Tapper suggests Survivors series two ‘much darker’

In an interview on the Digital Spy site, Survivors actress Zoë Tapper suggests that series two of the show is starker and bleaker than its predecessor.

Says Tapper: “I think – if this is possible – that this series is much darker than the last… There’s a lot of action and high emotion. I think people are going to be left on the edge of their seats because there’s some brilliant cliffhangers and some great writing.”

In the interview, Tapper refutes the rumour that the spectre of Swine Flu will have the effect of delaying the scheduling of Survivors series two.

Tapper is interviewed to promote her new series Desperate Romantics which begins on BBC2 on 21 July.

Max Beesley on the Paul O’Grady chat show

Survivors actor Max Beesley briefly discussed his character (Tom Price) and plans for series two during an appearance on the Paul O’Grady Show on Channel 4 on 21 May 2009.

The interview is available on the 4OD service until 20 June 2009. Beesley joins O’Grady 19mins into the show.

As Beesley is sporting a lengthier hair style than that required for the character of Price, this would suggest that filming on Survivors series two had not started at the time the interview was recorded.

Many thanks to Adrian H for alerting the blog on this one.

Julie Graham on GMTV this morning

As part of the promotional work to support the release of the first series of the new Survivors on DVD (the three-disc set was released yesterday), actress Julie Graham (Abby Grant) was interviewed on the GMTV programme on ITV1 this morning.

The online video of her appearance omits the brief extract from episode one that was shown as part of the live broadcast of the programme.

Zoë Tapper – SFX profile

A two-page profile of Survivors actress Zoë Tapper appears in the February 2009 edition of SFX (No. 179). The interview focuses, in the main, on Tapper’s work in the ITV’s supernatural Saturday tea-time yarn Demons.

Tota SciFi – Nikki Amuka-Bird interview

A new interview with Survivors actor Nikki Amuka-Bird (Samantha Willis) is available on the Total SciFi web site. In it she suggests:

In Survivors, you don’t know who to trust. The other survivors could be dangerous. Everything has now become a luxury, whether it’s food, water or shelter, and while you’d expect people to all come together and help each other, that’s not exactly how it happens. The whole thing has a thriller quality to it. It’s a little bit suspenseful, and you’re not sure where it’s going.

BBC Four to repeat ‘Cult of… Survivors’ – 16 December 2008

The well-received 2006 BBC documentary on the original series The Cult of… Survivors is to be repeated on BBC Four at 10.00pm on 16 December 2008. The transmission will follow straight-on from the broadcast of the penultimate episode of the new series on BBC One.

As well as clips from across the three series, the documentary features interviews with Ian McCulloch (Greg), Carolyn Seymour (Abby), Lucy Fleming (Jenny), director Pennant Roberts and scriptwriter Martin Worth.

The documentary is also included as a special feature on the three-series DVD boxset released in November.

Julie Graham interview – Sunday People

In an article entitled ‘Apocalypse? Wow!’ in the Sunday People (7 December 2008), Jon Wise interviews Survivors actress Julie Graham, who describes her work on the show, along with her attitudes to family, relationships, children and the vagaries of the acting profession.

***SPOILER*** In the article, Graham reveals a plot development in an upcoming episode.

Richard and Judy – Watch TV – Survivors feature

Survivors actors Zoë Tapper and Nikki Amuka-Bird were interviewed on Watch TV’s Richard and Judy’s New Position on Friday 5 December, in a slot which featured clips from episodes one and two of the new series.

Original series actor Lucy Fleming (who played the role of Jenny Richards) was also briefly interviewed, alongside a clip from the series three episode Manhunt (featuring Jenny, Charles [Denis Lill] and Hubert [John Abineri]). Asked for her view on the new series, Fleming said:

I’m really enjoying it. I find it really difficult to judge, actually, because I know the characters a bit and I know the story a bit, but it’s all different. It’s brilliant for the modern generation to do it [like that], to make it real for them. Good luck to them.

Zoë Tapper, Nikki Amuka-Bird (left); Lucy Fleming (right)

Max Beesley interview – TV & Satellite Week

A one page interview with Survivors actor Max Beesley (Tom Price) appears in the new issue of TV & Satellite Week (6-12 December).

Asked about the likelihood of a second series for the show, says Beesley:

I hope so, and I’ll be surprised if there isn’t. The stories are interesting and people are really going to buy into the concept.

Zoë Tapper and Nikki Amuka-Bird to appear on Watch TV

Survivors actors Zoë Tapper and Nikki Amuka-Bird are due to appear on chat-show Richard and Judy’s New Position on Watch TV, in an edition to be recorded on Wednesday 3 December.

BBC launches Survivors Interactive

The BBC Survivors web site has launched Survivors Interactive. This new site (which requires Flash software, and which seems to work far better in Internet Explorer than Firefox) includes interviews with actors; clips from the programme; and original in-character pieces-to-camera. The interactive component is based on visitors selecting characters from the show and then answering either/or dilemma-based questions, which are then profiled into survivor ‘types’ as they ‘journey’ through the post-plague environment.

BBC Survivors interactive

BBC adds video content to Survivors web site

New video content has been added to the BBC Survivors web site, including:

1. Episode one extract: ‘Abby searches for son Peter in the aftermath of the deadly viral attack’
2. Interview: ‘Actor Chanak Patel tells us why Najid’s faith is important to him
3. Context feature: ‘Ecologist Joaquin Hortal gives us expert advice on how to survive a disaster’

Paterson Joseph interviewed on BBC News site

A new interview interview with Paterson Joseph (Greg Preston) is available on the BBC News web site, Entertainment section.

What’s On TV web site – Survivors photos and video interviews

The web site of the What’s On TV listing magazine, includes a Survivors section, featuring a gallery of publicity photos and short new video interviews with Julie Graham, Zoe Tapper and Philip Rhys and Chahak Patel, (follow the link under the Latest Video heading to launch the video pop-up).

The interview is also available through the What’s On TV YouTube channel:

Many thanks to Adrian Hulme for alerting me to this content, and for all his continuing help with tracking down Survivors sources in print and on the web.

BBC Newsbeat site: Survivors preview

The BBC Newsbeat web site is offering a Survivors preview page. The feature ‘Bleak’ Survivors back on BBC includes a brief on-location video report, clearly shot on the same day that the BBC North West Inside Out Survivors report was filmed.

Zoe Tapper on Newsbeat's Survivors preview

Freema Ageyman interview – Surviving Doctor Who

In an interview in Daily Telegraph – ‘Surviving Doctor Who’ (22 November 2008), Freema Ageyman discusses her work on Doctor Who, Little Dorrit and Survivors.

Sky TV interview with Julie Graham

A brief interview with Julie Graham has been added to the Sky TV web site.

The feature also features promotional stills and brief interview quotations from all the main cast members.

Sky TV interview with Julie Graham

Digital Spy: five more cast interviews from the BBC Features day

The Digital Spy website has added five more video-interviews with Survivors cast members recorded at the BBC Features press day in London in September.

Featured in the interviews are: Paterson Joseph (Greg Preston); Shaun Dingwall (David Grant); Zoe Tapper (Anya); Nikki Amuka-Bird ; and Phillips Rhys (Al) & Chahak Patel (Najid).

BBC Breakfast news Survivors feature

A 2min-20sec news-story on Survivors was broadcast several times during today’s morning news programme BBC Breakfast on BBC One.

The story featured interviews with cast members including Philip Rhys (Al), Julie Graham (Abby Grant) and Paterson Joseph (Greg Preston); clips from the main BBC promotional trailer; and a brief extract from the opening episode of the original series The Fourth Horseman, focusing on the original Abby Grant – Carolyn Seymour.

Julie Graham, BBC Breakfast, 19 November 2008

TV guides promote Sunday’s first episode of Survivors

All of the main (and most of the minor) highstreet TV listings magazines (which are published today) feature promotional materials on Survivors ahead of the transmission of the first two episodes of the new series next week.

The features on offer include:

• Radio Times: ‘Fight to Survive’, (pp.20-24)
• Total TV Guide: ‘Grave new world’, (pp.4-5)
• TV & Satellite Week: ‘Survival of the fittest’, (pp.12-13)
• TV Choice: ‘Survival of the Fittest’, (pp.6-7)
• TV Easy: ‘Deadly drama!’, (p.5)
• TV Quick: ‘It’s the end of the world’, (pp.16-17)
• TV Times: ‘Life after death’, (pp.16-17)
• What’s On TV: ‘Killer Virus’, (p.15)

Total TV Guide is the only magazine to feature Survivors as its main cover photo.

Total TV Guide, 22-28 November 2008