Making the BBC’s big new First World War drama brought heartbreaking memories flooding back for Hermione Norris.
The Crimson Field tells the story of the doctors, nurses and volunteers in a tented hospital, trying to save the lives of frontline casualties.
And Hermione, who plays Matron Grace Carter, had a personal connection to the Great War.
“My grandfather fought in the First World War and lost a lot of his brothers in the trenches,” confides former Spooks and Wire In The Blood star Hermione.
“I remember being four and he was really confused. He was sitting on the kitchen floor calling out to the boys in the trenches.
“He asked me to come and sit with him to keep him company. My grandma was saying: ‘Oh, he’s calling out to the boys again’.
“That was sort of normal for him. He had severe injuries from the war and every year he’d have to go to the hospital and have shrapnel removed from his leg.
“What those people did in the name of duty and then returning to normal civilian life is just beyond imagination.”
The six-part series is part of the Beeb’s extensive range of programming marking the centenary of the start of the conflict.
And Scott & Bailey star Suranne Jones says the scale of the production took her breath away.
“The work that had been put in was incredible,” says Suranne, who plays feisty Liverpudlian Sister Joan Livesey.
“We’d been looking at old photographs and walking on the set was like walking into one of them. The make-up artists did an amazing job because at one time we have a convoy in of 200 men.
“They’re walking wounded, on stretchers, they’re blind, they have trench foot. It was a sight. Yes, we’re making a programme to commemorate the 100 years, but it does take you back to that moment.”
Former Corrie star Suranne is one of TV’s most in-demand actresses but this is her first ever step back in time.
“I don’t know why I haven’t done a period drama before,” she says.
“I’ve been filming for 15 or 16 years now and it’s just the right time and the right script, I guess.
“Joan’s a very modern woman and perhaps what the producer and writer saw is that it’s the right time to fit an actress known for contemporary work into a period piece.
“I hope people will fall in love with the characters. And remind ourselves what happened 100 years ago and how lucky we are today.”
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