Date Published: September 11, 2024 —
What appealed about Nightsleeper?
When I read the scripts, I really could hear Abbyâs voice, and Iâve never had that before. I loved how fearless she was. Sheâs working class with this spiky energy and I knew that I needed to be the voice of this character. Sheâs an underdog, while being in charge of this whole operation as Acting Technical Director at the National Cyber Security Centre, and I loved that contrast. I really related to that pressure of wanting to succeed, of having people around her doubt her and for her to prove them wrong. I wanted to step up and prove myself as well, Iâve been acting since I was a kid, the last 20 years or something, so to finally be given a chance to step up and lead a big BBC show felt like a big deal.
Was there a moment where you realised that leading a big BBC show would live up to expectations?
My first day of shooting, actually. It was a scene from episode two where Abby walks back into the office and stands up on the balcony, giving a speech to say to her team: Come on, we can do this! That was my first scene so my nerves as Alex were through the roof. I was thinking: how am I going to get over this? But I realised Abby would be feeling incredibly nervous and buzzy and sheâd want to show everyone what she’s made of. So Abby trying to rouse them and inspire them? Most of that was just Alex saying: I’m here, I’ve arrived, I’m going to steer the ship as best as I can.
How do you sell the tech jargon?
Well, I know nothing about computers. Half the time I havenât got a clue what Abbyâs actually saying so youâve just got to hope the writers have done their research and fully commit to it. If I didnât, then weâd be in trouble.
How would you describe Abby?
When we first meet Abby, sheâs about to switch her phone off, forget about everything at work and go on holiday with her best friend. Itâs the first holiday she’s taken in years. She lost her dad a few months ago and has ploughed herself into work. She was first discovered by the National Cyber Security Centre, because she hacked into the system when she was a teenager and came to their attention as someone with potential. She was plucked out of South Wales and brought to London at an early age and trained in this stuff, and it’s become her life. Her work is almost her entire personality and she doesn’t really know who she is outside of that. Just as she’s at the airport about to check in for the flight, she gets a phone call to say: Hang on, there’s something dodgy going on, you might want to take a look. Abby has a spidey sense, she’s always one step ahead of everybody. She feels something’s not right and she needs to be across it.
Is she bothered about missing her holiday?
Oh, she does not want to go on that holiday â her friend is forcing her go. She feels more at home in that office with the computers and her team around her than anywhere. That’s definitely her happy place.
Did you do much research into Abbyâs world?
I came on to this job pretty late in the game, but I spoke a lot to the writer, Nick Leather, whoâs done years of research into it, and dived into certain podcasts about hackers and cybersecurity. It feels like something like this could never happen, but then you start looking into it and realise, actually this may be just one little step away. That fear we all have of the unknown, playing out in real time is going to be really unsettling for an audience, I hope. In the first episode, when the train starts moving on its own, itâs almost sci-fi and so unnerving. After this goes out, maybe people will bike to work!
Does Abby feel confident about handling the crisis?
She wants to present as confident, but she has an element of doubt within her, imposter syndrome that was something I really enjoyed playing. I brought my own imposter syndrome to it, really: she’s trained her whole life for this moment and she enjoys that pressure, but on the flip side, there’s a voice inside her head thinking: Am I the right person to lead this? Am I going to be able to save those people on the train?
As Acting Technical Director of the NCC, does she see this as a bit of an audition?
Definitely. That carrot is dangled in the first episode, which is all she’s dreamed off since when she was a little girl in South Wales. To have her own office, her own team, to be in this world that she understands, it’s so instinctive to her. She’s ambitious, but she’s fighting a lot of doubt.
What can you say about the relationship between Abby and Pev (David Threlfall)?
I love that relationship! He’s the one who saw her potential from a very young age and heâs almost become a father figure for her, especially as sheâs just lost her dad. Heâs seen by some as a wildcard, but she sees his genius and how his brain works â she understands it because she has it too, so they really get each other. She brings him in, much to everyone’s dismay and shock, but she trusts him completely.
Does Abby have any suspicions about who might be responsible?
She has to believe that it could be anyone. She thinks differently to everybody else in the cyber office â those guys fixate on someone and lose sight of the bigger picture, whereas she has an ability to see problems before they arise and keep an open mind. She can shape shift, that’s her sort of superpower.
How does her relationship with Joe Roag (played by Joe Cole) develop?
She likes him from the off. She trusts him and they share a sense of humour. Thereâs a scene where they’re singing a Kate Nash song together which shows their chemistry and shared perspectives. Although itâs a massive, scary situation, they just connect on a human, basic level, which becomes a real life-raft for them as the relationship is tested andsurprises and secrets come out about them both.
How did you find all the phone acting over six episodes of TV?
It was really challenging, and itâs rare to be shooting a show with your co-star and not actually see them physically. I was a bit nervous about how that would work, but I know Joe a little bit so that definitely helped. I came up with a system that worked for me, with an excellent Scottish actor John Scougall reading with me on set behind the camera. That was so helpful to have him there. That quietness and intimacy anchors Abby in the show and those moments feel like a bit of a haven within the confines of this crazy situation.
Would you like to play Abby again?
On the last day, I took her jacket off and hung it up and thought: please let me meet this character again and take her on another adventure. She made me braver. She stayed with me and she’s in my bones now.
About
All episodes of Nightsleeper will arrive on BBC iPlayer at 6am on Sunday 15 September. Episodes will air on BBC One every Sunday and Monday from 9pm that night.
Nightsleeper is a real-time thriller for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Created by BAFTA-winning writer Nick Leather, it is a six-part series in which a train is âhackjackedâ and driven through one single night from Glasgow to London on an uncertain journey. Part fast-moving heart-in-mouth action-adventure and part twisty-turny whodunnit detective story, itâs a roller coaster drama where no-one is ever quite who they seem.
Leading the fight are Joe Roag, a cop who is a passenger on the train and Abby Aysgarth, the acting technical director at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). But who are they fighting? And how can they win against the self-styled âDriverâ who seems one step ahead of every solution?
Thereâs a small team working the night shift alongside Abby and a handful of passengers left on the train with Joe but are they all as innocent as youâd think? Who can they trust? Who can we trust? Are there people on board who know more than they are letting on?
Produced by Fremantleâs Euston Films for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, the 6×60 series is written by Nick Leather (Murdered For Being Different) and stars Alexandra Roach (The Light in the Hall) and Joe Cole (Gangs of London).
The series is executively produced by Euston Filmsâ managing director Kate Harwood, with Nick Leather, Jamie Magnus Stone and with Gaynor Holmes for the BBC. The series is directed by Jamie Magnus Stone (Doctor Who, Ten Pound Poms) and John Hayes (Dublin Murders). Created and written by Nick Leather with Laura Grace (Episodes 4 and 5). Producer is Jonathan Curling (The Sister, Baghdad Central). Co-Producer is Daisy Costello. Fremantle handles global distribution.
Watch Nightsleeper on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Sunday 15 September
Source
BBC One
