David's Despair
David is understandably struggling with the death of Kylie. We spoke to Jack P Shepherd about how David is going to move forward.
How is David coping in the aftermath of Kylie’s death?
It is mixed, he has his bad moments sometimes, usually when he is with the kids and it all falls apart for him. He is trying to look after them and keep them away from being sad and trying to get them to think of her in a positive light and remember the good times but when they start bringing things up that makes David very emotional. But the rest of the time he is putting on a bit of a facade that he is coping with it. He even goes for a drink in the pub and no one talks about it, as they all find it very difficult. So it isn’t being dealt with it, it’s very clever actually the way it has been written and the two sides to David. He is also keeping himself really busy trying to make the funeral exactly right, anything but deal with the emotions surrounding her death.
How do the rest of the family react to the news?
They are all walking on eggshells around David because they don’t know if he is coping with it. They are worried about him because he wants all of her possessions to be binned straight away, he says he wants them out and he wants to move on. And the family are thinking that is all a bit too soon. Everyone reacts differently and it was such a sudden death, it’s hit everybody hard.
Why is he so desperate to find someone to blame for Kylie dying?
It gives him something to focus on, he has always had this single minded streak and it gives him a reason to carry on. He wants to blame somebody for taking her away from them. Now he doesn’t have anyone like Kylie to reign him in so he is on the warpath. Everything was going great in his life and now he wants someone to pay for what happened.
Are we seeing a bit of the old David?
He has always been there, the audience know and I know that it needs something like this to trigger a reaction and send him over the edge and this is big enough for an extreme reaction.
How did you feel when you found out Kylie would die?
I understand why they decided she had to die because if she had been left hanging around, in prison or in another country then she would still be very much part of their lives in some way. She has left him before. If she was in prison he would have had to visit her even if it wasn’t shown on screen, with a death he has to move on in one way or another. A death makes it very final so there is a different way for him to move on.
How does Sarah react when he breaks the news to her?
Well Sarah is only just starting to recover from her breakdown. David was there for her and now it is Sarah’s turn to be the strong one and she is really worried about him.
Can you talk us through the scene where he visits Kylie in the chapel of rest?
Initially they weren’t going to have Paula in the coffin, they were going to shoot it without seeing the body. But the director asked how we would feel about it and in particular how Paula would feel and she said she was prepared to do it. So now you do see David talking to his dead wife and it made the scenes more emotional for me to play. He gets an extra chance to go and see her. They are great scenes where DAvid says goodbye to Kylie for the last time.
You’ve wanted the return of bad David for a while – how do you feel about him coming back under these circumstances?
I’m really pleased with the storyline, it warrants this type of story. We know David doesn’t respond well under pressure, certainly in a situation like this he will go on the warpath and I am really looking forward to watching how it all plays out over the coming months. It is due to continue well into the autumn.
What’s it like on set without Paula?
It is weird, on her last day she finished before the end of the day so the scenes we did after she had left felt different. Even though I had been filming scenes post Kylie’s death beforehand I was still seeing her around in the green room and in some scenes. That afternoon I had to film the first scene after she dies and she had literally just left for the final time so it was really weird. I loved working with her, I didn’t think I would miss her as much as I do, I’m always really blase about people leaving, but she has become a great friend, she was a big character within the Platt family and we all miss her.
What do you think the future holds for David without Kylie?
For now, grief and a desire for revenge but in the long term it will be interesting to see what sort of person he will become/ He is a great father so I do think that will be his focus for a while.