The Crimson Field: Jack Gordon

What’s your character Peter like?

My character Peter is a young Orderly Corporal. So he’s been through the ranks of the army, and he’s also an Orderly, which modern people would probably look at it as being a male nurse. He’s very physical, he looks after a lot of the physical patients, he cleans, he looks after the Ward – it’s his Ward – he makes sure it’s spick and span, and he’s a chancer. I’d say he’s got kind of a secret about himself, and a slight edge – a slight danger to him.

In the first episode we see the arrival of the VADs. What is Peter’s opinion of the VADs?

He feels there’s not much point getting nurses - young people who haven’t had any training - out here just to get in the way to be honest. The suffragettes’ movement happened two or three years ago, and I don’t think he’s too glad about that. There are a lot of things now that he can’t do on the Ward, and the nurses have to, and he is not allowed to cross over jurisdiction – so he is not too pleased about the whole situation – but he thinks it will bring a bit of life to the hospital.

Who does Peter get on with among the doctors and nurses?

Peter gets on with many people on the Ward, but professionally he gets on with Matron Carter. He has a respect for her and a respect for obviously the Commanding Officer, Brett. He finds a relationship with Flora. He really appreciates her innocence and her openness, and maybe wishes he could find that within himself still, but that’s kind of been dead and burnt. He’s been there, he’s done that, he’s seen it all.

Does Peter help Flora deal with the trauma?

Peter does help Flora progress and build confidence in herself, and in her tasks, and hopefully one day she’ll just become better and better, become a nurse, she’s got an ambition to and I think he enjoys seeing that in someone. 

Did you do much research into the First World War for the project?

Well, because it was such a short turnaround for me, getting the part and turning up for the read-through and beginning the shooting, I did do as much research as I possibly could, but as soon as I got back and as soon as I started rehearsing with David Evans the director, there was someone on site with us talking to us about the First World War and answering any kind of questions that we had. Within the first week or two of rehearsing, a lot of my questions were dealt with.

It’s an incredible set here. What was it like when you first came on set?

Mind-blowing. I’ve never experienced a set like this, of the scale. It makes it a lot easier to work on a set that’s got so much life going on all around it. There’s horses, there’s goats, there’s trucks, chariots, extras coming out of our ears. Brilliant, it has been really brilliant actually.