer than being a bit edgy in a band, but I love musicals. I am 19 and Angela is 15, but I always end up playing people much younger than me, plus she has a maturity to her because of what has happened.
"It was great to work with Robson Green. Everyone told me how nice he is and I found him to be intelligent, funny and dedicated. He made me feel like an adult and was very easy to get on with.”
Lucy's first TV job was playing Little Mol in Moll Flanders with Alex Kingston. She has also appeared in The Stepfather, Microscope, Hollyoaks and Holby City. "Rocket Man is my first big drama and it turned out to be a really enjoyable job. The next thing I am doing is a musical of Sleeping Beauty and I'll be singing in that also."
Alison Newman admits she found Diane's story of infertility very moving. "Friends of mine have struggled to conceive and it's not unusual for women to go through IVF. I'm 37 and I don't have children yet. Certain scenes were very emotional and they really did affect me when we were filming. But though I got upset, it was good to be able to use that in my acting.
"I was incredibly moved by how real the story was for Barney and Diane. They have a great relationship and their house is the perfect family home without the family. Diane has no control in one part of her life – wanting a baby – so she puts it all into the house, keeping it constantly tidy. Every month she realises she is not pregnant she probably goes out and buys a candle. She's constantly dealing with expectation and disappointment."
Alison was thrilled to get the role – a contrast to her previous part in Footballers' Wives. "I loved the script but I didn't think I was in with a chance. I have a history of playing fierce women and in Touching Evil I was fabulously insane and even set Robson on fire! So it was a joy to play someone softer.
"It was a tough decision to leave Footballers' Wives. We're all great mates and it was good fun but I decided I had to get out of that world. Hazel, my character, was very extreme and afterwards I wanted to play a real woman whom anybody could recognise. I turned down a lot of stuff and hung out for the right job. I loved the script of Rocket Man, everything about the family was so beautifully written. I believed it and felt very strongly about it.
"One of the things I love is the sense of community. The characters all live in quite bleak surroundings but there is a huge amount of warmth in everyone who lives there. It's also a brilliant study of grief. George lost his wife and Diane has lost her mate. But because she does a lot of looking after George and the children, she's had to bury her grief. My father died suddenly a few years ago and I think Alison Hume has written it spot on.
"It was also nice to get out of designer frocks for a change. In Footballers' Wives I lived in labels and makeup, whereas Diane has lots of skirts and wedgy shoes – she's more Primark than Karen Millen, a very normal woman."
The scenes where Diane and Barney are trying to conceive meant Alison doing her first ever bed scenes. "I hadn't worked with Charlie Dale before but he makes it very easy. There is nothing explicit but it was still nerve-wracking and strange getting into bed at eight in the morning with a man you don't really know! But Charlie made it believable and I think the fact that we get on so well comes through. One of my last scenes was cuddled up to Charlie under a blanket on the beach. Adds Alison: "Robson is also an excellent actor and a delight to work with. We have a long history but my first scene with him was telling him that I have kinky tubes. It was lovely."
Alison shares Diane's lack of interest in science. "My father was a science teacher and he quietly despaired at how utterly useless I was. My boyfriend is a graphic designer and when he starts launching into anything scientific I glaze over. So it wasn't a great stretch of imagination to play a woman who has a scant interest in getting a rocket in the air."
Straight after filming finished on Rocket Man, Alison raced to London to start work on Simon Nye's new comedy Open Wide. "The character I play is predatory, vile and nasty and works in a chip shop. It's comedy and totally different. I am quite a happy bunny and I'm hugging myself to have got the two jobs I wanted. Though if I get offered another psychopath, I'll be pleased to do that!"
Alison’s other credits include Bad Girls, Family Affairs, The Prince and the Pauper, Butterfly Collectors and Hex.
Charles Dale was delighted to renew his on-screen relationship with Robson Green in Rocket Man. "I worked with Robson on Touching Evil and we played protagonists in that. So I knew we would work well together on this and I hope that relationship comes through."
Barney worked with George (Robson Green) at the Carriage Works and is devoted to him. Explains Charles: "Barney is one of those guys who you would die for. He's very protective of his friends and he would do anything for them. He's an artisan and an engineer – he might not have great ideas but he is very practical and can make machines when George gives him the idea.
"He's terribly scruffy and generous-hearted like an old rescue dog – he's incredibly faithful and genuine. I loved playing him and the relationship with Robson because we do spark off each other well. We both think the same thing and make each other laugh."
The series follows Barney's desire to have a child with his wife Diane (Alison Newman). "His relationship with Diane has quite an emotional pull – they are two desperate people who are trying to have a baby and failing. If you are not succeeding it can be tragic. But there are lots of laughs too. It's good to be involved in something that is family entertainment, with no double entendre and no reality. It makes a change from the harder hitting dramas."
Charles was involved in a stunt for a scene where Barney ends up in hospital. "He pulls over a massive cutting machine and a whole load of shelves land on top of him. He's injured and goes to hospital. In real life, the machine was very heavy to move so it was quite a tough scene."
Tenby-born Charles has enjoyed a variety of roles, including the character of Dennis Stringer in Coronation Street, The Lakes, Conviction, Steel River Blues, The Eustace Bros, Real Men and Bramwell. He is now playing the role of Steve in his seventh series of drama Belonging for BBC Wales.