Ellis star admits 'my body couldn't cope' as they open up on 'brutal' scenes

Award-winning actress, Sharon D Clarke, 58, has landed the lead role as DCI Ellis in the Channel 5 detective drama Ellis. Despite boasting an acting career spanning more than four decades, this is the first time the star has been cast in a leading role.

The three-part series will follow Ellis, a tenacious cop who is parachuted into failing investigations. She will be accompanied by her right-hand man DS Harper (played by Andrew Gower). Throughout the series, Ellis arrives at a different police station, where she will have to win over the local detectives and immerse herself in the cases she has come to solve.

As a black female cop, Ellis is used to being dismissed and overlooked, but she is a first-class murder detective, with a determination for justice and a deep well of compassion for those who need it.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Speaking about what it was like working with co-star Andrew, she started off by saying: “I had to do a set of chemistry reads, and Andrew was the first guy that walked through the door in the morning. And as he walked through the door, he had my heart. We did the chemistry read, and I just thought… it just lived.”

She continued: “It just made sense. It was like we’d been working together for years. I was just like, “It’s got to be him!” I was so pleased they agreed, and we got to work together. And it was an absolute joy. We are two people who love music and spent a lot of time singing around that set, which was just such a joy. “

But the actress admitted that filming wasn't smooth sailing as she admitted that she experienced some ‘brutal’ weather.”

She confessed: “One day we were doing the low loader filming for outside scenes. It was a beautiful sunny day. I’ve got to be honest with you, the Belfast weather was brutal. Brutal. It continually rained. We had snow. My body couldn’t cope with it.”

Turning her attention back to Andrew, she said: “So on this beautiful sunny day, the scenes would go down, and Andy and I would turn the radio on and we’d sing at the top of our voices. And you had the radios in the car, and the crew who were in the other car could hear it. So there was like this big singalong going along the street. We had a lot of fun. It was an absolute pleasure, and a joy and a privilege to work with Andrew.”

The star revealed that Andrew is not just her co-star by they are now good friends. She explained: “I just had the best time. In this industry we meet so many people. We have this wonderful turnover of people from all different walks of life, religions, creeds, colours.”

Sharon added: “And for me, the real gift of a job is when you take someone with you for life. And Andrew is with me for life. And that’s the gift of Ellis for me, that I’ve come away with that friendship.”

Ellis airs on Channel 5 at 8pm on Thursday 31 October.