Helen Baxendale returns to ITV1 this week as Angela Beddoes in the second series of Kidnap & Ransom.
Trevor Eve (Waking the Dead) reprises his role as international hostage negotiator, Dominic King, alongside Amara Karan (Doctor Who) as Carrie Heath and Natasha Little (Mistresses) as Dominic’s wife Sophie King.
Written by Michael Crompton (Silent Witness) and directed by David Drury (Ashes to Ashes), Series 2 begins at 9pm on Thursday 23rd February on ITV1.
Are you pleased to be back for a second series of Kidnap & Ransom?
“I was delighted about the recommission of the series. I got a very good response from friends and people who approached me on the street who said they enjoyed the first series.”
What can we expect from the second series?
“Kidnap & Ransom is about a company, Beddoes King. They negotiate for the release of kidnap victims across the world. They don’t act on behalf of the government because the government can’t be seen to negotiate with kidnappers. Instead they are dealing with the insurance company of the people involved and with their families.
“It’s quite interesting because we hear about Kidnap & Ransom scenarios in the news, and Beddoes King are the shadowy figures behind the scenes we don’t hear much about.
“This series is set in Kashmir, India, although we filmed it in South Africa. There are more hostages this time because a bus full of tourists is hijacked, and aboard the bus is one particular high profile hostage, which makes the ordeal more complicated and political.”
How have you developed Angela Beddoes’ character?
“Angela was very much part of the business last time. In this series we meet her young son. Rather than being based in London for the duration she also makes the journey to India in Episode 3. It was really good to get involved in some of the action!”
Do you share any of Angela’s characteristics?
“I’m not particularly business minded or organised. I would say I’m the antithesis of Angela. I think she’s quite tough.”
Will we see any romance between her and her partner at Beddoes King, Dominic?
“The line between Angela and Dominic’s professional and non-professional relationship becomes more blurred. Dominic has now split from his wife. Angela has always really liked him and their working relationship forces them together a lot of the time.
“She spends a fair amount of time worrying about him professionally and as a person. There is definitely something between them but it’s hard to tell where it will go in the future.”
How does Angela’s closeness to Dominic affect her relationship with his ex-wife, Sophie?
“Angela and Sophie have known each other for a long time and there’s a respect and a gentle friendship between them. Angela does feel a sense of guilt because Dominic spends a lot of time with her, but I don’t think she has a lot to feel guilty about because nothing has happened previously.
“There is very little time for anything romantic when dealing with global events at all hours of the day! In the scenes played out between Angela and Sophie we tried to display confrontation on a professional level instead of a personal level.”
Did you enjoy filming in South Africa?
“It’s very exciting and a privilege to film in Cape Town. I’ve done a lot of filming there now so I did a lot less sight seeing this time. Although, I did go whale watching because it was the right time of year to see whales migrating.”
Whilst you were on set a baboon came within metres of filming, were you frightened?
“We were filming in a forest for part of episode three. At one point I had to hide behind a tree and there were no other people with me because the camera and all the other actors and crew were about 100 metres away. I stood with my head against a tree and I suddenly became aware of a presence.
“I turned around and there was a full size baboon only a metre away just looking at me. Just before it happened someone had been telling me how dangerous they are, and how they are more likely to attack a woman. All this went through my mind. I stayed very still and the baboon then wandered onto set and just sat and watched everyone film the scene!”
What did you think of the locations and sets used for this series?
“I’ve never been to India but I’d love to go at some point in my life. Although we were in South Africa it could have been India – there is something about the light in the sky that is exotic. I think the team did a brilliant job.
“India has a red earth that we used on the ground to create the same feel. As soon as I stepped foot on set I felt I was there, but behind the cameras I’d be in South Africa again.”
Are you looking forward to Series 2? Let us know below…
> Buy the Series 1 DVD on Amazon.
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