Starring Rupert Penry-Jones as Detective Inspector Joseph Chandler, crime drama Whitechapel returns to ITV1 for a third series next week.

> Buy Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.

Series 3 Episode 1 airs at 9pm on Monday 30th January on ITV1.

How do you feel about the show’s gruesome prosthetics?

“The torso story is pretty gory. We had prosthetic bodies made and torsos with legs, arms and heads chopped off and you see it all – I mean it’s pretty hard-core.

“I don’t know how much of that footage they’re actually going to use in the final show, but when you first saw it, it was quite shocking.”

How has Chandler changed since the first series?

“He has been investigating murders for three or four years so he has seen his fair share of gore by now. I think he can cope with it a lot better, but still he doesn’t like it. He’s not immune to it but he can keep it under control.”

Having copy-catted Whitechapel’s most notorious murders, the Ripper and the Krays in previous serials, the format has changed to three, two-part stories this series…

“The format has changed slightly this year because there are only a certain number of suitable copycat crimes you can write about.

“What Ben and Caroline [writers] have done is brought Buchan in to advise us by using history as a kind of a map to guide us through present day crimes. So we use the crimes of the past to help us solve the crimes of the present.”

How does Buchan’s recruitment affect team?

“Bringing Buchan in is a risk for both Chandler and Buchan but he soon becomes invaluable to the team with even Miles realising that he is doing his bit to help.

“Having said that, he’s kept down in the basement most of the time so you don’t really see him around and the other police don’t have to deal with him too much.

“Whenever we need information we go down to him, this sort of ‘Guru’ in the basement who has all the information at his fingertips. He’s become quite good, he’s like this sort of wise soothsayer underneath the police station.”

Does the show still have a link with real historical crimes?

“What’s great about Whitechapel this year is how the crimes we’re solving are fictitious, but the crimes that we use to help us are real so the audience is still getting that wonderful authenticity when you’re still learning about the history of the Whitechapel area.

“This makes it a lot more fun and adds atmosphere to the show as well as learning something new and real as an actor.”

How have the team become more integrated and involved in the case solving?

“Everyone is more involved with the detecting side of things now, especially in the third story.

“To begin with it was very much Chandler working things out with the help of Miles, who basically argued with everything that Chandler said. However, now everyone works together and individuals have been given a bit more responsibility.

“The job feels like it’s a group effort and people actually contribute to the solving of the crime rather than Llewellyn and Buchan giving us all the information we need and Chandler putting it together. It’s much more detailed now.”

Can audiences look forward to seeing a more personal side to Chandler?

“The audience won’t see Chandler’s private life as such they will see a chink in his armour when he realises early on in the series that there is something missing in his life. Chandler would like to have a family and someone to share his life with.

“He sees Miles and the life he has and Mansell and his wife and realises that it is maybe something he needs and he gives it a go. Miles is pushing him to try and he does give it a go but we can safely say romance is not going well for Chandler.

“What’s happened with Chandler in this series is that he is much more alert to women whereas before if a beautiful woman looked at him he wouldn’t even notice.

“Now, if somebody finds him attractive, he senses it right away. He still does not know what to do about it or how to react to it but he’s aware. And it’s given me a load of fun things to play with like moments where he wants to kiss a woman and can’t because he doesn’t know how to.”

What do you make of Chandler’s ‘bromance’ with DC Kent?

“Kent looks up to Chandler and when Chandler focuses in on him that makes him happy. But I don’t think Kent is gay; it’s more like he has a sort of older brother crush going on and wants to be like Chandler.”

What do you think it is about Whitechapel that captures the imagination and attention of the audience?

“I think what keeps our audience there is the thrill. It’s that thrill factor that they chase. How much they can take and how scared they can get before they can’t handle it any more.

“There is a certain thrill that goes into watching something that scares you and although Whitechapel is scary you kind of know it’s going to be ok in the end.

“I think it is more edge of the seat this year and certainly there are sequences in it that are more reminiscent of a horror film than a detective show and that’s a good thing. There should be that sense of tension there and I’ve always wanted to be in a horror film or a slasher movie.

“The last story particularly reads more like a horror film which was fantastic. It’s these sort of sequences where you’re wandering around houses and hearing all sorts of noises and being terrified which are so much fun to act.”

> Buy Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.

Watch the trailer…

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