Jason Watkins on how real-world issues mirror Coma character’s downfall
Watkins leads the cast of new Channel 5 drama, Coma.
Airing next week, Channel 5's Coma follows family man Simon who makes a split-second decision that quickly spirals into something much, much larger – and it turns out that the drama's ties to the real world reflect Simon's own downfall.
Leading the cast of the new four-parter as Simon, Jason Watkins chatted to RadioTimes.com and other press about how his character has many parallels to what is unfolding in the present day, making for a heady concoction of panic, stress and anger within Simon.
Speaking about his character's relationship with wife Beth (Claire Skinner), Watkins explained: "Of course, you scratch the surface and they’ve had difficulty conceiving, they’re slightly vulnerable in terms of money and, so, we’re on a slight knife edge."
Skinner added: “The premise of it is that these two people who have both got jobs, have both got fairly decent jobs, are desperate to get out of the area that they live in for somewhere safer to bring up their children.”
Along with other personal issues, Simon is also left exasperated by the growing crime rates in his area, wanting nothing more than to move his young daughter away from it all.
Speaking about those hark backs to the real world and its social landscape, Watkins said: "I’m not saying there’s a crime epidemic but because of the cost of living crisis, crime is up. Those really petty little crimes – scratching your car, turning the bins over and little stuff, it’s just really annoying, I think, and when you’re stressed from other things, those things get magnified.
"I think that’s why we end up where we end up where Simon does.”
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The drama will see Simon make a life-changing decision when confronted by teenage ringleader, Jordan (Joe Barber), who won't leave Simon alone. Taking matters into his own hands, Simon is left scrambling to make sense of his decision and its fallout, leaving major consequences for himself and those around him.
As well as Watkins and Skinner, Jonas Armstrong (After the Flood) stars as Jordan's father Paul, while Doctor Who and Harry Potter legend David Bradley will also be featuring as Simon's grumpy neighbour Harry.
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RadioTimes.com previously exclusively revealed the trailer for the new series, giving us a first look at the drama set to unfold and the snowball effect of difficult life circumstances that Watkins refers to.
In the trailer, we see how Simon is let go at his job, has the mortgage to worry about and also has a local group of youths making his neighbourhood less than desirable to live in.
But when confronted by Jordan, Simon unexpectedly punches the teenager and is left to cover his tracks – but will he be found out?
Coma comes to Channel 5 and My5 on Monday 18th March at 9pm. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
