Former New Tricks star Amanda Redman is back on TV in a three-part crime drama called The Trials of Jimmy Rose (watch a preview below) and says she was instantly drawn to her character, Jackie.
“She fascinated me because she’s like Mrs Soprano in The Sopranos. She knows what her husband is doing, but as long as her life isn’t affected then she doesn’t care, which is something I can’t relate to at all,” Amanda says in the Daily Express.
What her gangster husband Jimmy has been doing is prison time for armed robbery.
Now he’s getting out and Jackie’s not sure if she loves him any more.
But it’s very clear how Amanda feels about working with Ray Winstone, who plays Jimmy.
“As soon as I heard Ray would be my on-screen husband it was a no-brainer,” Amanda says.
“Then Marion [Bailey] was cast as my sister. We’ve been best friends since we worked together in 1985. It was the dream line-up!”
Amanda’s other dream job is working for the Artists Theatre School in Ealing, West London, which she founded 20 years ago and was rewarded for her efforts with an MBE in 2012.
“I get such a kick out of watching young actors develop,” Amanda says. “I just love it. It’s such a joy to see the next generation of talent coming through.”
The Trials of Jimmy Rose starts on ITV, Sunday, August 30, 9.00pm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onywPAEd3Zo
