New Street Law - new legal drama for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ ONE
Lisa Faulkner plays Laura Scammell
Lisa Faulkner was well-briefed for her role as pupil barrister
Laura Scammell in ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ ONE's gripping, contemporary legal drama series
New Street Law.
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But the flaxen-haired actress found her introduction to the judicial system not at all what she expected. She tells about the misconceptions she put in the dock – and delivers her verdict on the new drama that starts this week.
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"I managed to get to court and shadow a female barrister for a day, which was absolutely fascinating and really dispelled the myths," explains Lisa.
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"You have this idea that it's all very upright and you have to be very polite and not talk in front of the judge. But actually, people are talking and looking back; it's not at all like being in an exam, which I felt it was going to be – like being in a schoolroom with a really scary teacher!" she laughs.
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"It's very different, so the research was very valuable. And to know what we're meant to be doing at certain times meant I got a lot out of it," she adds.
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Authenticity is at the heart of this innovative drama.
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"We all very much wanted it to be a truthful portrayal of the legal system and of the courts," declares Lisa. "I think the main challenge was making it look as real as possible and actually fronting it as barristers."
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John Hannah and John Thomson head the cast in New Street Law, which follows the exploits and cases of two rival barristers' chambers in the heart of Manchester.
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Hannah stars as Jack Roper, a young barrister from a working-class background. He turned down a lucrative job offer from his mentor, Laurence Scammell, QC (Paul Freeman), head of Manchester's leading prosecution chambers, in favour of defence-only work.
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Jack's own firm is made up of old friend Al Ware (Chris Gascoyne); lovable chancer Charlie Darling (John Thomson); no-nonsense Annie Quick (Lara Cazalet); and cocky Joe Stevens (Lee Williams).
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Jack's confidence grows with every case he wins and he rapidly threatens Laurence's firmly established position in the legal community – something that Laurence's ruthlessly ambitious barrister wife, Honor (Penny Downie), is determined to prevent.
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She is also jealous of Laura, her attractive and increasingly
confident daughter.
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"There's quite a bit of family conflict," hints Lisa. "When I first read the script, I thought that all the characters were great. It was a fantastic new way of looking at courtroom drama and I'd never played somebody who'd been on such a journey before.
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"She [Laura] starts off in one place and ends the series
completely in another. She grows in confidence."
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Although Laura has joined the family chambers, she's aware she needs to establish her independence.
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"She has a passion for the law, but her dad doesn't do things the way she does them, whereas Jack does," explains Lisa. "So she has a huge admiration for Jack and I think would rather go his way than her dad's."
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Lisa, 33 and married to her Burn It co-star Chris Coghill, is a familiar face to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ viewers. She appeared in Dangerfield and Casualty before starring in Holby City as Dr Victoria Merrick, a character destined for a gory fate when she was stabbed to death.
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As MI5 officer Helen in the top-rated ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ drama Spooks, Lisa's
exit was even more gruesome – her head was plunged into a vat of boiling
oil.
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Her main trial in New Street Law is her barrister's wig. "It's very itchy and I don't like it," she states categorically. "We're going to be shooting the next series throughout the summer and, in the wigs and gowns, we're going to be red and boiling!"
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It may have been a case of silence in court on some occasions, but there was plenty of merriment, mainly due to John Thomson.
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"He is constantly telling jokes," recalls Lisa, smiling. "And he has this brilliant ability to then be able, when they say 'action', to turn it off and just work, whereas we're all left in hysterics, trying to get it together. It's very funny and he makes me laugh."
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As evidence, Lisa produces the story of John and Lara telling the cast that there was a New Street Law theme song.
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"They started singing this song, which they'd both made up, with all these brilliant lyrics and we all believed them, which was hilarious," she says.
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When Lisa was 16 she was approached by a modelling scout outside a Tube station
which led to her first taste of life in front of the cameras. But there was
never any doubt that she'd be stepping off the catwalk.
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Would she have preferred to be a designer-draped clothes horse?
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"Absolutely no way," she declares emphatically. "It was a real means to an end. I did it for about three years and it was really the teen magazines.
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"I wasn't the world's best model in any way. I was too
busy enjoying my life and eating what I wanted to go down that route. To
me, it was just a means of getting some money to put myself through drama
school."
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She thinks carefully about her ideal role.
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"Every role that I get is ideal," she admits. "You go for meetings for it, then I spend the whole time praying that I'm going to get this job and I'll never ask for anything else.
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"So this is the best part: I get it, I do it, I love it and then I move on. Every part I've played I've thoroughly enjoyed and this part [Laura], I'm loving her.
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"I'm so excited as to where she's going because there's so much scope with this character."
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Lisa reveals: "I suppose if there was any role that I'd love to play it would be Scarlett O'Hara. She was my absolute heroine when I was younger.
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"I just thought she was such a mixture of being young
and haughty and high maintenance of the highest kind. She just looks such
great fun to play, and really different."
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Frankly, my dear. this talented young actress does give a damn...
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