RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other press, the actor revealed he was drawn to the role of Ed because he felt the intelligent way in which the script approached the issue might help audience members better understand the pain bereaved parents go through.<\/p> \u201cI have lost a child so I understand very much Ed\u2019s feelings,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd one of the reasons I wanted to take it on is because I thought it was so well mapped out in the piece and it was something that could connect with the audience and help them understand perhaps a little bit about bereaved parents and what they go through.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat one does in one\u2019s work is to try and help families reconcile what has happened and carry it with them and not bury it. I do a lot of that, of talking to fathers about not burying what has happened, being able to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watkins continued that the role was not a \u201ccathartic\u201d experience for him and admitted that some aspects of the series \u201cwere obviously very difficult\u201d.<\/p>\n
But he continued: \u201cYou did feel you\u2019re part of something that would help other people understand.\u200c People do need to talk about it, however difficult and painful it is\u2026 because keeping it bottled up inside\u2026 it will destroy you.\u201d<\/p>