Inside Man star 'got goosebumps' filming "important" opening scene
Dolly Wells breaks down her reaction to that opening scene. **WARNING: Contains spoilers for Inside Man episode 1**
Steven Moffat's new drama Inside Man started with a bang on BBC One tonight, with a dramatic introduction that saw Dolly Wells's character Janice coming to the aid of Lydia West's Beth.
The scene in question saw Beth being harassed by a man on the tube, who then went on to get aggressive with another woman who took his photo. Janice then stepped out with her phone in hand, (pretending to be) live-streaming everything. As it turned out, other female passengers had joined in too, and because of this police were waiting for him at the following station.
At a screening of the new drama's first episode attended by RadioTimes.com and other press ahead of its release, Wells spoke about her role in the scene, saying it's "as close as I'm ever gonna get to playing a cowboy walking into a saloon".
She explained: "This is not a scene that I read often and know that I'm going to be playing, so I knew it was really important. And also, when we actually shot it, it was really exciting. I was getting goose bumps when everyone was saying 'me too' and 'I’ve got it, I’ve got it'."
Wells noted that the scene was "exciting" but scary, and said that reading it she was thinking "this is as close as one gets to being really cool and brave and strong".
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, the show's creator Steven Moffat spoke about Janice's role in the drama, as it is set to play out following that shocking scene midway through when David Tennant's character Harry locks her in his cellar.
Moffat noted that Janice is not a "saintly" or "virtuous" character, and that if he had portrayed her as such he would be falling into an old dramatic cliche.
He said: "I think something that we all do as writers – I've done it many times – is you somehow equate virtue with victimhood. There's nothing about being a victim that makes you virtuous. In fact, arguably the opposite. If you're being victimised, you're probably going to get worse, not better."
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Moffat continued: "There's nothing saintly about having a boot in your face, right? You don't remove the boot with a grateful smile. You corner someone and they can turn pretty bloody feral. That's what humans are like – of course we're like it, how the hell would we not be like that?
"Janice is a handful in that cellar – she promises she will not make it easy and, my God, it is not. You realise from the first scene that she's not somebody who's going to step aside. She's not going to lie down, ever."
Inside Man is continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday 27th September at 9pm. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
