Interview with Stephen Wight (Gary Campbell)
Category: Press Pack ArticleHow has Toby Phillips’s (Jack Bardoe) murder affected Gary?
As with a lot of men with mental health issues, Gary’s unwilling to address them in a professional and modern manner. He has been extremely hurt by Toby's death, especially as the relationship that he's had with Jackie (Laura Checkley) is a by-product, weirdly, of Toby's presence. The team is hurting and feeling that weight hanging over them, but Gary's still broken and that need to change is something that we explore throughout the series.
The relationship with Jackie came as a surprise.
Yeah, it's the one that my family and people that bump into me on the street always talk about: oh, that scene, the sex in the toilet… Everyone remembers that – it’s one for the showreel!
Was it a pragmatic thing, a way of releasing some stress, or is there genuine affection there?
With Gary being a kind of lothario and sleeping with lots of women, he finds the feelings he develops for Jackie coming out of leftfield a bit. The complexity of that wrapped up in the loss of Toby, the environment where they work, the separation between the prison and domestic life… He’s confused and surprised by what this woman has done to him, and by her semi-rejection of him.
Does all this affect how he does his job?
It has definitely affected his ability to do his job properly, effectively and professionally. The deep trauma he's feeling on a number of levels prior to Toby's death, compounded by Toby's death, means that we find a man who is not coping well.
Of all the team, Gary has the most entrenched views about the inmates – is that even more the case this year?
Yeah, absolutely. He feels validated, unfortunately, after Toby’s murder. There is an element of anger and arrogance and “I told you so” – how it proves that prisoners cannot be trusted. It alienates him from his colleagues because there's less subtlety and humour in those views. They come from a much darker and more extreme place.
What does Gary think of Morgan (Lee Ingleby)?
It’s a lovely, complex relationship that develops in those first two episodes. In Gary's eyes, Morgan’s conviction is wrongful justice. There's probably a very thin slice of paper between some of the people in prison and someone like Gary. He is forced to reflect and go: Well, I’d do the same thing as Morgan if someone was trying to break into my home. Even so, although he is being challenged, he still sees the uniform of the prisoner and his own uniform. The more he's challenged, the more he tightens his grip. He feels he’s betraying himself by feeling any sympathy for a prisoner like Morgan.
Does he have any time for Leigh’s more touchy-feely management style?
No, he’s completely bemused – going lighter after what’s happened? He can’t get his head around that.
Does he buy the idea that there’s an undercover cop on the wing?
Initially he thinks it's another rumour to keep the prisoners entertained, so he’s quite shocked when those rumours seem to be confirmed. Gary is wondering what it means for them as a team and how they might be judged, as well as worrying that it’s too little, too late and just puts them all in jeopardy. Regardless of what he feels though, he would always put himself on the line for any one of the team because that's at the core of Gary's values. It ramps things up very quickly from an already tense situation between prisoners and prison officers.
How did it feel to be back on the set?
There's a routine around putting on the same costume every day and going on to the same set, it gives you something for nothing. After filming 8 or 10 hours there, it feels like this really terrible casino where there's no natural light, and there’s a new realism this year, more layers from the art department to give it even more personality. It’s a wonderful challenge for Rob (Williams, series creator), to keep the action inside that prison, but there is no end of stories that can be told and subjects to be tackled. It's a microcosm of society confined which is a wonderful springboard to exploring some really challenging material. And for us as actors, the joy is that we get to go home at the end of the day, whereas people in those situations for real don't.
Is there something unique about portraying people in uniform?
It is different when you're portraying a profession. I did a show called Bluestone 42, about the armed services in Afghanistan, so you try and pay respect and homage to them, and you do feel a pressure. But ultimately, you just concentrate on the story and try and get as much detail as possible. We have advisors, either currently serving or former prison officers, who we can talk to. But what I hope the series really does is show the human beings behind the uniform. Extraordinary people do this job.