Marshall Latham
21 May 2009

Debbie has done a good job of keeping Marshall Latham under wraps since she started dating him in 2007 but this week she takes the plunge and brings him to Home Farm - thereby introducing him to what could be politely described as her "unconventional" family.

Paul Curran (Marshal Latham)

Once bitten ...
Debbie could be forgiven for having a tough time trusting men. Her three-year marriage to Simon Gerrard ended badly when he cheated on her with the wife of a colleague and, shortly after, she was hit by the revelation of Brian's affair with Siobhan Hathaway. Brian's betrayal was compounded by the fact that Ruairi was born out of the deceit - and Debbie retreated to Hungary to lick her wounds. She soon created a new life for herself, making a success of her work and leading a rather chaste existence - until she met Marshall: a farm manager on a British-owned arable farm near Kecskemet. Jennifer was delighted to hear the news and hoped that Marshall would finally be the man to give Debbie some lasting happiness.

Meet the Aldridges
Jennifer met (and approved of) Marshall during her visit to Hungary in December 2008 but Debbie has hitherto kept her boyfriend well away from Brian. Brain had started to become paranoid that Debbie had portrayed him as a monster, so the news that she was finally ready to bring Marshall to Ambridge came as something of a surprise. Protective Brian appeared to be a little unsettled when faced with the prospect of meeting the not-so-new man in Debbie's life, but for Marshall getting to know the 'in-laws' is just the tip of the iceberg. Meetings with an ailing Jack, the fraudulent Matt and a stressed-out Lilian are also on the menu. So, how will he react to Debbie's weird and wonderful family?

The man behind the voice
Marshall is played by Paul Curran, an experienced theatre, film and television actor, but a relative newcomer to radio. Archers Editor Vanessa Whitburn had seen Paul performing alongside Richard Derrington (who played Mark Hebden) in Death of a Salesman at the Bridge House Theatre in Warwick and recommended him for the role. Paul was delighted (and surprised) to receive the call from his agent offering him the part of Marshall and felt it was important to research the Aldridge family before his first day in studio. Rather predictably, he found some of family history somewhat complex: "I came to the studio with lots of questions about why Debbie's relationship with Brian was quite so strained, and why she'd taken on his surname - but, thankfully, everyone was really lovely and helpful."

Recording scenes for four episodes in one day meant that, while Marshall was having a "whistle-stop tour of Ambridge", Paul was introduced to "the great and the good of the village - which was wonderful for me as an actor, as it meant I got to meet an awful lot of the regulars." Paul was "astonished" by the longevity of Archers veterans June Spencer (Peggy), Angela Piper (Jennifer) and Charles Collingwood (Brian), and especially enjoyed working with Tamsin Greig (Debbie): "Her manner is so relaxed as a performer, and everyone benefits from that".

Paul's first day in The Archers studio was a steep learning curve (director Peter Leslie Wild had to reassure Paul that it was OK not to carry Marshall's suitcase himself, thereby introducing him to the wonderful world of spot effects), but Paul confirms that he had a wonderful time immersing himself in the character and getting to know the different members of the cast. Now, all that remains to be seen is whether Marshall's first appearance at Home Farm will go quite as smoothly.

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