An Australian TV classic Neighbours is set to end its long run on British television this week with a star-studded finale.
Those missing some antipodean drama can relax though with the addition of a small-screen hit from Down Under.
The Newsreader is set to arrive on BBC2 tonight with a double bill.
The series is set in a commercial television newsroom in 1986, where newsreader Helen Norville (Anna Torv) has gained a reputation for being difficult. She finds she is often overlooked by her chauvinistic colleagues despite her obvious talent but she’s determined to prove her credentials as a serious journalist.
Meanwhile, junior reporter Dale Jennings (Sam Reid) is hoping to one day work his way up to being a star anchor himself.
When they are paired up, they find their personal and private lives begin to intertwine as they cover some of the decade’s biggest stories.
In the first episode, Helen and Dale form a fragile new alliance as they prepare to cover their first story together – the launch of the space shuttle Challenger.
In theory, it’s a straightforward assignment but then events take a dramatic turn. In the second edition, the big story on air is the approach of Halley’s Comet.
However, actress Torv, whose previous credits include Fringe and Mindhunter, believes that if her character sounds like any of the decade’s real newsreaders, there’s a simple explanation.
“I did a couple of sessions with a person they’d brought in to teach the newsreading but what I learned is that the phrasing, and all that kind of stuff, comes through the autocue. The way you speak as a newsreader is because you can’t see the next word,” she said.
“Back in the day, like in the 80s, these guys would just go and get wasted at lunch. Absolutely rolling drunk. Then get their make-up put on, come back in and then just go: ‘Good…evening…I’m…Helen Norville. Welcome to News…at Six.’”
Fans of David Fincher’s moody serial killer thriller Mindhunter will recognise Torv, who played forensic profiler Professor Wendy Carr. Her cool demeanour is distant from the outgoing news anchor, she explained.
“Often you take jobs in a kind of reaction to the last gig that you had,” she said. “I wanted to make Helen just not still. I just needed her to be just volatile and outwardly so, in every area.”
The Newsreader, BBC2, tonight, 9pm and 9.55pm
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