McDonald & Dodds is returning to ITV this month, and not only do Tala Gouveia and Jason Watkins’ detectives have four new cases to deal with, they’ve also got a new Chief Superintendent who’s set to stir things up.
Claire Skinner (Outnumbered) plays Ormond, who is described as mysterious, private and tough – and it seems those qualities might ruffle a few feathers amongst the squad.
Tala Gouveia spoke about how things will be shaken up, saying that her character DCI Lauren McDonald “was quite settled in season 2, but now we have a new boss, CSI Ormond, played by Claire Skinner, who is a fabulous actress”.
“So just as McDonald was getting comfortable, she now has to prove herself again and try to figure out who this new boss is, what her agenda is and whether she can trust her.”
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She teased that Ormond’s arrival “puts McDonald on the back foot a little bit” because “she can’t quite work her out and she can’t tell if her comments are compliments or criticism”.
Gouveia continued: “McDonald and Dodds have a real rhythm of working at this stage, and a good trust in their professional partnership, but that trust gets tested this season, which is always fun to play.
“Someone comes back from McDonald’s past, who causes some issues between her and Dodds and tests where everyone’s loyalties lie. And then in the last film, which is a really exciting one with multiple murders, the murderer is playing games with them, which also manages to cause a rift.”
Meanwhile, Gouveia’s co-star Jason Watkins noted that Ormond is particularly “firm” with his character Dodds, because while she “has a connection with McDonald, and she’s rooting for her”, she wants Dodds to “come up to speed a bit”.
He explained: “I think she touches on Dodds’ insecurities about being near the end of his career. In comes this rather dynamic, incisive new head of the police station and it puts extra pressure on him to be seen to be playing by the conventional rules of detective work, as opposed to his slightly left of centre way of looking at things.”
Asked whether Dodds fears for his job following Ormond’s arrival, Watkins replied: “Yes – I think he always fears for his job.
“He’s lucky to be in his current position, he got there almost by accident but ended up excelling and having a flourish in his career, simply by solving cases. And I think that led to him being reborn, realising he has a new life ahead of him and that he’s good at what he does.
“But even when things are going well, he worries about messing up. He thinks it would be easy for the bosses to get rid of him because he’s older and maybe doesn’t fulfil the protocol a younger officer might.”
The first episode of this series sees Alan Davies (QI) guest star as George Gillan, a linguistic anthropologist who lives in a rambling mansion which appears to have something to do with a murder committed in a park in broad daylight.
McDonald & Dodds season 3 starts at 8pm on Sunday 19th June on ITV and ITV Hub. Check out our Drama hub for more news, interviews and features or find something to watch with our TV guide.
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