Clocking Off

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Production notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Cast and production credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Synopses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Interviews with the cast

Nicola Stephenson plays Suzie Davidson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Pam Ferris plays Pat Fletcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Keith Barron plays Roy Fletcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Claire Sweeney plays Katrina Wilkes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Clocking Off

Clocking Off 3

Claire Sweeney, Pam Ferris and Keith Barron jointhe cast of Paul Abbott’s BAFTA award-winningdrama series Clocking Off, which is back for a fourthseries on BBC One, from Red Production Company.

Ferris plays new factory boss, Pat, and Barron playsher husband Roy.The familiar faces of factoryworkers Kev (Jack Deam), Suzie (NicolaStephenson), Freda (Joan Kempson), Barney (BenCrompton) and Ade (Tony Mooney) are joined byother new cast members.They include Hugo Speer(Hearts & Bones) as Suzie’s old flame Stuart; DerekRiddell (The Book Group) as Jamie, Suzie’s fiancé;Branka Katic (Auf Wiedersehen, Pet) as PR girl Maya;Mark Benton (Breezeblock) as new recruit Colin,whose domineering wife Katrina is played by ClaireSweeney (Brookside); and Mark Womack (LiverpoolOne) as nurse, Lewis.

“The fourth series is full of the messy, passionateand tender daily dramas of everyday life,” saysproducer Juliet Charlesworth.“Former boss Mack’sdeparture also makes way for Pat, who looks tohave the perfect life with the perfect marriage, untilwe meet her husband and his crippling addiction.”

Clocking Off is produced by Red ProductionCompany for BBC One. Juliet Charlesworth isproducer and the executive producers are NicolaShindler (Red) and Mike Dormer (BBC). ClockingOff writers Daniel Brocklehurst (whose two-partdrama The Stretford Wives starring Fay Ripley wasshown recently on BBC One) and John Fay arejoined by Bill Gallagher (Four Fathers) and RichardZajdlic (This Life).The directors are Brian Grant andBrian Percival.

The previous series of Clocking Off, shown last year,continued to attract considerable critical acclaim.The Daily Mail called it “a potent and effectiveformat, strengthened by a terrific cast and top-notch scripts,” The Guardian described it as “Stillthe BBC’s best drama by far,” and Radio Times said“One of the pleasures of Clocking Off is thatnothing ever works out quite as you’d expect, andnothing is ever completely rosy.”

4Clocking Off

Introduction

Clocking Off

Mackintosh Textiles has a new boss – Pat Fletcher(played by Pam Frerris) – and things are set tochange. For the first time a female boss takes thereigns – how will the close-knit workforce deal withnot only a stranger, but a woman at the helm?

“From the outset Pat creates a new atmosphere.The old boss, Mack, was one of the crowd. It washis father’s factory and they’d all grown up with him,but Pat is from a management background. Sheappears open and warm, but she’s got steel runningthrough her.There’ll be more conflict in the factorynow, rather than the safe relationships theemployees enjoyed with Mack,” commentsexecutive producer Nicola Shindler.

In this new work culture, Clocking Off continuesapace, amplifying the dramas of everyday life.Seamlessly blending the regular characters with thenewcomers punching their cards for the first time,Clocking Off exposes the reality of the workmates’lives.As the threads start to unwind, it begs thequestion – do you really know those who areclosest to you?

“Paul Abbott created such a core of strong andcompelling characters, a great base out of whicheach series grows, that many of the new writers liketo pick up on them,” adds Shindler.

This new series examines the challenges facingcharacters new and old – Suzie struggles with herconscience on the eve of her wedding to Jamie.Factory favourite Kev confronts his demons after acar accident renders him with epilepsy; and Fredabattles with her emotions as her standing in thefactory and new-found romance are threatened.Asevents spiral out of control, can she keep it together?

Clocking on for the new series is Pam Ferris, whoseapparently perfect life as the factory boss is not allit seems. Joining Pam is Mark Benton as Colin, oneof life's simple souls, who is looking forward to thebirth of his first child with wife Katrina. Howeverwhen his priorities are divided, his actions insupport of his brother threaten the future of hisfamily.“I think the stories in this series areincredible.We give the cast and crew enough spaceto make it their own – it’s not a format show. Each

story really has a life of its own,” says producerJuliet Charlesworth.

Clocking Off is produced by Red ProductionCompany for BBC One.“One of the joys ofworking with Red Production Company is that theynever accept second best when it comes to writersand production values. Once again they haveassembled a superlative team of writers to carrythis groundbreaking drama forward,” says MikeDormer, BBC Drama executive producer.

Pam Ferris plays Pat Fletcher, Nicola Stephensonplays Suzie, Derek Riddell plays Jamie, Hugo Speerplays Stuart, Jack Deam plays Kev, Joan Kempsonplays Freda, Mark Benton plays Colin and ClaireSweeney plays Katrina.

“Clocking Off was never intended to be a singlewriter’s voice,” says Shindler.“The idea that PaulAbbott and I had was to create a modern Play ForToday and encourage different writers to write asingle film. Because of the environment ofbroadcasting at the moment, the stories needed tobe set in a single precinct – that is where thefactory comes in. Ever since the first series we haveapproached respected writers and new talentoffering them the chance to write their owncompletely fresh story every week.We have had theprivilege of starting the careers of some great newyoung writers.

“The core of television drama has always been thewriting – what people want is good stories.Writinghas always been the star of Clocking Off, and that isits strength.There are very few dramas on televisionthat have this single format, and that is why we needit,” adds Shindler.

The BAFTA award-winning drama series, comprisingsix distinct and self-contained dramas, begins onBBC One in early March. Clocking Off’s strength hasalways lain with extraordinary writing talents at itscore.“The opportunity it gives writers in thecurrent climate of television is unique,” observeswriter Richard Zajdlic.

Through the first three series of Clocking Off a greatvariety of writers have contributed to the

5Clocking Off

Production notes

Production notes

programme’s eclectic mix: John Fay, DanielBrocklehurst, Jan McVerry, Matt Greenhalgh andPeter Bowker.This new series sees Bill Gallagherand Richard Zajdlic join the team.

In addition to working on previous series ofClocking Off, Daniel Brocklehurst’s other creditsinclude The Stretford Wives (BBC) and Linda Green(BBC). Bill Gallagher’s work includes Chandler & Co.(BBC) and Out Of The Blue (BBC). Up and comingwriter John Fay has written previously for Brookside(C4) and Coronation Street (ITV), as well asextensive work for theatre.

Matt Greenhalgh’s new 10-part series for BBCThree, Burn It, started on the new channel’s launchnight, Sunday 9 February. Peter Bowker’s single filmFlesh And Blood, in which Christopher Ecclestonplayed a father adopted at birth who discovers thathis birth parents had learning difficulties, was shownlast autumn on BBC Two to considerable criticalacclaim. Both Burn It and Flesh And Blood wereproduced by Red Production Company.

Writer Richard Zajdlic writes for Clocking Off forthe first time. Previously he has written attachments(BBC Two) and This Life (BBC Two – winner of theWriter’s Guild, Royal Television Society, and SouthBank Awards and BAFTA nominated).

6Clocking Off

Production notes

7Clocking Off

Cast

Clocking Off

Cast

Roy Fletcher Colin Wilkes Faz Usmani Kev Leach

Barney Watson Pat Fletcher Babs Leach

Maya Lazarevic Freda Wilson

Hannah Phillips Gary Dugdale

Grace Eastwood Ade Cameron

Jamie Campbell Sam Davidson Stuart Savage

Suzie Davidson Katrina Wilkes

Jackie O’Farrell

Keith BarronMark Benton Sushil ChudasamaJack Deam Ben CromptonPam FerrisAshley JensonBranka KaticJoan KempsonKatisha KenyonMarshall LancasterLisa MillettTony MooneyDerek Riddell Nicholas Sidi Hugo Speer Nicola StephensonClaire SweeneyPaula Wolfenden

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Production Credits

Written by

Directed byProduced by

Executive producers

Juliet Casting Directors

Directors of Photography

Production Designer Costume Designer Make-up Designer

Sound by Dubbing Mixer

Editors

Script Editor

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Daniel BrocklehurstJohn Fay Bill GallagherRichard ZajdlicBrian Grant and Brian PercivalJuliet CharlesworthNicola Shindler (Red)Mike Dormer (BBC)Beverly Keogh David ShawWitold Stock and Peter Morgan Marius Van Der Werff John Krausa Jill Sweeney Dennis Cartwright John Whitworth Fiona Colbeck andCharles Alexander Caroline Hollick

Episode One

Suzie Davidson is getting married to the man ofher dreams. So why does she do a bunk out of thebathroom window in full wedding dress, leavinghusband-to-be Jamie heartbroken at the altar? Isshe still in love with her bad-boy ex, Stuart? Suziegoes on a journey of the heart to find out thetruth.

Episode Two

New boss Pat Fletcher starts to turn around thefactory’s ailing fortunes. But as the behaviour ofher alcoholic, gambling husband Roy escalates, Patfinds herself faced with a shocking dilemma.

Episode Three

New dad Kev is hit by a car, leaving him sufferingfrom epilepsy. But the real threat comes from Kev’sreckless obsession with the driver, exotic SerbianMaya Lazarevic.What will Kev do when hediscovers that Maya’s feelings for him are not whatthey seem?

Episode Four

Bumbling service hand Colin is always the butt ofeveryone's jokes. His disturbed younger brotherMark, however, hero-worships him. So when Markis arrested on suspicion of attacking a male nurseat his care home, no-one is surprised that Colin'sthe only person insisting that Mark is innocent.But is Colin covering up something far moreunexpected?

Episode Five

Hapless secretary Grace has a crush on cutter Faz,much to the horror of her BNP-voting dad, Dave,and Faz’s strict Moslem father Mehmood. Grace isconvinced it’s only racist bigotry keeping her andFaz apart, but Faz himself has other ideas…

Episode Six

Freda is the best machinist at Mackintosh’s, and iswell-loved by all her colleagues. But when bossPat Fletcher seems to get in her way of apromotion at work, and a second chance at love,all Freda’s insecurities come to the surface. Shestarts a campaign of secret harassment against Pat.It’s not long before things have got out of hand,and Freda finds she’s unwittingly put the future ofthe whole factory in jeopardy in a dramatic finalepisode.

8Clocking Off

Synopses

Episode synopses – the threads unravel…

Nicola Stephenson is thrilled to reprise her role asfork-lift truck driver Suzie.“Clocking Off examinesall aspects of real, down-to-earth life. It deals withmad, life-changing stuff with a sense of humour.People use humour every day to get themselvesthrough all the crap life throws at them!

“Suzie’s moved on a bit since the last series,” saysStephenson.“She was a very strong, independent,feisty woman, but with a hint of sadness, lonelinessand sometimes desperation because what she reallywanted was a man. But this year she’s engaged toJamie so she seems to be much more settled andsecure. However, what you see is those deep-rooted insecurities that have never gone away,resurfacing.”

Despite baulking at the altar, Suzie knows deepdown that Jamie is the man for her:“She’s found anamazing man. She has all these problems and hereally stands by her. She just doesn’t believe thatshe is worthy – people can self destruct when theydon’t have the confidence to believe they can be agood person, and that’s exactly what she does,”observes Stephenson.

Stephenson feels that people will relate to theemotions that her character goes through followingthe breakdown of Suzie and Jamie’s relationship:“Ithink everyone who watches it will know what it islike because everyone’s been through that – whenyou split up with someone it’s all you think aboutthroughout the whole day.”

9Clocking Off

Nicola Stephenson

Nicola Stephensonplays Suzie Davidson

Pam Ferris turns the factory on its head as newboss Pat Fletcher.“I was offered a storyline so goodand so original that I accepted it before the scriptwas even written,” explains Ferris.“I think that ofall television series, Clocking Off has kept itsstandards consistently high through three series.That made me think that whoever was working onit at the top were good people.”

There are two very distinct sides to Pat Fletcher.Underneath her efficient exterior is a woman witha wild home life.“As far as she’s concerned, it’s abalanced way of living,” says Ferris.“On the onehand she’s running a business in a very efficient,crisp manner, but – unbeknown to everyone – she’salso nursing a hangover because she’s been up latepartying with her husband, who’s a bit of a bingedrinker.”

Pat is very different to the soft touch Mack used tobe, and to some people this comes as a bit of ashock.“I think she’s an excellent boss,” exclaimsFerris.“Because the big firm who now own thefactory are taking a gamble on her running it, shefinds a talent in management that she didn’t knowshe had, as she’d only ever been an accountantbefore. She also discovers that she really enjoysdoing it.”

Playing Pat Fletcher brought a change of look forPam Ferris, as she has bleached blonde hair.“I hatedbeing blonde!” she laughs.“I’d gone blonde for theplay I did before Clocking Off, in which I was a verydrunken, tough Belfast barmaid and I wanted thatbrittle, dried look with dark roots. I’m really glad tobe back to my natural colour now filming’sfinished!”

“My new project is a film called Gladiatress, in whichI play Mrs Goatsplitter who tells the future fromgoat’s entrails and wears a small goatie beard and alot of warts! It’s not one of my more glamorousroles. Next year I’ll be doing something calledRosemary And Thyme, which is a series with FelicityKendall from the makers of Poirot.”

10Clocking Off

Pam Ferris

Pam Ferrisplays Pat Fletcher

11Clocking Off

Keith Barron

Keith Barron joins the cast of Clocking Off for oneepisode this series, playing Pat’s drunken, Elvis-obsessed husband Roy Fletcher.“Roy’s a desperateman,” says Barron.“He’s a liar, a drunk, a cheat – allthose things I find very attractive to play!”

Pat and Roy’s is a familiar story, he explains.“She’srisen above him in life, and he’s desperately clawingat her to come back. But they do have this verystrong, long lasting bond. He’s really quite proud ofwhat she’s doing, even if he can only see it througha blur of alcohol.

“I think Roy knows what a precarious position heis in,” continues Barron.“But the strength of whatthey have together prevents a total relationshipmeltdown.” When Roy suffers a devastating brainhaemorrhage, Pat is faced with the prospect ofnursing him for the rest of his life.“If it hadn’thappened, I think they would have gone on as theywere, but this forces Pat to break free.”

Barron is currently filming Where The Heart Is – “Ilove it, I don’t know why, but I just love it. It’s avery strange animal! It’s a great crew. Like ClockingOff, you look forward to going to work and that’swhen the best work happens.”

Keith Barronplays Roy Fletcher

12Clocking Off

Claire Sweeney

“Any actress who gets asked to go onto ClockingOff would be mad not to because it’s the bestdrama on the BBC,” says Claire Sweeney – whoguest stars as Katrina, Colin’s wife.

“Katrina is quite a domineering character, althoughshe has an unassuming side. However, if any of herfamily or her private life comes under threat, she’sfiery and takes control of the situation. I couldreally relate to that, because although I am quite aplacid person, if anyone close to me is threatened Ispark up. Physically she’s very different to me, andLindsey Corkhill, as she’s eight months pregnant fora start.”

Despite the padding, Claire feels she adapted to thephysical side of her role well: “It was great and notbeing glamorous just doesn’t bother me. If it’s rightfor the part, then bring it on. It was incrediblycomfortable – no make-up and dungarees!”

“Mark was a threat to her security,” commentsSweeney, acknowledging that Katrina comesbetween the brothers by bringing pressure to bearon Colin.“I think she went with her instincts. Shewas protecting her family unit – she didn’t wantColin admitting to anything that would jeopardiseher perfect family life.A motherly instinct is toprotect and that’s what she was doing, andwhatever it took she was going to do it.”

Since Brookside, Claire hasn’t looked back,“I’ve hadsome incredible opportunities – Chicago and thenentertaining the troops – some of those guys hadbeen in the desert for four months and it was abrilliant atmosphere.As well as the Irish NationalLottery campaign, performing at Royal Albert Hall,it’s been an incredibly exciting time.”

Claire Sweeneyplays Katrina