Primeval Series 4 Preview

Exclusive interviews with Hannah Spearritt, Ben Miller and Ciarán McMenamin to get you in the mood for the show’s return on New Year’s Day

Primeval is back from the verge of extinction. ITV tried to kill it off, but the show is back for the fourth series on New Year’s day (with a fifth series a done deal), and there are some big changes in store. There’s an extensive feature on the show in the latest issue of SFX, but, as usual, our hardworking scribes gathered much more material than we could print in the mag. So here, to get you in the mood, are a trio of unedited interviews with three of the show’s stars, Hannah Spearritt, Ben Miller and new boy Ciarán McMenamin.

Hannah Spearritt

Playing: Abby Maitland

Did you enjoy filming in Dublin?
“Yeah, loved it. At first when I heard they were thinking about shooting in Dublin I was like, ‘I don’t know…’ but I think it’s been really good for the show and the bigger picture. It’s really good because you can get to locations so quickly and you’ve got the docks and the water, the mountains. You’ve got so many different types of locations you can shoot in and get to really quickly, it’s great.”

So did you and Andrew-Lee Potts relocate?
“We completely moved over for the shoot, Sky+ box and everything. Everything’s over here pretty much but our furniture, because we’ve got a furnished place, but our heads and our hearts are here, and we’re kind of committed in that way rather than pining to go back after work, because otherwise you’re kind of living between two places. We’re blessed in that way because I suppose if I wasn’t in the show or Andrew wasn’t in the show we would be going back at weekends, but because we’re together and we’re over here with the dog, we feel like we’ve just moved house for a year.”

Did you have to give coming back some thought, or was it a no-brainer?
“You have to think about these things. You kind of like to know where they’re thinking with it storyline wise, what they anticipate for your character, stuff like that. So there is a lot of that – it’s absolutely positive that it’s coming back, but let’s have a chat and that sort of thing, and see where our heads are at. And also Dublin was a big move. Initially I didn’t know whether I’d be up for that but it’s been a really good thing.”

Abby’s been stuck in the Cretaceous for some time at the beginning of the new series. How’s that changed her?
“It’s literally been a year out there, with one other human being – Connor. Their relationship has moved on because they’ve just been surviving – just the two of them living on not much really, just whatever they can get their hands on. Abby’s taught Connor some kickboxing moves, and they’ve just been totally reliant on each other. So when they come back through from the Cretaceous, they’re completely in tune with each other because of how many times they’ve saved each others’ lives and how connected they are by that point.

“There’s kind of a sense of safety with each other, and it’s kind of bizarre when they come back because there are all these new faces and people and all this new technology and new everything around them. It’s quite a lot to absorb at first, and Abby almost feels slightly uncomfortable with it all. A good thing obviously, but it takes a while to adapt to the environment. There’s definitely a new bond between Abby and Connor because of what they’ve been through; when you go through something like that with somebody it binds you together through that experience and you can never take that away. They’ve become very protective over each other.”

How did you feel about becoming an item on screen as well as off?
“Well, it kind of… the whole ‘Will-they? Won’t-they?’ thing had been going on for a while and I think it was only natural [laughs] that they might kind of go that way after spending that sort of time together. It was only through things getting in the way back home, you know, work and everything that it became more complicated. Whether Abby’s been in denial they did love each other, so it was only a matter of time really.”

Does Abby feel the same about the relationship on this side?
“When they come back, it does get more complicated again with other relationships that are coming into Connor and Abby’s lives. But problems only arise because of that, as opposed to the mere fact that they’re just back. They’re back and they’re together and everything’s cool and problems materialise…”

How do the roles within the team change? Apparently Abby’s got her very own “menagerie” now…
“I get brought back to the ARC to take on this role in charge of the menagerie. It is this great space that you get to through an airlock, and there’s this menagerie outside Abby’s lab. Later on she becomes part of the field team again and back in force, and more responsibility.”

Is the main story arc heavier this year?
“I think it’s stepped up a gear this series. You’ve got a whole bigger picture. You’ve got your whole story of the weeks going on within that, but there is a very strong story arc that will be progressing throughout the whole of the series, that I think people will really, really like. This series we have got story that has got a purpose.”

Will we find out where the anomalies are from?
“You may well do. And why they’re there. Questions I think that people have been wanting answered will be concluded more so in this series.”

Is it stuff you want answers to as well?
“Yeah, it makes it a lot more exciting for us coming back. You do want the answers to all these things, so I think the fans will really get their teeth into it and enjoy getting these answers.

Are series four and five a natural end point for you and Abby or could you continue beyond?
“I really don’t know. I don’t know. It’s so hard to say at this point. We’re so early in the whole process of it. I know that Im loving it and enjoying it and everything, but we’ll see how it goes.”

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