Jackson's World

Case Histories distances itself from the conventional procedural 'whodunnit' by populating the protagonist's world with rich and complex characters.

The show's producer Helen Gregory stresses how she actively wanted to offer this refreshing change to TV audiences.

"It is a series of crime mysteries, but what makes ours distinctive is the fact that we are delivering stories about how people have coped with loss and tragedy and how Jackson, the ultimate survivor of such tragedies, actually helps other people through theirs."

"Even though it's Jackson's job to solve the mysteries throughout the series, the key interest lies in how the lives of the victims and relatives have been affected. It actually has very positive results. It's a form of catharsis for all involved. The crimes are often violent and distressing, but there is this huge sense of optimism and warmth in how the stories are told."

To enable the programme makers to emphasise this, they made sure that visually, this was reflected in the way in which the crimes were depicted on screen.

"We didn't shy away from warmth; we actually used it positively rather than to go down a noir, thriller route, which lots of detective shows have done," says Gregory.

"For example, Laura Wyre's fate is relayed by her father via flashback, his memory which is coloured by her emotional life - she's 18 and just setting out on life, it's exciting and dynamic and so within that, the crime itself is suffused with light and colour, even though it's a brutal stabbing."

Zawe Ashton, who plays Deborah Arnold, believes that it is this contrast of the bright and dark aspects, which bring a different dimension to the show, and what ultimately the audience will enjoy.

"Hopefully it'll just be a really brilliantly character led piece of drama because that's what it felt like on set, and not 'Oh it's another detective series' and full of conventional action."

Being Jackson

Jason Isaacs, who plays Case Histories' lead Jackson Brodie, is sure why he was initially excited to join the show.

"It's really an emotional drama about a man struggling with his past and putting together the pieces of other people's pasts to avoid his present," he says. "So he runs - a lot!"

Already familiar with the role having voiced the audio books, Isaacs felt it was important that the audience connected with the character as he had done upon reading the novels.

"I'd done the audio books so I'd played all the parts and done all the funny voices, so when they came to ask me if I wanted to do the show, I was actually slightly frustrated that I only got to play Jackson and not everybody else as well. I wanted to recreate for the viewer the same experience I had reading the books, which is the sense of slightly heightened reality: the richness of the characters and the unusual nature of Jackson's interaction with them."

On Jackson, Isaacs is keen to emphasise the importance attached to the characters and universe that surround him in helping to shape who he is.

"He's a really interesting guy, I'm never quite sure what he's going to do in any situation and with whom he is going to click. The most extraordinary characters come into his life and they ask him for help and he really ought to be saying, 'No', but he never learns his lesson. He finds it very hard not to help people out."

When asked if Jason did any research for the role he has no problem in admitting that he didn't feel it was necessary.

"There's not a lot of research you can do. I've played a lot of soldiers and I've actually come across a lot of policemen as well in the course of my work, but Jackson is an unusual, idiosyncratic guy. No one person that comes into his life is made up of an 'off the shelf' character mould, they're all odd and lost in some way. A lot are survivors of trauma, burdened by things from their past from which he helps them to escape. There wasn't a lot of research. You have to just try and be this guy in this situation."

Kate Atkinson, the writer of Case Histories, is confident Isaacs contributes a quality to the role.

"He brings a lot of thoughtfulness to the character," she says. "He doesn't just read the lines, he's honest in his thinking."

For Atkinson, the more time she spends considering Jason in the role, the more the two men merge.

"I think it's very difficult for a writer because I don't think about what characters look like and I never describe them, but when the character comes to the screen you know you are then going to have a face on them for a very long time. But for me now Jackson is Jason. In fact I get very confused and the two have melded into one."

"Kate has, in a way, created the ultimate female fantasy," says Case Histories producer Helen Gregory on Jackson. "He is very male and very strong but he has this sensitivity and warmth, so Jason's perfect for that, because there is this very masculine, tough, strong exterior but he communicates a fragility and has this ability to shoulder the burden of other people's emotions and that makes him actually very female. Jackson reads people rather than solves clues; he's not Sherlock Holmes, who has a very cerebral approach to detecting. He engages with people and observes them."

When asked if he thought he brought any of himself in particular to the character, Isaacs says, "My sense of humanity. The sense of being a man in the world and trying to do and be the right thing is something with which Jackson struggles."

"One of the enjoyable things about it is that he's quite dry," says Isaacs. "He sees the humour in everything. I don't mean he's a gag cracker, I just mean he's a dour Yorkshireman who is quite laconic and there are not many situations I find myself in as Jackson without some kind of inner comedy commentary going on inside him."

In creating the role of Jackson Brodie there were many demands that Isaacs had to meet as an actor, some of which he found more difficult than others. Originally from Liverpool, Isaacs found the transformation to a Yorkshireman fairly easy, but being surrounded by the Scots accent was a daily challenge.

"The tough thing about playing the Yorkshireman was that we shot in Edinburgh and I was constantly surrounded by these rich and glorious Scottish accents that I can't join in with. Although I've been a professional Scot for years at the beginning of my career, it's a lot easier to be a Yorkshireman when you're surrounded by Yorkshiremen."

Isaacs also had to prepare for the more physical aspects of the show. There were lots of action scenes, but he was determined to take it all in his stride and enjoyed this part of the challenge.

"If I wasn't doing this all week I'd be doing something at the weekend, running after a ball somewhere, so it saves me going to the gym. As Jackson, I am genuinely bashed to pieces. I keep getting kicked, punched and twisted and in Episode 3, I'm in the North Sea, which is below freezing and there was a severe danger of hyperthermia. I'm not asking anyone to play the violin too loudly though. It's a laugh, I like it."