Tommy
Tommy and Ash have plenty in common 鈥� he loves the craic of their Customs work, the physical side of the hunt and the banter, but he worries less about the big-颅picture crime that consumes his older colleague.
After a botched operation in Episode One leaves him severely injured, his worst fears that he’ll never walk again prove unfounded but the injuries and treatment he has to undergo leaves him feeling redundant and frustrated at his slow recovery. In one sense, he’s the worst kind of person to suffer a severe injury – it takes away what most defines him. But equally he has exactly the qualities to come through it – he’s stubborn and angry, a fighter. He refuses to use a wheelchair, insisting on crutches right from the outset.
Tommy is grateful for the chance to join the UNIT but it’s not easy for him – he’s one of life’s doers, not eavesdroppers, and it especially hurts when he has to look on as Ash integrates himself well into the ground surveillance team.
But there’s an absorbing side to the work; he is surprised to find he enjoys making sense of the backslang and piecing together the complex network of players and pawns. There’s no killing the boy racer off completely but gradually his role in the UNIT and the work it requires begins to change Tommy.
What no one can doubt is his determination to walk again. But once he is back, he’s surprised most of all by the question that he’s asking himself. Is life in the UNIT with all its risks what he really wants? After everything’s that happened to him, does he still have the bottle for it?
Robert Lonsdale
Robert most recently starred in the leading role of Tim Rice’s From Here to Eternity at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and has appeared extensively in theatre and the West End including the Royal Court and Donmar Warehouse.
On Television, Robert’s credits include roles in popular favourites such as Heartbeat, Coronation Street, and A Passionate Woman for the 大象传媒 amongst others.
