Frankie Drake Mysteries: Laurence Fox interview

The star of the hugely successful Inspector Morse spin-off, Lewis, makes a memorable guest appearance in the first thrilling episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries.

Laurence Fox interview

Tell us about your character, Greg Miller...

He's quite enigmatic and mysterious, which was fun to play. He works as an engineer and a plane mechanic, but he doesn't like going up in the air, for whatever reason. He's a bit cynical about these show-off aeroplaners so he's obviously had some sort of chequered past and I suspect something bad happened to him during the war.

What's his relationship like with Frankie?

At the beginning, she's a bit suspicious of him. But then, towards the end, there is a little bit of Frankie flirting going on! He saves the day, in many ways. Not as often as she does, but he does save the day and helps her. It's an all-female leading line-up, but when Frankie needs a man to talk to, she goes and hits up Greg.

How was filming?

It was a great gig - sat in an airfield all day drinking bubbles, having a giggle. It was a real airfield and there were some amazing planes out there, as well as some old boys sat around with bomber jackets on, who looked like they probably shot down plenty of planes in their day! I got to sit and watch aeroplanes flying and twirling around - it was like a great day out as a child, having my own free air show.

And what about the period details?

It was really good - they had hundreds of cars, and a load of gear that I was surprised to find. Apart from one of the cars which decided to set itself on fire at one point! But the Canadians are pretty chilled, so they just went "Er, the car's on fire. Guys, shall we get out of the car?" It was only a tiny little fire...

What did you think of Greg's fashion sense?

I loved my character's style, right up until I saw the baddie's outfit which was a beautiful white suit. And then I thought "why don't I get a white suit?" I'm always jealous of a man in a white suit. But I really liked my suit and think I pulled it off well. And I particularly loved my hat and wore it as much as possible.

The girls are something of action heroes in the show - did you get to do any stunts?

I got hit in the face with a wrench. It was foam, so it doesn't sound too bad, but it did hurt quite a bit! The stuntman set it all up really carefully and worked out how far away he was from me, but he still managed to sock me in the face. I said "don't worry about it" and bravely soldiered on.

How did you find working on such a female-led show?

It was great - it was much better, bring it on! I liked it. Often you can get a bit disappointed when you read a script and think "where are the female parts?" But this had great female leads and I liked this kind of role reversal. It was wonderful.

Could Greg return for Series Two?

If I remember correctly, the last thing I said, as I gave Frankie a rakish grin, was "maybe I could buy you a drink sometime?" And yes, I'd definitely be up for a little fly over to Toronto, eat some great food, go fishing. And the show is great! It's a fast-paced crime caper and good old-fashioned fun.