Lynda La Plante talks Above Suspicion: Silent Scream

The forth instalment of Above Suspicion is set around the murder of a famous actress.

The plot centres on a British film star Amanda Delany has the world at her feet. Young and talented, she has a string of affairs with the hottest actors around. The tabloids can’t get enough of her and she, in turn, can’t get enough of the spotlight.

Then, late home one evening from a night shoot, Amanda puts the key in her front door for the very last time. The next morning, the press has gathered on her doorstep once again, this time to report on her brutal murder.

“I started to research Silent Scream, after reading about the suicide of a top glamour model. She was not only stunningly beautiful, but also very successful and financially secure. One moment she had been the life and soul of a party, the next she had thrown herself to her death from a balcony.”

“The post mortem report indicated that this young girl, the envy of most teenagers, was underweight and addicted to cocaine. No one could find a reason for her suicide, she had not appeared to be depressed, but from the autopsy she was obviously very drug addicted. Around the same time I kept reading reports of a famous Hollywood actress, young and beautiful, caught drunk driving. She appeared to go into rehab and come out again only to start drinking and drug taking almost immediately. I began to collect all the references that focused on the decline of famous stars that would appear to ‘have it all’. From the sad spectacle of Britney Spears making a show of shaving her head and being publicly distraught and drunk, to the tragic Amy Whitehouse, talented, successful with a huge career ahead of her, but with her addiction to alcohol causing her death aged 27.”

How far did you take your research?

“Working with a therapist to try and understand what takes these young ‘stars’ on a public self-destruct path was very informative. The opportunities for fame are numerous, with thousands of hopefuls attempting to become famous via shows like X Factor. Once “fame” is achieved, the path to potential ruin begins almost immediately, as shown by one of the finalists on that show being forced to leave mid-run due to his admission of cocaine and drinking.”

Why do you think that is?

“The dysfunctional gene responsible emerges as a result of a primal need for fame, for approval, regardless of whether or not someone possesses any talent or even a modicum of star quality. In many cases the downside of this desire for approval is a deep lack of self-confidence, and low self esteem. So when these people reach their goal, they discover that their original problems still exist but are now magnified and public. Their inability to make good personal choices leaves them vulnerable to managers and friends, indistinguishable from the sycophantic people who feed these stars with a false sense of security. The narrow line between reality and fantasy is stretched further and as the adulation they craved accompanies their fame, it also brings a frightening and often overwhelming fear of rejection.

“Based on all this research I created the heroine of ‘Silent Scream’, a young successful actress with the prospects of even more fame as Hollywood begins to take an interest in her career. Amanda Delany is on the brink of becoming an international star. She is already earning huge sums, able to buy and refurbish a costly mews house. She is also a target for the press, often due to her own tip-offs to the photographers. Her promiscuity and sex life feature in gossip columns and she has a bad girl reputation for breaking up marriages. She regularly returns to live in the squalid basement flat she used to share with a few of her former friends from drama school. Amanda pays the rent, provides the others with their groceries and drugs and is in truth, merely ‘buying’ their friendship, unaware of the tensions that exist as a result of their disparate lifestyles.”

Tell us about Amanda.

“Amanda is a confused young woman whose past abuse is a constant legacy of deep-rooted anger. The relief from her tormented childhood does not disappear with this new found fame, but instead becomes a cancer of bitterness. She is clearly on track to self-destruct, badly in need of help, but surrounded by sycophants, and parents who have their own agenda of anguish. All of them can see that she is tormented, but because of her fame and appearance of living in the fast lane surrounded by riches, glamour and success, no one picks up the warning signs. It’s almost as if they feed off her anguish.”

The research is done, the story complete, how do you turn that into television?

“The first thing we had to do for the filming of Above Suspicion was to ensure the availability of our regular cast. We were delighted to see the return of Ciarán Hinds, and Kelly Reilly with Shaun Dingwall, Celyn Jones, Amanda Lawrence and Michelle Homes as their supporting team.

“The budget for the series was tight, and we had to find actors that could really be accepted as future stars. So first we lined up auditions with the producer Cherry Gould and the director Catherine Morshead. I hate mass auditions, and like to work closely with Sam Jones our casting director to go over possible contenders. We then give each hopeful a good period of time with the script pages, and then time to be filmed either reading or discussing the role.

“This is always very interesting for me as, having been an actress, I can see very quickly if there is a chance of them being cast. I can also see how unprofessional many actors are, having not spent time with the pages and ill-equipped to be on camera, constantly looking down at the script. In some cases I ask them to return and have a second chance.”

Are there any actors from the new episodes that stand out to you?

“An actor like Dara Devaney who walked in and gave a brilliant interpretation of the role. Word perfect, so we didn’t look for anyone else. I think this young actor has a tremendous talent, and a big future.

“To find a really stunning looking young girl, that would be believable as a movie star was again very hard to cast. When Joanna Vanderham came into casting for we just kept our fingers crossed that she was available. She is stunningly pretty and has proved that we were very fortunate, as Hollywood has already been offering her roles.”

Were there parts you found difficult to cast?

“The hardest part to cast was the character Jeannie, one time hopeful actress, flat mate of Amanda Delany, unemployed with no career prospects. We saw a lot of girls, and none could bring the crazy energy the role required. Then we auditioned Kate O’Flynn. She didn’t look right, she didn’t sound right, but she had a terrific energy and these big flashing eyes. I felt she was not using her own accent, and this stilted her reading. I asked if she would come back and use her own voice. I spent a lot of time talking to her about Jeannie as she was based on someone I knew.

“The next audition she came into, she blew everyone sideways and I saw the words hurtle off the page. Kate is a consummate actress, very professional, and when asked if she’d dye her hair blonde with dark roots, she agreed without a murmur. We sometimes work with actresses who won’t agree to change their appearances, but with Kate, it was a joy and a marvellous experience to watch her take on the character and bring her to life. I think she has a brilliant career ahead of her.”

Did the limited budget cause any problems?

“Finding handsome, leading men that we could afford was another problem, we simply had to search for an actor that was about to be a star. Again, Sam Jones came up trumps and I think all the cast have a totally believable quality as famous movie actors. Catherine Morshead the director was very patient as we did have a lot of inexperienced actors, but her diligence and talent paid off. It is an ongoing pleasure to be able to cast unknowns, to be able to give them an opportunity to start off their careers. This new energy, alongside the continuation of the onscreen magic created by Kelly and Ciarán, provided us with a winning formula.”

What backstage requirements does the show need?

“We have continued with our wonderful team for the series, the crew, makeup team and especially the costumes by Joanna Eatwell. Uppermost in La Plante Productions ethos is to make the ensemble team relaxed and eager to bring out the best in the material. It has become like a family, one I am very proud to be a part of and to have the return our regulars proves that they also enjoy the experience.”

“To produce any series is very much a team effort and to have executive producer Liz Thorburn on set making sure everything is running smoothly, and with Richard Dobbs and Cass Sutherland always on hand, the ‘Above Suspicion’ series has been a joy to work on.”

What is the most difficult aspect of making a television drama such as this?

“The hard part for me is always in adapting the novel into three hours of television. I have to choose which section or part of the plot from the book I can lose, and sometimes it’s very difficult to keep the story intact, the thriller element positive.”

What will the new Above Suspicion bring to ITV audiences?

“‘Silent Scream’ brings to the TV some very new fresh faces, and I think they add to the underlying message of how very often fame hides tragedy.”