MIDSOMER MURDERS
THE DOGLEG MURDERS
FILMING MEMORIES
Nicholas Le Prevost plays Jerry Drinkwater
Nicholas Le Prevost admits he had
never lifted a club before taking to the greens as arrogant golfer
Jerry Drinkwater in 'The Dogleg Murders'.
"I don't play golf so it was all totally new to me. I'm sure there will be golfers all over England telling me that I have swung my club the wrong way!
"We were given a bit of a lesson at the beginning by the club pro, and he was very positive about how useless we were. We had great fun, though, on the greens - it was a sheer delight and I had a rather good costume, as you might expect."
Nicholas is in no hurry to take up golf as a new sport, however. "I feel very wary of the golf clubs - and it's quite dangerous as the episode proves!"
Jerry is a member of the self-styled Silver Foxes, a group of 'friends' who own the latest kit and seem to delight in each other's misery.
Says Nicholas: "He's one of those men who has grown up believing in the status quo. He's had a career in business and done rather well but he conforms to the norm - he doesn't look outside the conventional boundaries of his life.
"In a sense his life unravels and his marriage is falling apart, but like a lot of men, he maintains a fiction of his life with his friends and the golf club is the perfect place to do that. He's all 'hail fellow well met' in the bar but underneath things are crumbling and his life is in tatters."
Nicholas was delighted to return to the killing fields of Midsomer Murders.
"I was in one of the earliest episodes and it was lovely to be asked to come back, as a recycled actor. A lot of the same team are still working on it, which says a lot as everyone enjoys it. And John Nettles is a lovely and generous man with a vast knowledge of the theatre, so therefore rather wonderful to talk to.
"The scripts are consistent, amusing and pleasant and what's important for me is that it's not about violence, but character and situation. There is something gloriously innocent about Midsomer - decency always wins out and the bad people get their come-uppance, but not in a graphic way."
John Standing plays Will Tunstall
John Standing has gone from playing a gay doctor to an arrogant golf club president in Midsomer Murders.
"I was in an episode called 'Bad Tidings' a few years ago when I played a mincing doctor and was killed with an apple in my mouth. I adore the films, I think they are frightfully good so it was great to go back. You never set foot in a studio, they are beautifully directed and there's a wonderful atmosphere on set. All in all, it's a good gig.
"This time I play Will Tunstall who is president of the local golf club. He's a thoroughly unpleasant man - arrogant and an endless bully.
"I wore golfing clothes and it was fun to film on a golf course. I can play, but I only do it once every 30 years or so! I played as a boy and it all came back to me and made me want to do it again. A lot of actors love playing golf."