Derek Riddell says stepping back into the past was such an eye opener he’d like to spread the word to his family.
Derek has joined the cast for the second series of the BBC’s Bafta-nominated drama The Village which starts tonight.
It’s set in the 1920s, and ask 47-year-old Derek what one thing he’d take back from the modern day he’s quick to reply.
“I’d take two my five-year-old twins, Felix and Eve,” he says. “Just to show them how easy they have it these days.”
Derek’s career has seen him play, as he admits, “a lot of shifty characters” over the years.
But The Village, which stars Maxine Peake and John Simm, has him as a principled ex-miner Bill Gibby who is standing as a Labour candidate in the forthcoming 1923 General Election.
“Like most people I knew a great deal about the First Word War but wasn’t quite as informed about its effect on the country in the following years,” admits Glasgow-born Derek.
“So I went to the library and tried to find out as much as I could.
“And as the poet Shelley is such a great influence on Bill, I read up on his as well. All of this, along with boning up on miners’ experience in the trenches, gave me a lot of information with which to play.”
Derek says his most memorable scene was making a big political speech in the opening episode.
“I was pretty nervous having over 150 people around and a huge speech to get through,” he confides.
“But our supporting artists were really up for it and supportive. By the end I was loving rallying the troops and getting them all fired up. Getting to recite some of Shelley’s Mask of Anarchy made it even better.”
Maxine says that things are now looking up for Grace Middleton and husband John, with the prospects for the farm much improved.
“Things have picked up and there’s more hope for the farm,” she explains. “Electricity has come in and there are a few little gadgets. We get a milking machine, so new technology is affecting people’s lives.”
Filming once again took place in the Peak District and Silk star Maxine says it was a real blast from the past.
“My mum used to be a member of the Rambler’s Association, so we walked the Kinder Scout and Jacob’s Ladder when I was 11 or 12,” she adds.
“It’s extraordinary and beautiful and I am so glad doing this series has re-introduced me to the Peak District.”
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