Dakota Richards from Endeavour Interview

ITV’s Endeavour: Dakota Richards Interview.

I was invited to ITV’s headquaters in London to get the lovely opportunity to interview newly cast actress Dakota Richards, in series 3 of Endeavour.

Endeavour is a prequel that follows ITV’s long-running series of “IEndeavour”. The drama follows a young Inspector Morse (Shawn Evans) starting his career at Oxford City Police CID as Detective Constable. Detective Inspector Fred Thursday (Roger Allum) is a veteran Detective who helps Morse by taking him under his wing.

The drama has returned from a large gap since last being airred on telly in 2014. Now, having returned, can it still live up to its expectations? I interview new arrival Dakota Richards (The Golden Compass & Skins) who plays, Constable Shirley Trewlove. We discuss how much of a fan she is? What we should look out for with our new Constable? and much more!

Read my interview here —

So, Endeavour! (Dakota Giggles) Are you a fan? (Dakota laughs).

Yes! I have seen a few episodes of the show, but I haven’t ever watched the whole lot in order. So, I watched it when I was sent the script, and, am definitely a fan now.

I think its a beautifally shot show and I think the actors are great and the lines are really engaging. What’s not to like. (Laughs).

What intrigued you to join Endeavour and take on the role of Constable Shirley Trewlove?

Well, by taking on the role, it was a leap of faith. The scripts I was sent originally for the meeting had very, VERY, little of my character in it. Because it was just an introduction, you didnt get to see much of her and it came with this BIG Promise of more to come. So, I had to trust the writer Russell, and the directros and producers that they were going to turn her into somebody interesting. I had to base a lot of my decisison on what I had seen before. I thought I really loved what Roger and Sean were doing.

Can you tell us a little more about that?

She is the latest addition to the force. She’s quite young and very new, this is her first posting. She’s very enthusiastic, get’s stuck in straight away. Is very astute and picks up a lot of details that others might not nessaserily have picked up on. Is like Endeavour in that way, think they taking instant liking to each other because their based in a kindred spirit. Someone who puzzle things out in the same way, Has the same sort of need to know. Both driven by that force.

Reading a little bit about series 3, Inspector Morse has been framed for Chief Constable Rupert Dandishes murder, How does your character step into all this? What is she trying to find out? Have we got any more information regarding that?

I think most of the loose ends are from the previous series tied up to the first episode of this series. Which I am not qualified to talk about as I havent seen or read the first script of this series. I was never given it, I didn’t read about it (laughs).

I come into episode two and I get the sense that she comes in with a sort of flood of new young people that are joining up and possibly because a lot of the old ones have had to go. After the end of the last series. So she is part of the fresh wave and this new insight I guess. She fits in pretty quickly and they take quite a liking to her. Lucky me (laughs).

Is it intimidating joining an established cast?

It’s always intimidating, Yes, particularly because it’s Sean and Roger know their characters so well, and Sean Rigby as well! Don’t want to leave him out. A very integral part of this cast. They know their character’s so well, they know Russell so well, they get the way that he writes. They work very well together. Coming into that is going to be scary, especially under the circumstances not knowing anything about my character and didn’t know were I was going to fit. They made me feel very comfortable and like I belonged there. Both wonderful actors, a big reason why I wanted to be part of the show. Roger, has such a wealth of experience and can sit and listen to Roger talk all day.

When you are reading the script, how soon can you predict the killer or whatever the stories going to be is. Are you quite good at spotting these things?

Well, I’m trying to think, the first scri pt that I read for episode two, I actually knew! Who done it (laughs) in that episode because it was in breakdown I was given, so that is abit of a cheat. I remember the first episode that I watched was the pilot episode with Flora Montgomery, who I was working with at the time that I watched it.

That one I didn’t get at all, and I normally think I’m quite good at these things. Then I did finally realise who it was I kicked myself. I think it’s nice that endeavour suprises its viewers I think. It’s always going to be a narrow group, because it has to be one of the guest characters unless it’s one of us. Choice’s are limited, but often they do take us by suprise.

basement in the library I think it was. I remember that episode and not getting it at all. Who was that guy (laughs). Maybe our viewers are more intelligent than me (laughs). But they definitely take me by suprise.

What message do you want the viewers to take away from you character?

One of the most important things to remember when watching my character join the show is that this was not a time when women where in the police force and the women who were in the police force tend to be given the lesser role. I think, genereally women are more introduced because men were seen to be not sensitive enough to do some of the more sensitive roles. Things like: delivering news, dealing with victims of sexual assault, dealing with children, all these sort of roles that, because it was a time that sensitivity in men was not encouraged. So they needed to introduce women.

way true love is quite unique, because she takes a lot of that on. She’s an inspiration to me, as somebody who is not limited in the time that she lives in and the people around her and the fact that she’s a woman in a mans world. I think things are definitely better for women now than they where in the sixities. But it is by no means a fight that is over. There is still massive inaquality between men and women, particularly in my industry. She’s an inspiration to me.

But they’re so welcoming and relaxed, open to ideas. Sean, was especially, I remember one episode in particular, it’s when Endeavour is stabbed in the There was not a whole lot of investigative work being done by women.

Did you have anyone that you looked at, researched of during that period of time that helped you develop your character, and how she thought?

There was no particular person that I had in mind when I was approaching her. I mean the bit of research that I done on the role of women in the police in the sixities. I was taking inspiriation from anyone who been brave enough to step into a mans world. Looking at my grand mother, who was a woman in the sixties, amongst other people, I think I tried to draw on parts of myself that I felt could relate to this character. A lot of it is in the writing and very lucky so much is given to us.

Why do you think detective dramas are still so popular, that they’ve been going since pretty much television began?

I think because everybody secretly thinks they’re an amazing detective (laughs). For the same reason that superhero films are as popular as they are. People want to see a bit of themselves in those characters. It’s really one of the only sort of formats viewers really feel engaged with in that way. As if they are doing much of the detective work as the on screen detectives. There’s almost a challenge of who can get it first. People really like that. That’s the reason I enjoy the shows. I think they’re being really well made, I think that’s a bonus.

Just off Camera, have you ever taken anything off set?

I steal all my clothes (Laughs). Most of my clothes, I’ve taken from sets. My favourite thing that I took from the set was er, I just did, A Streetcar named Desire. I have a line were I am saying “You can describe someone in your love life’, and pulled out a picture of my husband. The picture is so hilarious. It’s of the guy who played my husbands face photoshoped on a cheesy army body and put into black and white and its very pouty, every night I pulled it out, I would laugh. I kept that. Framed on the wall.

Cheeky! Well — we have learnt a lot from our angelic Dakota Richards. Nevertheless, she also told us she has a love for photography and would love to get back into that as a hobby.

Endeavour is now being aired on ITV, you can catch up on ITV Hub if you missed this exciting series return. Dakota’s performance is marvellous as Constable Shirley Trewlove.

Follow me on Mark Meets where I catch up with more stars from ITV’s Dramas, Film Premieres and much more.

Article by: Ali Armian

Photography by: Quulzz & ITV

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