Starring Hannah Walters as DC Megan Riley, crime drama Whitechapel returned to ITV1 for a third series this week.
> Buy Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.
Series 3 continues at 9pm on Monday 6th January on ITV1.
How would you describe DC Megan Riley?
“Megan is very maternal, she’s very sensitive to all the other men around her but at the end of the day, you don’t mess with DC Riley, she can hold her own.
“She’s had to gain the respect from the boys and we’ve worked out that Phil’s character Miles had worked with Riley before, so with that comes a certain built in respect. She’s still got to earn her place but she does it in such a good way.
“She is also meticulous about her work and thoughtful and because she can hold her own in that male environment it’s important not to have a ‘girly’ girl in there who can take offence to any of the conversations that are happening. Believe me she can be as foul mouthed and masculine as the rest of them.”
Does does Riley deal with the difficulties of the job?
“Riley takes her job seriously but she has a solid foundation at home – a family life and children, so for her work is work.
“In the third story a little girl is hiding under a bed and it effects Riley quite a bit more than the boys because she is so maternal.”
Were you a fan of the show before joining the cast?
“I’ve loved it since Series 1. It’s just so different from other dramas, with complex characters and great stories. And the way it is filmed is just exquisite, the whole thing together is absolutely superb and I was so incredibly excited to be joining the show.”
Did you enjoy filming the series?
“As our characters we do have a bit of a laugh but when we switch off, we switch off. You’ve got to be able to do that, there’s a right time and a wrong time to do that obviously but we’re all such different personalities we bring the naughtiness out of each other on set when we’re not filming.
“There’s a lot of joking around, a lot of banter and a lot of giggling which is a fantastic environment to work in.”
> Buy Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.
Watch the trailer…
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