Interviews A Catch Up with Nathan Sussex by Djak J Forrest

 

It was a warm Bank Holiday afternoon, the window was open, and the sawing from another build was getting underway outside as I settled down for a Skype call from Nathan. He was super chilled on his sofa, where just behind him hung an ornate mirror with a gold gilt frame. It was a wonderful catch up where not only did we talk about Hollyoaks and the return of Buster Smith, but also his role in Russell T Davies' new drama series Boys. We talked about life in Lockdown and the crazy world we’re currently living in, his radio show with Carol Vorderman, and Torchwood. So, make yourself a cuppa, pull up a pew and enjoy!

Hi Nathan, how are you doing? 

Nathan: Not bad. Trying to get back to some normality but, think it's the same for everyone, isn't it? 

Yeah, some more than others. I was working. I've never experienced Lockdown. It was weird. 

Nathan: Yeah, well I worked all the way through it as well. I've got a day job in an office so they stayed open so I didn't have a Lockdown, I was always going out.

I did other things [too], I did lots around the house, I did some gardening, got the garden all sorted. But of course, I was also able to do the radio show with Carol [Vorderman], so that was being broadcast on a Saturday, so at least I could get out and get to the studio every Saturday, so I had that to look forward to in the week. 

How did the Radio Show come about? Have you always dabbled in radio and that kind of thing? 

Nathan: Well the only radio I've done, is radio drama. I've done lots of radio plays for Radio 4 and Radio Wales, but actually presenting radio - never done that. So, I just went in to chat - I'd just won the Soap Awards and a friend of mine who was working on Carol's show said, 'do you fancy coming in for a chat' and I said, yeah, great. We went in, we had a chat and me and Carol got on great. I was literally in there a few minutes and on the way home, the producer phoned and said 'Oh got a proposition for you, how you bounced off each other in the studio, would you mind coming in and doing some co-hosting with her?' I was like, ooh, OK, well I've never done it before, but I was like, yeah, why not. So, they said, ‘come in for three shows’, I went in and did the three shows. They said 'we'll let you build up and see how you get on'. I mean, we hit it off straight away, the first show was just brilliant and that was over a year ago, and I'm still there. So obviously I'm doing something right.

So, Buster's return, what was that like getting the phone call? 

Nathan: It was a real shock. I wasn't expecting to go back at all because I knew where the story was heading and when he got sent to prison, I thought, well that's me done now. So, there was never any talk about him coming back, so I just carried on and then I think it was February I got a phone call from my agent, 'Oh Hollyoaks want you to come in for some extra episodes.' I was like, great. I filmed those in March, so they were filmed before Lockdown, and they should have gone out in May but they pushed it now to September for the new season to kick in, so they're billing it as a little mini return for Buster. 

So, is this for Brody's closure? 

Nathan: Yeah. Obviously, he didn't get much closure in the court case and there's a storyline at the moment with Warren and Felix. They're delving into an old care home story where they were both brought up in a care home and they were abused by the care worker and it's triggering something off in Brody that he wants some closure from his abuser. 

And then he's encouraged to go and visit Buster. I think he's already made that announcement before they came off air. And what you'll see then is him coming to visit me and Buster up to his old tricks. 

When will these episodes air? 

Nathan: I think my stuff goes out on the 21st and 22nd of September. 

Boys! Russell T Davies. Can you tell us anything about that? 

Nathan: Oh, that was an amazing little job. So, as you know, Russell has written this drama called Boys which is set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic. It's all in the 80s. You've got an amazing 80s soundtrack and there's tracks on there that people will remember and reminisce to, I'm sure. It's about five young people living in London and it's about their relationships together and just their struggle. Their individual struggle and journey in what was a really scary time. 

Russell has always wanted to write it he was saying, through the read through when we had the big table read. And it's taken a long time to get it onto TV. It's very personal for him as well because a lot of the characters are people he grew up with when he was young, living in London. It's a really poignant story I think and one that resonates today with everything that has gone on with the pandemic. I know it's a very different disease but still one that was filled with fear and prejudice. Nobody knew anything about it. So, it's going to be very interesting when it comes out especially with people having gone through what they've gone through this year, what their thoughts might be on the AIDS epidemic, because AIDS seems to have disappeared out of the public psyche 'cos everyone is living with HIV at the moment. So, AIDS has kind of disappeared so, it's revisiting that bit of history I think, especially that LGBT history. 

Is it going to be like Queer as Folk? 

Nathan: This is all set in London. It goes between London and New York, so it's very different to Queer as Folk. Whereas Queer as Folk I think, was ground breaking. It was pushing the boundaries and attitudes towards gay sex and gay relationships and it was allowing people to see inside that world and on a network show whereas this, it's a bit more of a historical trip, so you're seeing what life was like when that AIDS bomb dropped and how people were treated and there was a lot of prejudice, as we know, still is, but back then particularly, and I wasn't aware of all the prejudice and when you had the disease, and how you were treated in hospital, because you were pretty much imprisoned, and they wouldn't release you because they didn't know enough about the disease, so, I think it's a very different story to Queer as Folk, but one just as important. 

I've been reading Russell's Writers Tale, when he was talking to Benjamin Cook, and he was talking then around the time when David Tennant was leaving the show, as well as himself stepping down from being the Doctor Who showrunner,  and he mentioned about writing story ideas like Boys but he hadn’t got a title for it, and then talking about the dystopian future drama 'Years & Years' and it stunned me that he's kept so many stories back to use in the future, so I love seeing his things coming out. 

Nathan: And he's really clever, because all his characters, they will all have a little bit of somebody that he knows, like he might put a bit of his parents in there, a close friend, he'll create a character that comes from something really personal. That's what writers do, I guess. Their inspiration is the people around them and the experiences they've had. 

I like that photo of you beside the red brick wall. You look very comfortable and relaxed in photos.  Is that important when you're having photos like that taken? 

Nathan: That was a shoot I did recently, as I had some new head shots done and while I was doing those, I'd been doing a few press interviews over the last couple of weeks and they always want a full-length photo. So, I asked if I could have some publicity shots done, and my friend, who is an actress and she also does head shots, but she doesn't specialise in publicity full length shots. So, I said, 'well, let's give it a go' and we went around different areas, near her house, and yeah, we came up with some different poses and it’s a tricky one because they like you looking into camera.  Sometimes they like you to look away, or sometimes they like you putting on a jacket, like 'in the moment' type thing, so you just get a selection for them, and they pick which ones they want.

 

I don't mind doing them. The very first time I did shots like that I was in Hollyoaks and a photographer kindly up there offered. He said 'I'll do some shots for you, for free' and we did a whole load of publicity stuff, and at the time I was on the publicity rounds because I was just leaving, so I used his shots as well so I'm getting better at them. I hate going for photos but it’s gotta be done sometimes. 

So, are these with Claire Cage taking the photos? 

Nathan: Yeah, because she's Claire Cage as an actress and Claire Cousin Photography. She keeps the two, separate. She's been doing head shots for years and she's well used in Cardiff and I only ever use her because I've known her for decades and it's important for me, with a photographer, I have to feel really comfortable, and because we know each other extremely well and we're goofy around each other, and literally we spend the session just giggling. And she's got the camera on me and we're just chatting and gossiping about anything, and I find that really comforting because I'm not stressing about 'Oh what should I be doing with my head' and the session flies by and we've got some great shots. 

So, the photo you had on your Page, of you with a head full of hair, where was that from? It was one of your profile photos. 

Nathan: Well, that's somebody on Twitter, because there are some super fans of Hollyoaks who follow you around on Socials, and somebody very kindly did this of me, it must have been on FaceApp or something. They must have downloaded a photo of me and then put it on FaceApp to show what I looked like with hair. I found it hysterical because I've tried these apps before and I look hideous because the hairline looks a bit wonky, I don't know what they did to get the hair but it looked like I'd had a hair transplant. So, I said, 'well I'm going to keep that' and I posted it up on some of my things and I'm blown away by it. 

When you were talking about your radio shows earlier, and your radio plays, have you done anything for Doctor Who or Torchwood or Big Finish before? 

Nathan: No, because I know of Big Finish because Scott Handcock produces them, and I've never been asked. It's something I've not got into, something I've not been asked. It might happen one day, I don't know. 

What were the radio plays that you have done? 

Nathan: Over the years I've done a fair few. Some of them have been for Radio Wales back in the day, sort of Welsh local playwright. Then I did a few for Radio 4, Radio 3. They were more classical. Then the last one I did which was just before Hollyoaks, I did a play that was doing the Russian Tsar season and I went in to do a day, because sometimes with a radio play you can be in for four or five days if you have a big part, or if you have a small part you're done in half a day, but they're really nice little jobs. I love doing radio plays because it doesn't matter what you look like as long as you play around with your voice, you can offer different accents, different sounds, they're so much fun. 

When I did the Russian Tsar one, I think there were six or seven of us in the studio and we had to play Russian peasants, so the director said, 'give me your best Russian angry peasants, hungry, and we were all at the same time screaming like 'Kill them. We want food. Raaaaah' and we were screaming and screaming. You just giggle then; it was so funny. 

After 'Boys' and 'Hollyoaks' what plans do you have in the pipeline? 

Nathan: What plans? Well, do you know what, nothing coming up. As you know, Lockdown has been very difficult for all industries. I've had a few auditions through lockdown, self-tape auditions, but they didn't go any further. At the moment it’s just a kind of 'suck it and see' because nobody knows what's happening. I've got nothing in the diary. I'm not expecting anything to be honest for the rest of this year. My agent is constantly putting me up for roles, but who knows? It could be like this for a long time. I mean, I've still got the radio ongoing, which is a godsend, that's keeping me entertained and I feel like I'm doing something. As for acting, I mean, I'm supposed to be doing more Hollyoaks, I don't know when, but another episode but I'm just waiting on that. Yeah, we'll just see what happens. 

Other than the radio, at home, how do you keep yourself busy? How do you keep yourself ticking over, kind of thing? 

Nathan: I exercise a lot, so my running, I keep my mental health in check. I always say to anybody - running is so good for the soul. Like literally, if you've had a really shit day, you go for a 20 - 30 minute run and you don't have to be an athlete you know, everyone has got different fitness levels, but I always say, go for a 20 - 30 minute run, literally everything that has been bothering you all day in your mind, you just leave it out on the side of the road, and you get back home you feel a little bit refreshed, energised and then it feels like you've just  deleted everything from your brain so that's helped keep me going. 

Just doing normal things really. Drink has helped!!! I think I've helped keep Tesco's alcohol sales going!!! 

Nearing the end of the catch up, we talked a little about the restrictions in Lockdown, and eating out, in general and whether he preferred eating at home or going into a restaurant and whether he’d taken advantage of the Help Out to Eat Out Schemes. 

Nathan: Down here you couldn't get a table for love nor money, like literally everywhere was full. We did go out for dinner last week for a curry which was really nice, as part of 'on the scheme'. But I'm quite happy just to get it delivered and just eat in and I probably will have a Chinese tonight just to finish off the Bank Holiday. 

Did you feel uncomfortable, eating in at a restaurant, in light of all the Covid stuff? Sitting inside a building rather than outside of it. 

Nathan: I've got very mixed feelings on the whole thing because I'm still going about doing everything normal. I mean, I've been working all the way through it. I've been out amongst people, all the way through it. I mean there wasn't many people out on the streets during Lockdown granted but I was still in an office environment where people were working. Covid was in the building because a couple of people had it and they were all sent home. As for going out, it doesn't bother me that much. I'm happy to go out. I must admit I'm not a mask wearer. I haven't been wearing masks properly. I dunno, I've got mixed feelings on the whole thing really. I know it exists. It's there but it’s the fear factor, I haven't really given into the fear that the media wants us to feel. 

I'm actually surprised that Scotland have everything under relative control albeit a few new cases in Glasgow and Lanarkshire, yet Scotland seems to be better than England and Wales, with regards to Covid, yet I'm just wondering, why is it still here? 

Nathan: I think there was something on the BBC news about Cardiff being monitored because they were thinking of putting us into a local Lockdown because between 20 - 30 year olds, it has risen again and I think that it’s down to the fact that they opened the cities back up for the nights and Saturdays are back to how they used to be. And I think it’s probably risen in that age group for that reason. 

It seems to be quite normal down here apart from the Covid guidelines in restaurants and bars but yeah, we've got the Winter to contend with yet. Nobody knows how that's going to go. 

We were nearing the end of our chat, and Nathan brought up the subject of Torchwood, and Cardiff and the Shrine, and it brought back some nostalgic memories of when I’d last visited the area in 2016. 

Nathan: We were on the show the other week and we did a Torchwood Special. We were talking to a lady, she's the caretaker for Ianto's Shrine, in the Bay, Carol Ann Hillman. It was so interesting talking to her because she's taken on the role, like she's taken it upon herself and it’s something she's done now, for ages. She's put a new sort of plaque up and she tidies up all the pictures, and the flowers that get left. And she's now started offering, for people that can't get to Cardiff, cards and then she puts the cards on the wall for people. She's done over 40 cards she was saying, for people. I thought, that is a cool little job to have, isn't it? 

We talked a little about the Shrine, and about how much the city had changed since my last visit.  

Nathan: The bay looks so different now, because the Doctor Who Experience has gone, so it's unrecognisable now.  That big blue tent has gone. The Shrine is obviously still there but yeah, it's very different down there now. 

The Roald Dahl Plass, they haven't put anything out there this year, but what has happened is they've cordoned it off now because everyone was gathering there on a Friday and Saturday and drinking. And so going into Sainsbury's and Tesco's and buying all their drink and food and then sitting on the amphitheatre steps and using it as a social thing but they were leaving all their rubbish behind. The scenes in Cardiff over the summer, the rubbish. So, the Police or the council have put up signs and fencing all the way around so nobody can use it now. It's what they should have done in the first place because they couldn't control it and the street cleaners were having to sort it out and they should have done that ages ago 'cos they've ruined it for everyone now. 

So, it's been a bit of an epidemic down here with the litter. It's the same in the parks where I live. People have been gathering down there in Lockdown with barbecues and picnics and there's not enough bins and they leave it all on the ground. Street cleaners are not there to clean up after everyone, they're there to keep the streets clean. 

Thanks for an awesome catch up, Nathan.

Buster Smith photos courtesy of Hollyoaks

Nathan against brick wall courtesy of Nathan Sussex and

Credit to Claire Cousin Photography.