Andrew Buchan on Better, embodying a ruthless kingpin and playing men in crisis

Seen to most telling effect as Broadchurch’s grief-stricken plumber Mark Latimer, it has lately come in handy for his two most recent roles in The Crown (as Andrew Parker Bowles) and This England (playing Matt Hancock), both controversial, high-profile series.

Now, Buchan’s starring in BBC One’s new five-parter Better as Col McHugh, a property developer whose easy-going persona disguises the ruthlessness of a drugs kingpin.

How did you, a seemingly unflappable 43-year-old, manage to tune out the noise?

"I’ll never forget flying over to LA for a screen test once and thinking, I could become a nervous wreck here. I had a strong word with myself – it’s got to be just me and this other person doing the scene, otherwise I’m going to fall apart. I’ve tried to apply that to everything and not think too much about the exterior stuff."

What was it like to play Col McHigh in Better, after playing the man who broke Princess Anne’s heart and then the politician who became the pantomime villain of COVID and I’m a Celebrity?

"It was refreshing! I definitely search for roles that make me afraid and this seemed packed full of those moments, because Col has quite a few facets.

"On one hand he’s calm and in control, on the other he’s a broken, complex man dealing with trauma. I was interested to see him unravel."

Col seems wholly beyond correction – something Buchan clearly relishes.

"I was on set with Peter Mullan once, and said, ‘I think I’m going to have to be quite vile towards you in this next scene.’ He smiled at me and said, ‘I know. It’s great, isn’t it? It’s like a holiday.’ I’m quite light and smiley in general, so playing someone like Col was fun."

The criminal underworld isn’t entirely alien to Buchan, whose father was a customs officer at Manchester Airport.

"He always said to look for the shoes – if someone was coming through in a gorgeous three-piece suit but their shoes were £20 off the rack, he’d be wanting a quick word."

Buchan also had a serendipitous encounter a couple of weeks before auditioning that, he thinks, bagged him the role of Col.

"I was in a tiny pub with a friend and this guy sat down at our table, at ease and exuding confidence. He got the drinks in and chatted with us for a couple hours, then another guy sat down.

"We were getting on famously then the first guy left and we were like, ‘That was class, wasn’t it?’ The other guy’s face drained of colour: ‘You know that man was the head of the such-and-such crime organisation?’ We couldn’t believe it.

"I went into the audition and said, ‘I can’t play Col as a gangster, but I could play the bloke I met in that pub’ – which was exactly what they were after."

Buchan spent the early part of his career hiding in plain sight, somehow flying below the radar despite prominent television roles in dramas both period (Cranford, Garrow’s Law) and contemporary (Party Animals, The Fixer). It took Broadchurch to make him a star.

"I was away when the first episode came out. Somebody phoned me and said, 'You might want to come back – it’s gone down quite well…' I remember being in a house at New Year after the first series and 20 people came over asking, ‘Come on, what’s happening next?'"

Did he ever spill the beans?

"Never! I never told a soul."

The role also sent him down a career cul de sac of everymen in crisis.

"I asked my agent to press pause on those roles – maybe a bit of lightness instead? Not long after that, I had an audition as someone in a car where a bomb was about to go off.

"Hard to mine the lightness in that situation."

While he awaits that elusive comedy, Buchan has taken matters into his own hands and written his own, a horror-comedy series that starts filming this month.

“I was always that guy on buses and in coffee shops, scribbling on the back of receipts and napkins, so this is nerve-racking and exciting.

"I won’t be the actor who comes in and goes, 'I don’t think I’d say that.' Well, you would say that, because I’ve carefully crafted that line for two-and-a-half years.

"Believe me, you would."

Better premieres on Monday 13th February on BBC One, with episodes airing weekly on Mondays at 9pm. The series will also be available to stream as a boxset on BBC iPlayer.

If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide visit our dedicated Drama hub.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.