Thomas Turgoose recently came to a striking realisation: his career had come full circle. In 2005, the actor was just 13 when Shane Meadows plucked him from a Grimsby youth club to play This Is England’s mouthy upstart Shaun. Naturally, there were concerns that Turgoose, who had no previous acting experience, might be left behind once the excitement had died down – but his co-stars assured him this would not be the case. “I was made a promise by Stephen Graham and Vicky [McClure] that when This Is England was released, it wasn’t just gonna be ‘That’s it.’ They promised to stick by me and support me.” They did. Eighteen years later, Turgoose found the situation reversed, and himself in the role of elder statesman.
Meadows has enlisted the actor once again for The Gallows Pole, a new three-part series that ranks as one of the best BBC shows in years. For the project, which also features a bearded Michael Socha (who played This Is England’s Harvey) and Sophie McShera (Downton Abbey), Meadows and casting director Shaheen Baig assembled a selection of unknowns for many of the supporting roles. They found Charlotte Ockelton, Soraya Jane Nabipour, and standout Stevie Binns. “I remember my first time on set – I had no idea what I was doing and looked to people like Stephen,” Turgoose recalls. “But now it’s the reverse; they were asking me questions because I’ve been doing it for almost 20 years. It was nice to be able to help and support them.”
