Emun Elliott

BBC One commissions second series of 'The Paradise'

Bill Gallagher’s BBC One hit The Paradise - currently airing on Tuesday nights - will return for a second series of eight episodes next year.

Made in-house by BBC Drama Productions, the period drama set in the impossibly glamorous world of the first ever department store has been attracting a strong loyal audience so far with an average consolidated audience of 5.9 million/22.5% share.
Danny Cohen, Controller of BBC One, says: “The Paradise has been the biggest new drama series on British television so far this Autumn, and it has been really interesting to experiment with period drama on BBC One beyond the traditional Sunday night slot. I’m delighted that the show will be returning for a second series, and can assure its loyal following that there are still some dramatic twists to come in the three episodes still to air this Autumn."
The popular series, adapted from the much-loved classic French novel by Emile Zola, follows smart, ambitious and big hearted Denise Lovett played by rising star Joanna Vanderham who arrives in the city to find work. The store provides the catalyst for her rags-to-riches story as she falls in love with the exhilarating and dangerous charms of the modern world and her eyes are opened to a whole new world of possibilities.
The series showcases fantastic performances from a wonderful cast that includes: Sarah Lancashire, Emun Elliott, David Hayman, Elaine Cassidy, Matthew McNulty and Patrick Malahide.
Bill Gallagher, writer and creator, said: “I'm very grateful that there's such a strong audience for The Paradise, and for the terrific support the BBC has given to the show to make that possible. It's such a great ensemble of actors and such a rich group of characters that it's an exciting prospect to have eight more episodes to make.”
With three more episodes still to go, the final episode of series one will air on the 13 of November on BBC One at 9pm. Viewers will learn whether Moray (Elliott) will marry Katherine (Cassidy) or follow his heart with Denise.
Written and created by Bill Gallagher and produced by BBC Drama Production. The executive producer for the BBC is Susan Hogg and the producer is Simon Lewis. The series was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning and Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One.
Source: BBC

Also reported by The Guardian and Radio Times

Win 'Threesome' series one on DVD
Comedy Central's homegrown sitcom about three friends raising a baby together stars Amy Huberman and The Paradise's Emun Elliott and Stephen Wight

From Radio Times staff:

Enter our competition for your chance to catch up with the first series of Comedy Central's hilarious homegrown sitcom Threesome.
Starring Amy Huberman, and The Paradise's Emun Elliott and Stephen Wight, Threesome is the story of Alice, Mitch and their gay best friend Richie, whose debauched night together results in an unexpected pregnancy - and a decision to raise the baby together.
Series two of Threesome is currently airing on Mondays at 9:30pm on Comedy Central, and series one will be available to buy on DVD from 12 November. To celebrate the launch, we have five copies to give away - just follow the link below for your chance to win...
The competition closes at midnight on Monday 12 November.

Source (including photo): Radio Times

The Paradise : first episode review

New BBC drama The Paradise kicks off with gripping first episode 
The UK’s finest period drama stars unite in BBC adaptation of Emile Zola’s The Paradise

The first episode of The Paradise was a period drama Who’s Who with a cast including Sarah Lancashire (Lark Rise To Candleford), David Hayman (Trial And Retribution), and Joanna Vanderham (Dancing on the Edge), as well as newer stars Elaine Cassidy (Harper's Island), Matthew McNulty (The Syndicate, Misfits), and Emun Elliott (Game Of Thrones).

Bill Gallagher’s adaptation sees Emile Zola’s classic French novel relocated to a British department store. Denise Lovett (Vanderham) arrives in the big city, all wide-eyed and angelic, with the aim of working at her Uncle Edmund’s drapers store. However business is bad, mainly due to the new neighbour across the road, the new department store The Paradise. Changing tact, (and albeit quite disloyally!) Denise goes in search of a job at the new store, where her eyes are well and truly opened to opulence, indulgence and luxury. Here she meets authoritarian Ladieswear overseer Miss Audrey (Sarah Lancashire) and The Paradise owner himself, John Moray (Emun Elliot), a dashing Victorian capitalist. Striving to be the object of said retail tycoon's affections is Katherine, the daughter of a rich banker. John needs financial backing and it is uncertain as to whether he is erring on the side of gold digger in regards to his affections towards the banker’s daughter, or whether he is cautious because of his widower status. We will have to wait and see… 

On Denise’s first day we are introduced to the store’s big characters. First up are fellow sales girls giggly Pauline and the spiteful Clara, next Dudley, Moray’s right hand man striving to keep him out of trouble, and finally the creepy Jonas Franks, who the rest of the staff seem quite terrified of. Denise gives her first sale pitch to the haughty Katherine and lo and behold the sexy Victorian capitalist Moray is watching, securing both Denise’s future at the store and what seems to be a bit of a crush on both sides. At the heart of tonight’s episode is the huge store sale that Mr Moray has organised. Dudley is concerned about the economic risks as Moray seems to have bought more than he can sell. We learn that Moray is a real risk taker, as he ends the heated discussion with Dudley by gambling his store: he asserts that if he can’t pay for the stock then the manufacturers can have his store. In a night time visit Clara sneaks to John Moray’s bedroom and it is brought to the viewer’s attention that these two have history. When rebuffed, Clara threatens to tell all and sundry “how his wife really died.” The threat does however remain empty, for this episode at least. The sale day is ultimately a huge success and plays host to a scene in which Moray forthrightly asks Katherine’s father for financial backing and then pretty much in the same sentence delays his and Katherine’s engagement indefinitely. At the end of sale day Moray boldly brings all the days wages into the store and leaves everyone to collect their bonuses in cash. Hurrah! The sexual tension surrounding Moray and the many unanswered questions left viewers wanting next week’s visit to the 1870s department store to come a lot sooner! 

Source: Entertainment Wise



Emun Elliott introduces the dashing Moray
Emun Elliott explains the appeal of his modern and fashion-forward character, Moray.  
Source: BBC


Joanna Vanderham - From Student to Star

The Paradise sees the BBC once again going back in time, with the period drama aiming to make the most of the launch of Downton Abbey’s third series and capture a Tuesday night audience.

Perhaps the biggest story of all though is the rise of its star, Joanna Vanderham, the 20 year old from Perth who merely a year ago was a drama student in college and is now the face of a major BBC drama.

It all started with her role in Sky’s Martina Cole adaptation The Runaways. Plucked out of only her second year at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Vanderham was thrust into the limelight as joint lead Cathy, caught in a tragic love story with her lifelong companion Eamonn.

For the outside viewer, it was impossible to see that it was her first role on TV, as right out of the gate she was stunning in the role, never showing anything like nerves.

Joanna didn’t show any signs of stopping from there, snaring a role in the BBC’s Young James Herriot drama as the antagonistic love interest Jenny. Jenny was all aloof disdain and high expectations, delivered in smooth style by Vanderham, yet again belying her inexperience.

With a bit part in ITV’s crime drama Above Suspicion to tide her over, it was only a short wait until she was leading a cast list one again in her fledgling career.

Now, playing the earnest and go-getting Denise, Joanna’s set to become a mainstay of BBC One for the next two months as the emotional heart of The Paradise.

The future looks incredibly bright for her too, as she’s secured roles in both the BBC’s massive Stephen Poliakoff drama Dancing On The Edge (alongside such stars as Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jenna-Louise Coleman) and movie What Maisie Knew, which will see her working with Julianne Moore and Alexander Skarsgard.

This could be the start of something very big indeed for the young Scot. Remember the name.

Source: Female First


 

Joanna Vanderham: 'The Paradise' interview

The Paradise
Bill Gallagher’s glittering new BBC One drama series...
Joanna Vanderham plays Denise Lovett

What is Denise like as a character?
No person is one thing but Denise is very strong-willed, strong-minded and confident. Denise is ambitious, and I think in that era that wasn’t necessarily an attractive trait in a woman. It shocked people and they didn’t know how to react.

It’s so unexpected. People keep telling her to stay in her place and she’s fighting against that. Denise is incredibly determined and she’s intelligent, she has ideas for The Paradise.
Denise works hard and I’ve had to struggle to make sure that she’s likeable but that she’s more than just nice. I have to make sure that the audience go ‘come on, girl’ but at times I think they’ll get frustrated with her because she’s either pushing too hard or not listening because she’s so focused. Denise is only really out of her depth when she falls in love…

The story begins with Denise turning up at her Uncle’s shop, Lovett’s. Why has she come to work there?
Denise has been proposed to by a young man – they’ve been courting – but she realised that wasn’t the life she wanted.

I think that’s quite a modern thought process, to see that there is more to life. She leaves her job, breaks off her engagement and arrives at her Uncle’s asking for work and he says, ‘I can’t, there’s no work for you, I have no business’.

What’s it like when Moray first meets Denise?
It’s a kind of instantaneous attraction. Denise is in the store asking Miss Audrey for a job and Miss Audrey is asking her about her previous experience, using her position of power, and it just so happens that Moray is in the department at that time and he says, ‘You’re Edmund’s niece aren’t you’ and ‘of course I’d oblige a neighbour’.

Actually, he’s just seen something in her and she sees that in him. If he hadn’t been in the room she wouldn’t have secured the job, Miss Audrey instantly took a disliking to her and Moray thankfully took a liking to her.

Do her feelings for Moray develop throughout the series?
They definitely do, they meet and Denise thinks, ‘this man is a really ambitious businessman and I admire his success’… and actually she really fancies him too. 

It has been well cast because Emun is beautiful, so it’s not hard to pretend!

Denise struggles to see how they can have a relationship because Moray’s going places and the people that he’s socialising with are not people that she is socialising with. She’s the shop girl. It’s only when he is available that she lets herself think this could actually happen.

At first she doesn’t let herself believe that she loves him. She’s convincing herself and working hard to make herself believe that it’s a work thing when actually, she adores him and would spend the rest of her life with him.

Do Denise and Katherine have any kind of relationship?
When Katherine comes to the store all she sees is a shop girl who’s very good at her job and she’s quite happy with that. Katherine even asks for Denise when she comes in, and Denise is not letting herself think that she’s in love with Moray, so it’s a very happy relationship.

Katherine’s a strong woman as well, so whatever happens she’s not going to let Denise just take her man...

Miss Audrey is Denise’s boss. What’s their relationship like?
Their relationship is very interesting because at the start Denise comes in and goes, ‘I’m here to learn’, and Miss Audrey states – quite rightly - ‘I’m the boss’. As time goes on Denise thinks to herself, I can do better, one night she sneaks in and changes the displays.

Miss Audrey then starts to see that and at first tries to squash it but gradually Miss Audrey realises that Denise is an asset to ladieswear and she starts to encourage her.

Their relationship develops when Denise reveals to Miss Audrey her true feelings for Moray and Miss Audrey gives her advice about what to do. Denise listens to her but ultimately her feelings for Moray are too strong which put Denise and Miss Audrey back to square one, which is quite sad really.

What has it been like working with Sarah Lancashire?
She’s an absolute dream. If ever you’ve got a down day, she’s the one that picks you up. I’m still learning my craft and if we’re on camera and I was to say to Sarah, ‘which side of the line do I need to be on?’ she would know and she’d tell me and she’d help me.

I’ve learned a lot from her in terms of making everyone’s job easier. If we’d rehearse a scene and it works out that there’s ten set ups needed Sarah would just do it in a different place where it would need two set ups, but it would still look as amazing.

Those are the sorts of things that I’ve learned from her. Being aware of what you can do to help everyone as a team. And she’s just really good fun. Her laugh is so contagious that if she’s laughing you want to know why and you want to be involved.

What was it like when you first saw the sets?
When I first walked in Mark Jobst, first director, was there. I was ushered on set straight through to where we were filming and Mark said, ‘it’s great isn’t it?’

I said, ‘but I haven’t seen anything! So he grabbed me by the hand and said, ‘this is where we’re going to play’, we ran around the set and showed me what, to him, was a kind of playground.

That was the welcome that I had and from then on it has felt like a playground. The set and the props department have been wonderful. You feel like you don’t have to work very hard to create the world that you’re acting in because it’s there for you. It looks amazing.

I hope that when people watch it they’ll see the beauty of it and they can kind of lose themselves in this world. Because that’s what the show is trying to do, it’s an escape for everyone to forget your worries and just enjoy this world. I think the set really adds to that.

What are Denise’s outfits like?
She arrives as a kind of country bumpkin; she’s in her cotton dress and she’s unfashionable, a bit outdated and when she gets the job at The Paradise and Miss Audrey gives her the silk dress she’ll wear in The Paradise, it is the most expensive thing that she’s ever owned.

For me, it’s impossible not to feel amazing in her work outfit because the look of them, the texture, the fact that you’ve got this corset on, you feel sexy. It’s a very interesting balance between feeling quite empowered by your look and also being quite hindered by the fact that you can’t lift your arms, you can’t bend down, you can’t really breathe, so you kind of think, how did women actually do anything? How did they achieve their daily life?

It’s really interesting how it makes you feel and the fight for – I want to feel like I’m a strong woman but actually when I’m inhibited by what I’m wearing, you can understand why it would’ve been so difficult for them in that era to fight against fainting. I don’t think the corsets helped, I think they were definitely the invention of a man! I’m used to them now.

I love the way the outfits look on camera. The different silks have been threaded so that they reflect the light from different angles and the East Indian concept that was a massive influence in style in those days – we have Moroccan bolero jackets that we wear – with Chinese silk, all of that together is so worldly and that was really of the time.

The Paradise is really taking over the street and affecting Denise’s uncle. Do you think there’s a modern resonance with this story?
Oh, entirely. In this day stores are really struggling to get the trade. What’s interesting though is that Denise wants to be a part of The Paradise. She doesn’t see it as a bad thing; she sees it as progress and the way of shopping in the future, successful commerce and consumerism.

Denise sees it as convenient because never before have they had everything in one store ready-made. I think the ease that it gave people was really forward-thinking. Denise sees that and thinks, I want to be a part of that. And you walk into The Paradise and it’s light, it’s full of texture and it’s rich.

Then you go into Lovett’s and it’s brown, wooden and dark. The life that’s in The Paradise and how busy it is with people she sees how successful it is. As much as I as an actress go, this is just like the super stores taking over, Denise sees it as the future. That’s an interesting balance for me.

Source: BBC Media Centre

Emun Elliott: 'The Paradise' interview

The Paradise
Bill Gallagher’s glittering new BBC One drama series...
Emun Elliott plays John Moray

How would you describe Moray?
He’s ambitious and he’s damaged. He thrives off and is driven by the pain of his past. His wife died three years before the story begins and he kind of feeds off that and uses that to drive himself forward.
Moray is business minded, very creative and he’s a people person too. He’s a performer - what you see of him on the shop floor is very different to what you see of him in his office when he’s alone.
He’s a multi-faceted character who, although on the surface might look like this greedy business tycoon and capitalist dictator, that’s not the real man at all. Deeper down lies something much more pained, damaged and vulnerable. And that’s what’s exciting about playing someone like that.

In the first episode we see that The Paradise has had such an effect on the high street – the smaller shops that surrounded the department store are struggling. Do you think he has a conscience about that?
I think he does, I think he’s aware of what he’s doing. He’s not just blindly taking over the street or the city. At the same time he’s all about progress.
That’s one of the key themes of The Paradise and for him everything is about moving forward not dwelling upon the past and he realises that at this time, the late 19th century, the key to success and survival is progression and a thirst for change.
The fact that these smaller shops have fallen by the wayside is just almost a natural selection in this evolution of commerce. He thinks that it’s written in the stars and he is just the catalyst for making it happen. Moray doesn’t really see it as his responsibility, but he is absolutely willing to be part of it.

The Paradise sets are incredible. What was your reaction when you first saw them?
There was a mixture of awe and terror because I’m playing the guy who’s supposed to own and run this place. It comes with massive responsibility.
The art department has done an incredible job in creating this space for us to work in and made it feel very real, so I was blown away and still am actually, every time I walk in.
It’s a joy to work in some of the sets they’ve created, and each one feels really different too. Moray’s office is very minimal, dark and dramatic. The Great Hall carries something much brighter. The Paradise is almost like another character in the story.

When Denise comes into the store asking for a job Moray is keen to employ her. What is it that he sees in Denise?
I think first of all he thinks that she’s a beautiful woman. Moray loves women as well, for many different reasons, knows that he can manipulate them but he also has a passion for the female form.
However, the thing that strikes him most of all is the fact that Denise has a genuine passion for the work and they seem to be on the same wavelength when thinking creatively. She believes in The Paradise. She is always one step ahead of her colleagues and her heart is clearly in it.
They have this mutual thought process and mutual passion for clothes and commerce and he’s not used to seeing that in anyone else but himself. Most of his employees come in just to pay the bills because they get fed and a bed upstairs but Denise is the only one that comes in and really wants to investigate and explore all avenues of it. That’s attractive and she’s good at it. There’s nothing more attractive than someone who’s talented and passionate about what they do.

Do these feelings develop into something more?
Yes, they do. He’s falling in love with her from day one. And it stems from their mutual way of thinking.
Those initial feelings develop and become more complicated as teh story unfolds. First of all, Moray tries not to get into any sort of romantic situation at all. If you’ve ever had your heart broken then you know how it feels, and it’s the only way I can relate to losing the love of your life. If that happens then you’d be very reluctant to throw yourself back into love. So he tries to keep it professional. 

The other important woman in his life is Katherine Glendenning. What’s their relationship like?
Complicated - nothing in the story is black and white. Katherine’s the opposite of Denise, she comes from a very wealthy background, she’s the daughter of Lord Glendenning who runs the city and is one of the most powerful men in town.
In a business sense, financially, it makes sense for a man like Moray to be coupled with someone like Katherine Glendenning. They would look good together and on paper it makes sense. If Moray is married to Katherine he has constant income and constant funds coming in, he gets the status of being married to a beautiful, wealthy heiress. There’s this almost animal attraction between them.
Not in the same way as Moray and Denise – which is psychological, heartfelt, beautiful and dynamic – Moray and Katherine are more aggressive, more manipulative with each other.
It’s a conundrum that Moray doesn’t always handle well.
It’s an impossible situation. One could lead to happiness and the other could lead to financial security and that’s the choice he has to make.

Miss Audrey runs ladieswear the department Denise works in. How does Moray work with her?
Miss Audrey worked at Emmerson’s – the shop was called Emmerson’s before it became The Paradise - and she’s been in the business much longer than Moray has, so Moray holds on to that, he wants to move things forward, he also wants to keep his staff and customers happy.
Miss Audrey cares about what she does and she’s good at it, not to the level that Denise is, she’s experienced whereas Denise is good at it because she has a natural instinct.
Moray respects the fact that she’s been in the same job for so long and has kept things running smoothly since. He often toys with her to get his way. He likes to keep her sweet, because if she’s happy the department will be happy, so it’s all tactical. 

Tell me about Moray’s costumes…
They’re amazing. It certainly helps you get into character, it says a lot about the time – it was so much about how you appeared, and a lot of the time you’d be judged on that alone.
There’s a lot of effort involved – my outfit takes 15 minutes to put on. The girls have it much worse! Luckily I don’t have one of those stiff starched collars that a lot of the guys have so it’s actually really comfortable.
The costume department decided Moray is going to dress more as though he is from the 1880s rather than the 1870s – he is always one step ahead in more ways than one. He often travels to Paris and he goes around Europe and picks things up along the way. The collar Moray wears came a lot later in the period and the way he ties his tie is very different to everyone else, it has individuality about it.

Source: BBC Media Centre

BBC announce more cast for their ambitious adaptation of an Emile Zola novel

.

The BBC have announced more cast for their adaptaion of Emile Zola's classic novel Au Bonheur Des Dames, now titled The Paradise.

Sarah Lancashire (Five Daughters), David Hayman (Trial and Retribution), Elaine Cassidy (Fingersmith), Matthew McNulty (The Syndicate) and Emun Elliott (Game of Thrones) will join the previously announced Joanna Vanderham (The Runaway) in the 8 part series.

The series will be filmed on location in the North East of England and has been adapted by Bill Gallagher (Larkrise to Candleford). Gallagher had this to say, "I like writing long-run ensemble dramas because I can write for actors. Any writer would relish writing for this wonderful cast."

The Paradise centres around the ambitious Denise Lovett (Vanderham) who arrives in the city to work in her uncle's shop but when he cannot help she lands a job in the glamorous department store The Paradise which provides a backdrop for her rags to riches tale. It is here that Denise meets The Paradise's dashing owner John Moray (Elliot) who inspires in her a passion and creativity she didn't know she had.

Pat Connor of BBC North said, " The Paradise is the biggest BBC drama to be made in the North East. BBC North is proud to support this production which underlines our commitment to making the very best programming here in the North for the entire UK."

Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, Ben Stephenson described the series as, "a romantic relationship drama set in a bustling Northern department store where Bill Gallagher's well crafted characters will bring an addictive mix of love and gossip to BBC One."

The drama begins filming on location outside Durham in June and will be produced by BBC Drama Productions.

Source: This Is Fake DIY