Crime dramas are a British television institution and audiences will soon be getting another one to add to the roster this autumn when Channel 5 premieres its brand new series Ellis.
The three-part drama is led by three time Olivier-winning actress and Doctor Who and Holby City star Sharon D. Clarke, who takes on the titular DCI Ellis.
Ellis and her partner DS Harper (played by Andrew Gower) are parachuted into failing cases and often find themselves facing hostile local law enforcement as they investigate a fresh crime.
The drama is spread over a series of two-hour films shot earlier this year between February and May this year in Belfast, which stood in for the Peak District.
In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Gower, 34, reflected about joining the project after recently portraying a different sleuth in Netflix‘s hit drama You opposite Penn Badgley.
“In You, I kinda of scratched the surface with the detective role but this is the first time I guess I’ve been able to make my own stamp on what is a real institution, especially over in Britain and the US – detective shows there are so many of them you could list them,” he said.
The Liverpool-born actor also said the classic 90-minute film format of Ellis was another draw and allowed audiences to “sit” with the characters and something which excited him as an actor.
Reflecting on what drew him to Ellis, Gower said: “When you talk about somebody attracting you to a project, Sharon [D. Clarke] is an icon of theatre and on TV and musically. The music conversations we had during that job were just incredible. So I’ve admired her work from afar.”
Adding: “It’s a female-led story. Growing up in a female household I’m always attracted to those stories, telling tales of strong females. If females led the world, we’d be in a much better place.”
Although Ellis and Harper are drafted in to work together, Gower teased a tricky dynamic between them.
“It gets off to a disastrous beginning. Their meet cute is disastrous, which is a great way to kick off a relationship. Even in episode one, the journey that Harper goes on in Ellis is the best rollercoaster – round and round, side to side.
“Fundamentally, I think they’re both outsiders, whether Harper wants to say he is or not. Like the best partners in life, they compliment each other, whether they want to say that or not. From the outside, hopefully the audience will see it.”
Harper marks one of Gower’s biggest roles to date with the star admitting he was on set nearly every day of the shoot compared to some of his other work, including Carnival Row, Outlander, Black Mirror, and Sherwood, to name but a handful.
As to the future of Ellis and a possible season two, he said: “It’s all over to the audience now. It’s all about the audience’s response to things whether that’s music or drama, that’s who we make stuff for. Our great writer Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre, she already has ideas for season two. We are at the hands of our wonderful audience.”
Along with acting, Gower is also the lead singer of the band Gustaffson, which he formed during the pandemic with his good friend James ‘Webbo’ Webster.
Gustaffson will release their debut album Black & White Movie next year with their first single On Broadway coming today (October 11) with a music video featuring Daniel Ings of The Gentlemen and Sex Education fame.
The band is also going on tour across the UK with gigs in Glasgow, Manchester and London in the coming months with Black & White Movie, which features tracks described as being standalone films in their own right.
Reflecting on pursuing his music career alongside his acting commitments, the Liverpool-born actor said: “At their heart, I think they really compliment each other.” He said he was “so lucky” to have worked with some of the best creatives in the industry but at the end of each project would “hand over his work” and would see it a year later.
However, it was during the Covid pandemic Gower decided he wanted to “tell some stories of my own” and had been writing song lyrics since he was 15.
“This was my chance to tell stories about things I’ve seen or things I’m passionate about or I imagine,” he said. Gower also described his music as something of a legacy.
Gustaffson’s single On Broadway is out on October 11 and their album Black & White Movie will be released in 2025
Ellis premieres on Channel 5 this autumn
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