How would you introduce series two?

Series two begins a couple of months on from series one. After liberating North Africa from the Nazis, the SAS make their way to Italy towards some important battles.

How does it feel to step back into Eve’s boots?

We get to see a new side of Eve. I think if you see her character, how she’s a fighter and doesn’t let go, it makes sense that she’d have this new side. In series two you get to explore Eve in action on the front line, but it was important to me that it wasn’t just her being a ‘bad ass’. It wasn’t about her looking or feeling like she knows exactly what she’s doing. Just because Eve was taught when she was young how to shoot and kill with a gun it doesn’t mean that once she’s in front of a human being it’s easy for her to apply. I don’t think Eve enjoys killing, period, and she says that to Bill Stirling. It really affects her, and I think there are layers of trauma building underneath.

Eve is in a very different situation in series two. David is a prisoner of war and she meets his brother Bill – what is that like for her?

David being in prison changes the dynamic for Eve compared to series one, as it really raises the stakes of the liberation, getting through the war, and accomplishing her duty and mission. She’s very protective of David and so when she meets Bill and learns of the changes he is making to the SAS it rubs her the wrong way immediately. Eve has to deal with men in everything she does, and when she meets Bill she’s guarded because here is another man who doesn’t think she can do it.

Series two delves deeper into the psychological impact of war. How does that impact Eve and the men of the SAS?

I understand how, now time has passed, we can make dramas about the second World War that are intertwined with some fun and humour, but I keep reminding myself that – with some exceptions – these characters are based on real people and we’re telling their stories. When I read the series two scripts I saw that we’re really going there and diving into the psychology this time. The darkness of having to be these men; the lives they had, how young they were, and the sacrifice they all had to make. In series two you get to see the impact war has on humanity and individuals, you get to explore intimately what that does to one’s brain and heart. I personally get attached to every single character, all of the SAS, and I think the audience is getting attached to them too.

What do you think the most exciting aspect of series two is?

As well as diving deeper into the psychology of each character and how the impact of the war is affecting them, there are spectacular action sequences to dive into and get a feel of what it was like to be in the field.

How was it working with the new members of the cast?

Eve is very laser-focused so she only works with two or three people, but outside of work I had the chance to meet incredible people. I don’t know if for series one it was because we were in the middle of covid, all isolated but together, or the brilliant casting – but on a human level I met absolutely ace people and that carried on for series two. Once again the new cast and crew were spot on, good people.

Spring, 1943. Paddy Mayne takes control of the SAS following David Stirling’s capture, as attention turns from the conflict in North Africa to mainland Europe. But GHQ have cast doubt over the future of the regiment, while the creation of a second unit and an influx of new arrivals make things even more difficult for the men. Can they prove that the SAS remains essential to the war, wherever it may lead them? Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name.

SAS Rogue Heroes series two is available in full on BBC iPlayer from 6am on New Year’s Day, and airs on BBC One from 9pm that night.