Endeavour series 4: Cast Interviews - Shaun Evans
Q: What can we expect from the new series and where do we find Endeavour at the beginning?
“We pick up two weeks after we left off last time and it’s business as usual. In the first episode, a number of people have died and it all seems to be in the same way - they’ve all been found drowned. However, by the end something slightly different has taken place.”
“At the beginning of the series, Endeavour is obviously also gutted that he didn’t pass his sergeant’s exams - he’s fuming ‐ and I think that’s one of the main conflicts and character arcs that drives through this series, then comes into its own in the final episode.”
Q: The end of the last series saw an emotional goodbye to Joan Thursday. What affect has this had on both Endeavour and the Thursday family?
“I think everyone is quite private about it. They don’t talk about it but obviously Thursday is gutted that his kids have left home. And Endeavour is devastated that he felt that he was in love with someone and then she left. Because of the time, Thursday doesn’t know that Endeavour has feelings for her and this does add a certain degree of tension.”
Q: How is his relationship with Thursday in Series 4?Is there tension between them following Joan’s departure?
“They’re finding it hard to get on at the beginning of this series as Thursday is obviously missing his daughter and he doesn’t know that Endeavour had feelings for her so that creates a sense of conflict between them.”
Q: What do you feel the stories being set in the late 1960s brings to the drama?
“I think it’s the absence of any technology that separates the series. Nowadays, you could just text someone or look for forensic evidence, whereas the show is more about thinking, speaking and finding clues out in that way. That’s where the drama comes from and if it was murder detective story set now it would obviously be very, very different.”
Q: You’ve filmed in some brilliant locations again this series. Which did you enjoy most?
“I always look forward to Oxford, we are so lucky - we go to amazing places every couple of days - but my favourite to go is always Oxford. We don’t do all of it in Oxford, only three or four days per episode, and I just really like it as a location.
Q: You film in some of the most iconic colleges in Oxford. What’s that like?
“It was good. The architecture in the first one we used - St Catherine’s College - was different from ones we’ve used before. It was much more modern which fits into the idea of the story well. It’s just a small thing but I think when you’re in an ongoing drama, you have to keep it fresh as much as you can rather than using the same colleges. St Catherine’s is a beautifully designed place.”
Q: What is your favourite film of the new series and why?
“I don’t really have a favourite as they’re all so different. It’s the directors really that have a say on what the final films turn out like but ultimately each of them is a great experience and there’s not one I prefer more than the others to be honest.”
Q: Do you try to guess the culprit as you read the scripts? If so, do you ever get it right?
“On first reading, I tend to just look at the story itself. Sometimes I do guess who it is, but then you have to be attuned to that. If it’s obvious, I make a point of saying it is and highlighting the point where I knew who the killer was as you don’t want the audience to feel like that. You need to be in it but also have a distance.”
Q: 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of Morse on ITV. How does it feel to be part of such a well-loved British institution?
“It feels really good. I tend to just come in and do my day’s work and feel very lucky and privileged that I can.”
Q: Why do you think audiences love this character so much?
“I think they’re good stories told well.”
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