Babylon interview with Jill Halfpenny

Who do you play, and what are they like?
I play Davina, who’s in the TSG [Territorial Support Group]. She’s married to Banjo, who’s in the Armed Response Unit, and she’s a really no-nonsense, straightforward, in-yer-face kind of woman.

What was it that attracted you to the project?
Honestly, it was everything. When you get the list through of who’s involved, from exec producer to director to writers, it’s a bit of a dream team. So it was everything. And then, on top of that, I read the scripts, and I loved the character. It was refreshing to play somebody like that.

Did you do much in the way of research for the role?
Actually, when we did the pilot, with Danny [Boyle], we did quite a bit. We had a lot of people coming in and chatting to us. We got taken to Gravesend to do some riot training with the police. We read books, we watched documentaries, and everything was made available to us if we wanted it. Danny gave us access to all of that.

Has your opinion of the job that the police do changed as a result of working on the show?
I think what’s changed for me is I’d never really considered the level of criticism that they come under. I’d probably been the one criticising before. I’d never really thought about the impact that would have, not only on them, but on their families as well. Even down to their children, who probably go to school the next day and have comments made to them about something that was on the news the night before. It’s a really tough job. But with the police I’ve spoken to, and in the books that I’ve read, it seems to be a compulsion for them – policemen and policewomen just have it in them. That’s what they want to do, and that’s why they put up with it.