Jessica Raine on the twists and turns in store as she joins Baptiste as a tough Europol investigator
Jessica Raine is tackling one of her most challenging parts to date as she joins BBC1 thriller Baptiste this week as Genevieve Taylor, a no-nonsense investigator with the EU’s law enforcement agency Europol. Genevieve causes ructions when she tries to commandeer Baptiste’s (Tchéky Karyo) investigation into a Romanian trafficking gang.
Here, Jessica Raine tells TV Times about her role in twisty thriller Baptiste…
TV Times: Has this been a very different role for you?
Jessica Raine: “Yes, because Genevieve’s hard and chippy and I haven’t been that before. She’s professional but not warm or likeable. I look different too with an undercut in my hair. I loved it! It was during last year’s heatwave and I’ve got thick hair so I just said, ‘Shave it off!’”
TVT: How do we first meet her?
JR: “Our first introduction is her being upset and vulnerable visiting a man in a hospital, but next time you see her, she’s striding into the police station so it’s an intriguing start and you wonder what it means. She’s been on this case for a long time and tries to pull rank, although she and Baptiste eventually find respect for each other. But she has a personal agenda…”
TVT: Is it hard keeping the twists a secret?
JR: “I’m good at keeping secrets! The plot is complicated though, you think it’s going along a certain track and then suddenly it goes 90 degrees and then 90 degrees again. If you’re leaving the room for a cup of tea, put it on pause, because you need to know everything!”
TVT: There’s lots of action in the show but you were pregnant during filming , was that tough?
JR: “Everything was do-able, I felt good because most of it was in the second trimester. There was a car stunt but we filmed things cleverly and if we needed another angle that might be dangerous, we used a stuntwoman. I felt taken care of and was pleased I could still be in the car screaming with bullets flying everywhere! It’s great showing that when women are pregnant they can still do things - the world doesn’t stop.”
TVT: What’s next for you?
JR: “I want to play it by ear after the baby is born and take some time because it’s an amazing period in your life. But I want to keep working so I’ll see what scripts come up and what can work. There are so many different characters out there - that’s what it’s all about for me.”
Baptiste continues on Sunday on BBC1 at 9pm
