31 March 2024

Interview with Ben Rose who plays Bardon in This Town

What can you tell us about the family dynamics in This Town?

This Town centres around an extended family in two halves, Dante’s and Bardon’s. When the show starts Dante and Bardon haven’t seen each other for a while.

One of the things I think is really interesting is that Dante’s and Bardon’s dads are very different in terms of how they father. Bardon and Dante are very different in terms of the kind of young men they are or want to be. So the series features really interesting examples of different kinds of men, how they interact and how that influences each other.

What’s also interesting, because their nan and their mums are so important, is how women influence Dante and Bardon. And when the characters get into the band how the women in the band influence Dante and Bardon, teaching them about the other aspects of being a well-rounded man.

And how about the dynamics of the band?

I’ve played guitar and other instruments for a long time and I’ve been in bands since I was a teenager so that stuff is all second nature to me. Freya has been in bands too and she is a class bassist. It’s been good having two of us on each side of the band – Freya being able to lock in with Shyvonne on drums and help her focus on rhythmic stuff and timing, and me being able to lock in with Levi and Eve a bit more. It’s also made it really fun because everyone is learning and everyone’s improving at different things, via the supportive elements of being in the band.

Can you describe your character’s ‘look’?

Working with costume designer Molly Emma Rowe has been great, as we had the exact same idea of the core of Bardon and how he’d express himself clothes-wise. At the beginning it’s practical, Bardon only has one pair of boots he wears for the whole series, he’s got two pairs of jeans – a black and a blue pair – then he has his trousers for when he does his Irish dancing. It’s like he doesn’t need any more than that. As the series goes on and he gives himself permission to express himself a bit more, or start to feel more confident and stronger within himself he finds a leather jacket – that classic thing of shedding one skin and trying on another.

How does music impact your character?

On the Irish side it’s huge, music is in the community and day to day life – like singing when you work, having a lock-in with everyone playing and singing. Bardon does Irish dancing as well so he’s always been connected to music in that sense. Also his mum is a singer, she’s always had music in her life and performed when she was younger. In the show there’s not a lot of happy family memories for Bardon, but some of those from his childhood would be singing with his parents.

What do you love about this story?

I love this story because it’s so dramatic and also fun. And all the way through it all the characters really care about each other, they’re always looking out for one another. When everything is going crazy for one of them, someone has their back somewhere.

Set in a world of family ties, teenage kicks and the exhilarating music of a generation, This Town tells the story of a band’s formation against a backdrop of violence, capturing how creative genius can emerge from a time of madness. Both a high octane thriller and a family saga, This Town opens in 1981 at a moment of huge social tensions and unrest. Against this backdrop, it tells the story of a group of young people fighting to choose their own paths in life, and each in need of the second chance that music offers.

This Town (6×60) is produced by Kudos (a Banijay UK company) and Nebulastar for the BBC, co-produced with Mercury Studios, in association with Kudos North, Stigma Films and Nick Angel.

This Town is available in full on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Sunday 31 March, with episodes one and two airing on BBC One at 9pm on Sunday 31 March and Monday 1 April. The series continues on BBC One on Sundays at 9pm.