Jack Ashton became a household name as the dependable Reverend Tom Hereward in popular period drama Call the Midwife. But for his latest role in BBC One’s Waterloo Road season 12, Jack’s playing a character far removed from a man of the cloth.
Determined to tackle knife crime at the school, following the stabbing incident involving pupil Danny Lewis (Adam Abbou), head teacher Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin) calls on reformed criminal Lenny Sampson — played by Jack — to help explore how Waterloo Road can prevent young people like Danny falling through the cracks.
In an exclusive interview with What To Watch, Jack reveals more about his intriguing character, reflects on his own turbulent school days and tells us what it was like …
What can you tell us about Lenny?
"Lenny is an ex-con who ‘spent 11 years at Her Majesty’s Pleasure’ but turned his life around and now devotes his time to mentoring children like he was and giving them the guidance he didn't get. Lenny gives an impassioned speech about how the education system excludes the most vulnerable children that need it the most. He believes in rehabilitation and in society becoming the parents these kids aren't lucky enough to have."
What does Lenny make of Danny Lewis, currently attending a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), after being excluded from Waterloo Road for stabbing his mum’s violent boyfriend?
"Danny and Lenny develop a really strong bond and make a good little team. Often, kids like Danny can assume the role of ‘bad boy’ because they've been stained by one event… then suddenly they’re in prison. Lenny wants to guide Danny in the right direction and encourage him not to let that one incident define the rest of his life; it's about providing early intervention to put the teen back on track before it's too late."
What were your own school days like?
"My school was so rough. I’d had quite a middle-class upbringing in Bristol, until the age of 11, when we moved house, and me and my sister went to a local state school, where we really stood out because we didn’t sound like the other kids.
"We had to adopt a Bristolian accent pretty quickly to fit in. For me, school was about survival; about getting through the day, while trying to learn. At my school, not that much was expected of you, so many kids behaved accordingly; they could’ve benefitted from a mentor like Lenny. Thankfully, I had a really good drama teacher and I realised drama was my way out. I left school and did a college course in performing arts and that’s when I fell in love with acting."
With Lenny, did you enjoy playing someone so different to Call the Midwife vicar Tom Hereward?
"Absolutely. We go into acting to show different sides of our personality, some of which you don't know you possess until you explore them. When you’re on a show like Call the Midwife, people may only see you as that character for the next few years, so you have to reinvent yourself a bit, which roles like Lenny help me to do. Like Call the Midwife, Waterloo Road can have you laughing one minute and crying the next. It’s the best TV that does that."
Do you miss being in Call the Midwife?
"Yeah, of course. I'm a nostalgic person and I look back on that time with great fondness. Though, obviously, my partner Helen George (who plays Trixie Franklin, with whom Jack has two daughters, Wren Ivy, five, and Lark, one), is still fully involved. I’m pleased Trixie tied the knot last series [Trixie married businessman Matthew Aylward, played by Olly Rix]. Trixie's far too beautiful not to have a husband!"
What’s next for you?
"I've just got back from Belgium, where I’ve been filming the new series of ITV1’s Professor T, in which I play a proper ‘geezer’. When Helen and I work at the same time, it can be troublesome so, as Call the Midwife has started filming again, I’ll be doing lots of childcare. I'm looking forward to my eldest’s summer term of sports days and swimming galas!"
Waterloo Road continues on Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC1 One.
