Tony Grounds is the creator and writer of 大象传媒 One's Our Girl. We caught up with him to ask about his writing career, the origins of the show, coming up with new storylines and dealing with fan feedback. Our Girl continues on Tuesdays at 9pm on 大象传媒 One. You can catch up with the whole story so far on 大象传媒 iPlayer.
Were you always a writer even as a child and how did you first get into writing scripts?
No! Not even a reader. It all happened when I joined a youth theatre鈥� I thought I was going to be an actor鈥� until I acted. It was fantastically bad. Really stank the theatre out. It was then I thought鈥� ummm, might have to find something else to do with my life. I got the opportunity to write some stuff for the youth theatre鈥� all the members said they loved it. I became a writer. It was only some years after that one of the company said it was the only way to keep me off the stage.
What was your first paid commission and when was it you first thought 鈥業 could do this for a living鈥�? Was there any specific event that acted as a catalyst?
The first cheque I ever received was from the , in Whitechapel, London, for 拢30 for a rehearsed reading of a play. I was so chuffed I framed the cheque and used to look at it every day with pride. Then I got really skint and had to cash it. It was before photocopiers I think. It remains one of my biggest regrets.
What was your break into television writing?
I鈥檇 written a play called that was one of the winning plays for the and published by Methuen. ITV said they would put it on the telly! It was an incredible feeling. Directed by and starring Julie T Wallace. (My mum told everyone it was Julie Walters鈥� and still does in fact.) But my abiding memory of that first screened work was seeing my name on the television! Very shallow I know but that feeling of having your first thing on was鈥� so powerful. So perfect. A vindication.
You鈥檝e worked on continuing drama including EastEnders and The Bill. What did you learn from that?
Well I only did two episodes of EastEnders and two episodes of . They asked me on the back of Made in Spain. I didn鈥檛 have a clue what I was doing鈥� and was probably as good at writing soaps back then as I was at acting. Fortunately before I鈥檇 made a complete ass of myself and been found out, ITV came back and asked me to write my own original series. That turned out to be with and . I then realised I was okay at inventing my own quirky characters mainly drawn from my quirky set of friends and family. To me it was almost documentary鈥� to everyone else it was entering a weird parallel universe. That鈥檚 why I always say to people, 鈥榳rite about the world you see outside your window鈥�. Especially if no one sees the world the way you see it.
You seem to have specialised in writing one-off television dramas rather than series for a lot of , was that a specific choice or did it just happen that way?
I do love a single鈥� probably 'cos it feels manageable when I start. I can see the beginning middle and end. That eel of your original idea can sometimes slip out of your hand on a longer running show.
Our Girl began as a single drama, originally a one-off rather than a series. How did this commission come about, did you have a particular brief and where did you find your inspiration?
It was literally I had a friend in the army. I鈥檇 been out with him the night before I was meeting (then Head of 大象传媒 Drama) for breakfast the next day. John asked me what ideas I鈥檇 got鈥� I鈥檇 planned a few things to talk about鈥� he glazed over鈥� then I said I鈥檇 got this idea about a girl from East Ham who was an angry, dysfunctional, gobshite who trained as a combat medic and got on the plane to Afghanistan. John commissioned it there and then. I remember meeting for the first time in Newport to ask her to play Molly Dawes. I explained it was an inspirational story about a noisy, tatted up yob from East Ham who breaks the expected narrative of their life to actually achieve something and be proud of themselves. John Yorke leaned across the table and said, 鈥淵es it鈥檚 autobiographical.鈥� I was going to clump him but realised he had a point.
How did Our Girl then turn into a series? What challenges did this bring?
So after we were transmitted, who was the drama commissioning editor, called me in to see him and asked if I could make it into a series. The army offers an amazing backdrop for a long running series鈥� so many incredible characters with the jeopardy of war. At the time the British Army was fighting in Afghanistan so I thought it would be wonderful to follow Molly Dawes on her first tour of duty. (Series 1)
How do you continue to find new storylines?
With Our Girl I spend months talking to soldiers. In the main they are a fantastic source of stories, and many have become great friends. All the events in Our Girl have happened鈥� just obviously not all to one section. But I listen and slowly some stories stick and I start to build the series. We follow the art of the possible rather than the probable. We have followed the British Army not only to Afghanistan but also Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Belize, Bangladesh鈥� all offering us inspiring stories.
Our Girl has particularly found a following amongst a young female audience who can be really committed fans. It鈥檚 also got a big following on social media. How do you balance dealing with fan reaction online with the needs of the drama? How do you keep the drama feeling authentic for that audience?
Well of course it is wonderful to have such a loyal fan base. Love them and their passion and commitment. But obviously the drama has to come first鈥� and drama is about conflict. Sometimes the audience just want the happy ending鈥� but a happy ending means an ending鈥� if the audience think we鈥檙e going to go right we need to go left. Make them sit up and gasp. Make them laugh, make them cry. Being set in conflict zones, I love the gallows humour (which is very real) but danger zones also have tragedy. And every soldier that has died is a personal tragedy for their families. We try to do justice to them and their memory. If the audience cry and berate me for a death鈥� then I think we鈥檝e got it about right.
What have proved to be the most controversial storylines?
I think the audience were invested in Georgie and Elvis and before that Capt James and Molly. When the idea of Capt James and Georgie having a fling was mooted by the actors I knew it would be controversial鈥� but they were both suffering with PTSD鈥� they both wanted to be with other people鈥� James with Molly and Georgie with Elvis鈥� they were the love of their lives鈥� but exhausted and confused (James even calling Georgie Molly on occasions) they came together and had a one off night together鈥� that they both immediately regretted and didn鈥檛 repeat. Having spoken to people suffering with PTSD and discussed the story line they were very open about the massive mistakes they made in their trauma鈥� how they were with people they certainly shouldn鈥檛 have been with but needed comfort. Many told me how they鈥檇 really hurt the ones they loved as they tried to sort out their heads. James & Georgie were both heartbroken and needing help. I thought it would be fascinating to explore wrong decisions made鈥� having a made a few myself. Again some people wanted the happy ever after ending鈥� the turning left鈥� I turned right. But if you turn right you can always turn left, left and left again鈥� so who knows what might be in store for those characters.
It must be particularly difficult dealing with a favourite character鈥檚 death?
We have an incredibly strong, bonded cast and crew. We film in South Africa and many of the crew have been on the show since we began. We are all a part of a large jigsaw鈥� each piece valuable鈥� all going to make the finished picture. So when we lose one of our pieces it鈥檚 always sad.
What do you think Michelle Keegan brings to the role of Georgie?
She is an amazing actress. Underrated. Critics talk about her eyelashes rather than her performance. She is brilliant, they are not.
Watch Our Girl on 大象传媒 One on Tuesdays at 9pm
Catch up with the whole of Our Girl now on 大象传媒 iPlayer
Watch clips including a set tour with Michelle Keegan
Read Our Girl scripts in our online script library