Simone Struggles With Baby Blues

The Journal
(Newcastle, England)

11 October 2006

SIMONE Lahbib couldn't have imagined how much help having a newborn baby would be when she took on the role of tough senior detective and single mum Alex Fielding.

The actress gave birth just three months before gripping crime drama Wire In The Blood, starring Robson Green as maverick clinical psychological Tony Hill, began filming this four-part series.

As Sim one's husband Raffaello Degruttola headed to the US to make a film, she travelled north from their London home to Newcastle, where the series is filmed, with baby Skye in tow.

"Alex is juggling a lot of things at once. It's very typical of many women, having a career and being a mum, including me now," she says.

"When I went to the costume fitting, the baby wasn't settling at all and when the director came in to talk to me I was bouncing her up and down while talking about the character.

"Her son is a lot older but she still has to juggle - get the babysitter in, go home on time and get to the school play. It was a perfect character study,"

In the final episode of the series based on Val McDermid's gritty best selling novels, Simone's character finally turns on Tony when he becomes embroiled in a media circus for his part in what appears to have been a miscarriage of justice.

The relationship between the two characters has been cool to say the least. Tony was shocked to discover his old friend DI Carol Jordan had left Bradfield CID for South Africa in the first of the current run and Alex, her younger successor, at first didn't want him anywhere near her work.

The barriers were broken down in the first three episodes, despite her remaining sceptical about his value, but this latest case gives her the perfect opportunity to get him out of her hair for good.

"Alex wants to establish herself as a DI and have a show of strength. She likes facts and evidence. All his theories drive her nuts." says Simone.

Their professional relationship comes to a head when a man Tony helped the police successfully prosecute for rape and attempted murder in his first case, becomes eligible for parole. The profiler is worried, but his protests fall on deaf ears. His fears are soon vindicated when a girl is murdered in circumstances that bear chilling similarities to the work of the released man. But scientific advancement deals Tony a cruel blow. Not only has the suspect got a cast iron alibi, but, when he agrees to give a blood sample, his DNA does not match that taken from the original crime, meaning he was innocent.

Alex is left to contend with an unknown killer and the unwanted media spotlight over the wrongful conviction. She takes Tony off the case.

While his professional reputation lies in tatters, Tony's sharpness hasn't deserted him. As the murderer gears up to take another victim, he realises they are dealing with a case of double identity. Will Alex listen to him and take him back on board?

Simone loved every minute of filming, and having Skye with her meant she didn't have time to dwell on the more frightening aspects of the scripts: "With Wire in the Blood you don't see much of the violence but it's deeply psychological, which is just as disturbing. Luckily 1it didn't spook me at all."

Wire in the Blood (ITV1, 9pm)