Downton Abbey’s Joanne Froggatt has revealed how it felt to play an “antagonist” Conservative councillor in new BBC One drama Sherwood.
Set in a Nottinghamshire mining village, the show’s cast of characters includes Sarah (Froggatt), who’s campaigning to be a local councillor. However, her political views differ from the bulk of her community.
Speaking at the series press launch attended by RadioTimes.com and other outlets, Froggatt discussed researching the miners’ strikes in the 1980s, which form an important backdrop to the series and to the fabric of the local community portrayed.
“Obviously as you can see, my character is striving to be the Tory councillor, so she might be – you could say she’s an antagonist in the story,” she said.
“For me, being four years old in 1984, I was obviously too young to have any possible understanding of what was happening [with the miners’ strikes], but even at that young age, I have vague memories of seeing news footage… It was very prevalent in my childhood.”
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“Sarah is campaigning to be the local councillor so she’s very politically aware,” she added.
“Her political views differ from the bulk of her community because she is campaigning as a Conservative in a predominantly working-class area, a hard Labour constituency. Ashfield has a history with mining and was hugely impacted in the 80s by Thatcher and the miners’ strikes.”
The official synopsis for the series reads: “Inspired in part by real events, set in a Nottinghamshire mining village at the heart of Sherwood lie two shocking and unexpected killings that shatter an already fractured community and spark a massive manhunt.
“As suspicion and antipathy build – both between lifelong neighbours and towards the police forces who descend on the town – the tragic killings threaten to inflame historic divisions sparked during the miners’ strike three decades before.”
Sherwood will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Drama hub for the latest news.
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