Rhys Thomas, best known as spoof talk-radio presenter Gary Bellamy on BBC2's Bellamy's People, plays Stuart. At the end of a shift, Stuart just wants to go home, lock the door and shut people out. Those misanthropic tendencies are the source of ongoing friction with Maxine (played by Amy Beth Hayes), a sergeant in the West Yorkshire police force and, to all intents and purposes, Stuart's only friend. We chat to Rhys Thomas to find out more about Stuart and what it was like filming Sirens...
Sex scenes were a whole new ball game for Rhys: 'Oh god. The naked bits, the nude scenes, I've never had to do those before,' he shudders. 'I had to do the sex scenes on Valentine's Day which was terrible. I had about four scenes and had to wear a modesty sock which was weird. It was completely nerve wracking and I was so glad when it was over. There is nothing remotely sexy about those scenes but it felt slightly wrong doing them, even though there were about eight blokes in the room fidgeting.'
But that possibly wasn't the strangest encounter Rhys had during the production process. He says, 'I spent a night out with an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) unit as part of my research and we were called out to a woman who was in labour. There was no time to get her to hospital because this was her fourth baby and it might have been born on the stairs getting out of the block of flats.'
So why is Rhys' character Stuart an EMT? 'We find out that when he was a little kid he had an accident which resulted in a crossbow being shot through his shoulder. A paramedic turned up in his uniform and Stuart saw him as a heroic figure; someone who came along and saved him. And he thought, "that's what I want to do". His drive to help people is genuine even though he might tread over a drunk to get to a real victim. He does care about them if they deserve it.'
But what does Stuart do outside of being a Paramedic? Rhys reveals, 'Stuart's work is his life. He doesn't really have friends outside work except Maxine, a friend from university who is a police sergeant. They are best friends in fact; he talks to Maxine much more than Ashley or Rachid. Maxine is the one he confides in as she does in him. You can't tell if he fancies her or not - maybe he doesn't know.'
Rhys explains: 'I do identify with Stuart in some way. He is a grumpy old man while still a young man, and there's a lot of that in me. I try to bring a bit more of myself to Stuart to make him more likeable. But I can see the good in him.'
