[ad_1]
It’s completely understandable that fans immediately associate Dunbar with detectives. He starred in Jed Mercurio’s hit police procedural, which despite airing a somewhat anticlimactic finale last year, people can’t stop asking (including me – but more on that later). Meanwhile, on ITV, Dunbar solves crimes as the titular detective in Ridley, a drama which aired earlier this summer.
However, the Irish actor’s next project is much more personal, with Dunbar settling into presentation mode for his brand new travel show on Channel 5. “I think diversity as an actor eases the tension,” he tells me on the phone on Friday morning. “I can take my focus away from acting and put it in different areas and I think if you can do other things, you shouldn’t die wondering. You have to try.”
That’s exactly what he does in Adrian Dunbar: My Ireland, a sequel to his previous series Adrian Dunbar’s Coastal Ireland. Taking viewers to some of his favorite places in his homeland, the actor visits some of the country’s highly-recommended spots while giving the audience an insight into his own life.
“I can visit some friends that I know, so it makes everything very easy to do and very casual,” he explains. “It’s a very relaxed presentation style and there’s a little space for the audience to feel what it might be like to travel around.”
When it came to deciding where to go, the producers came up with a list of “big ticket” places that luckily Dunbar wanted to “go to most of the time,” whether it was spending time with chefs like Neven Maguire and Richard Corrigan, or checking out the historic site of Newgrange in County Meath.
More like this
“I think overall it’s a good range of things, and also a little bit of the odd thing that I like to see myself, like stopping by the Planetarium,” he says. “It was really nice to see [the crew] witness gardens such as Newgrange and Powerscourt which are breathtakingly beautiful. It’s a very, very nice thing.”
As well as the country’s typical hotspots, My Ireland sees Dunbar visiting places that are hugely significant – such as Slieve League, a crag in County Donegal that he visited with his late friend John Keegan, a fellow actor who died of a terminal illness in 1998 .However, the Line of Duty star revealed that he didn’t share the significance of the location before the camera started rolling.
“When we decided we were starting in the Slieve League, nobody but me knew what connection I had with the Slieve League. It is a very spectacular place, but no one knew that I had other connections with it with my friend John Keegan.
“And I thought if I was here, in some way to mark the significance of this place to me, I would tell John’s story – how he came to this place when he was young, traveled all the way west he could and many years later, on his last trip, he also decided to go there and we accompanied him, which is a real privilege,” he says. “So I just thought it was a good way to mark the fact that this is a very personal journey for me as well.”
Dunbar’s overall goal for the show was to make the audience feel like they were “on the road” with him. “It’s not over-produced, it’s not too flashy, and the chats we have are nice and casual.” It’s not necessarily me opening up, other people opening up and letting us into their lives for a little bit, which is of interest to me I think.”
While Channel 5 is yet to report more from the travelogue, the actor is certainly up for more. “Ireland itself is endlessly fascinating. There are many places we still have to visit and places to visit on the island that we haven’t been to yet. That would be something I think it could be right now.”
As for Dunbar’s other projects, which are still (hopefully) ongoing, Ridley’s ITV fans are awaiting word on Season 2 – and so is its star. “I can’t say for sure, but the buzz is very positive,” he says.
“I’m sure they’ll make some kind of announcement soon as to whether it’s going or not.” We all want to do it. We had a great time in Manchester, they are fantastic actors and a brilliant team. Be great to get this particular team back together. Hopefully we might hear an announcement in the next month or so, so fingers crossed.”
Alex Ridley, an officer brought out of retirement by a dark and complex case, is no different from other detectives Dunbar has played. He’s no-nonsense, uses unorthodox police methods, and can get a little too attached to the case at hand—however, what sets Ridley apart from other medics is that he sings, as viewers were surprised to learn in Season 1.
“It’s something I brought to it myself, and I’ve always loved the idea of the Singing Detective,” says Dunbar. “I also thought, since we’re going to be in the northwest and it’s going to be cold and all, wouldn’t it be great if there was somewhere else, a place we could go that was a little warmer and a little more glamorous.”
Solving crimes by day and singing jazz by night is Ridley’s forte thanks to Richard Hawley’s songs featuring on the show. “Those songs suit the character really well because they’re kind of masculine, but he’s grieving and that’s where his character is. He is still grieving the loss of his wife and daughter and that will never leave him.
“I really hope we have more songs for next season if we go,” he adds. “If it comes to fruition, I’d like to just keep the standard, get some very interesting stories to keep the audience guessing for the two hours we’re doing it, and just develop the character even more.”
While Ridley can carry a tune, I doubt Ted Hastings is melodically gifted – but will we ever get the chance to find out? Unfortunately, Dunbar has nothing new to add to his answer in previous interviews.
“There is no update yet on whether we can expect a seventh season,” he says. “I think overall there’s a willingness among everybody to do something, but I think we’re just going to have to wait a little bit longer.”
“We might hear something at some point in the near future, but I really don’t know. It’s hard to predict these things and it’s hard to make people think, ‘Oh, this is going to happen,’ and then it doesn’t happen because we hate making false promises.”
However, Dunbar assures me that the entire gang – Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Jed Mercurio – are “very keen” to get back on set, especially since the last season was filmed indoors. “It wasn’t that fun. We couldn’t hang out, we couldn’t go out. We were all kind of in a bubble, so it just didn’t feel the same – which is one of the reasons I want to do another one.”
The long-awaited and ultimately divisive reveal in last season’s finale was about the identity of H, with the AC-12 discovering that it was Ian Buckels, a nondescript police detective supervisor. Some fans weren’t too happy with the ending, and even Dunbar himself said in interviews earlier this year that Buckels wasn’t actually the culprit behind the iconic letter, telling Radio Times magazine that he was just “the bloke”.
As for the actor’s views on H now, he says, “Well, that’s the big question. I think the ending, whether it’s someone’s H or not, is interesting.
“The ending was a good ending because what Jed said, I think, was that you don’t need Mr. Big, a mastermind who orchestrated a lot of this stuff. All it takes is one cop willing to miss work that day for a criminal tip to turn a blind eye to some piece of information that will screw up the plan they have.”
“Little things, little indiscretions by police officers, by crooked backers if you will, that really makes the difference to criminal organizations – not big pieces of information,” he continued.
To that extent, Buckels was the perfect person to pin the H on. go through a 10-year streak. It just doesn’t work that way.”
He adds that it’s an “interesting place” for creator Jed Mercurio to pull from if he decides to do it. — The place where we are is interesting.
Meanwhile, Dunbar is happy to take Ted Hastings on a solo adventure for the Line of Duty spin-off. “You will always be in the market for consideration for whatever people throw at you. So I mean that would be interesting. Yes is the answer to that, I guess.’
Returning to My Ireland, the show is yet to visit Belfast – which hardcore LoD fans will know is where the hit BBC drama was filmed. Can we expect the show to take us on a Line of Duty tour? “We haven’t done any of the cities yet. This is also of interest. It could be a whole series.”
Adrian Dunbar’s My Ireland airs on November 23 on Channel 5 at 8pm.
If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, or visit our Documentary Center for all the latest news.
The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is now on sale – Subscribe now. For more from TV’s biggest stars, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.
[ad_2]
Source link