Polly Weeks talks to North-East actor Alun Armstrong about playing a legal eagle for the fact-based historical drama Garrow’s Law.

FOR the past five years County Durham-born Alun Armstrong has established himself as the popular, if troubled, excop and alcoholic, Brian Lane – a key member of BBC1’s rulebreaking New Tricks crack detection crew.

Now, the Laurence Olivier Awardwinning actor from Annfield Plain is jumping to the other side of the bench, and taking on the role of cautious and upstanding attorney John Southouse in historical 18th Century drama Garrow’s Law. And as Armstrong explains, it’s a great antidote to New Tricks.

“I think it’s always great for an actor to have a period piece. It’s a change from modern drama – that historical aspect is really juicy,” he says.

Garrow’s Law sees Armstrong, 63, play John Southouse – an attorney who mentors young barrister William Garrow, a man who dreams of providing legal help to the defenceless.

Shooting the series around the filming schedule for New Tricks, Armstrong says he was drawn to the fact that Garrow’s Law is based on a true story.

“Before Garrow came along, all defendants could do was ask people to give character witnesses and then it was judged on how honest the defendants looked. They had a big mirror up in court which would put the defendants in the spotlight so the jury could see whether they looked honest or not. It was that primitive.”

“If they could raise enough money they would be able to hire an attorney.

However, all he (the attorney) could do was prepare a speech for them.”

Garrow, realising this was an unjust system, worked hard to change the legal process and is credited with introducing court room crossexaminations.

“Garrow decided to go and do his own investigations. He was radical in the whole way he approached cases.

Nowadays people will still find themselves in unfortunate situations but they can have representation in court. In the programme you’ll see how unfairly people were treated.”

Starring in the drama with Andrew Buchan as Garrow and Lyndsey Marshal as his wife Lady Sarah Hill, Armstrong says he read the script and instantly admired the three central characters.

“Together the three were like Robin Hood in their day.”

And he was just as proud of Southouse’s achievements as of Garrow’s.

“He must have been instrumental in helping to form the ideas of Garrow.

He was just as willing to take on hopeless cases. He was a salt of the earth community lawyer.”

Although, Armstrong admits that Garrow’s youth helped Southouse realise his dreams.

“There was a generation gap.

Southouse was completely steeped in the protocol of the old school. It’s not that he didn’t want to do the things Garrow did, he just didn’t believe he could get away with it.”

With the drama showing a completely different legal system to the one used today, Armstrong had a lot to get his head around and was pleased a lot of the hard work had been done already for him.

“The research was all there really and it was all in the script. So we just went on what was presented to us. It was quite an exciting project because it all happened very quickly so there wasn’t a lot of time to do research.”

Armstrong did, however, end up having to do some homework.

“I had to find out about how the courts operated for the scenes. I didn’t know what the protocol of the courts and society was. We carry very modern ideas of what barristers and solicitors do and I was an attorney who had slightly different functions.”

Once Armstrong had a grasp of the court room etiquette, he, along with the rest of the cast soon found they faced another problem – the unbearable heat.

“We filmed all of the courtroom scenes in a converted bonded whisky warehouse in Dumbarton, Scotland, with no air conditioning. You’d think normally a Scottish summer would be cool but there was a heatwave so it was baking hot.”

The filming took eight weeks and involved working long hours, and Armstrong admits it was probably the hardest work he’d done for a long time. “You might have to do 20 takes to get one little piece... It was bloody hard work.”

And after such a punishing schedule, Armstrong was keen to take a break – albeit a short one. “At the end of the filming I had one day off...”

Now it’s back to the day job for Armstrong as he steps back into the role of Brian Lane for the next series of New Tricks.

But while his busy schedule doesn’t allow much time for holidays, if he has it his way, he’ll continue working for as long as possible.

“At my age all of my friends who aren’t actors are stopping working and asking, ’When are you going to retire?’ but if you’re an actor you don’t retire, you just get picky or stop getting offered as much work.”

EXTRA TIME: ALUN ARMSTRONG

■ He is a keen AFC Wimbledon supporter and goes to games whenever he can.

■ One of Armstrong’s favourite hobbies is walking and he’s been to the Himalayas twice.

■ He made his acting film debut in the Newcastle-set 1971 hit Get Carter.

■ His son Joe Armstrong is also an actor and plays the role of Allan-a- Dale in the BBC television series Robin Hood

■ Garrow’s Law: Tales From The Old Bailey, Sunday, BBC1, 9pm.