Interview with new Hollyoaks actor Peter Mitchell

Peter Mitchell Interview

DAN Northern Irish actor, Peter Mitchell, is a brand new cast member in Channel Four's soap Hollyoaks. He's a wheelchair user and you're probably recognise his face from late night drama, Cast Offs, about a group of disabled people stranded on a desert island. I've come to the Hollyoaks set in Liverpool to find out all about Peter as an actor and his new role. Hi Peter, great to meet you.
PETER Yeah.
DAN What a journey! You're from Limavady in Northern Ireland, you used to play with Leeds United, then you were in Cast Offs and now you're in one of the top TV soaps. Tell us the story.
PETER I sometimes feel like my life's a bit of a soap itself. It's been a rollercoaster ride so it has. Obviously I left home when I was 16 to play for Leeds United and it ended tragically for me, and if you'd have told me then, eight years ago, that I'd be acting let alone be in Hollyoaks I'd have signed you up for a nuthouse.
DAN And that was one of my other questions; had you always wanted to be an actor...
PETER No.
DAN ... has it been something that had been in your mind?
PETER It's something that... you know everyone watches TV and everyone would love to be on TV, but it's something that I never thought I would get the opportunity to do. And then I heard about Cast Offs and they wanted specifically a paraplegic character so I knew it was just... As soon as I heard about it I just had one of those feelings that, "Wow this is just meant to be" this has to be meant for me I have to get this part.
DAN Was that your first role or had you done other stuff before?
PETER That was my first audition. I wasn't even in a school play, that was my first... I went blind, I was completely blind I just thought... you know I hadn't worked since my accident and I thought if I'm going to work again it has to acting, I would love to be an actor and this is just far too good an opportunity I have to go to London, I have to audition for this part.
DAN So, okay, let's tackle the tough bit. You used to be a football player for Leeds United, you had an accident...
PETER Yeah.
DAN What happened?
PETER It was a car crash in July 2002. It was a normal Sunday and I was actually just back in Leeds two weeks, we were in pre-season training and we were going to the shops, me and three of my team mates. And on the journey back we crashed the car. Unfortunately for me I was... well as you can see I was injured quite horrifically.
DAN But it opened a new chapter in your life and you went on from there to get into Cast Offs, what was the audition like?
PETER Scary. The audition was I mean I've never... I thought I was going to be sick. You know when you get the butterflies in your stomach I went then and I just thought, "What am I even doing here this is just... this is crazy, I can't believe" I went then and I was in front of a camera and there was a producer and a director and the executive producer and it was just so surreal for me.
DAN How did you prepare?
PETER Well I got in touch with them and they wanted to see pictures of me. So they looked up on my Facebook account and they says, "Right will you come over to London and we'll audition you?" So they sent me a script so I actually prepared very well, I knew the script off by heart, I learnt it so I did, and I was very nervous but there was a couple of fellas in front of me and I could see that they were reading off a piece of paper, where I knew mine off by heart. So I thought, "Well this is going to look good on my behalf because I know this" so I went then and I think I was in for about 80 minutes; it couldn't have went any better.
DAN Well obviously not you got the part.
PETER I got the part yes.
DAN And what was it like working on the show?
PETER Unbelievable. I honestly thought I would do Cast Offs and that would be it, but what an achievement to do Cast Offs I thought this is just a once off and I'm going to love it, I'm going to enjoy it while I'm here. It was hard work, it was very hard work. There were days we were filming for 14 hours and then you're going back to your hotel and you learn your lines for the next day. I was literally getting six hours sleep a night, it was draining but so worth it.
DAN And that was in 2009 and then what have you been doing since?
PETER I went to Birmingham in January and done an episode in Doctors which went out in April. I done my first feature film back home which is The Best Years, which I haven't finished doing, so if I get a chance to go back and finish that off I will, but we'll see what happens here first. It's a funny show and that's due to come out in April this year, I think so. It's been busy enough considering I've done nothing, but now I am getting dirty here and I absolutely love it, this is what I want to do.
DAN Now the exciting part. How did the part come about in Hollyoaks?
PETER My agent got in touch with me, I think it might have been last July and just says Hollyoaks wanted to meet with me. So straightaway I was like, "Hollyoaks!" You know what I was just like this was just huge I was like, "Are you being serious, don't wind me up Hollyoaks?"
And they were like, "Yeah"
I was like, "Right well have I a script?"
And he was just like, "No it's just a meeting."
So I didn't know what to think. No it wasn't an audition as such it was a meeting. So I came over and I met with Paul. And as soon as I came into his office it was made pretty clear that there was a part for me which was just unbelievable, I just couldn't believe it. So we sat down and we spoke. He made it clear that we've got a part for you and don't be worrying he's not going to be... it's not going to be "Ah Pete's in a wheelchair" he's going to be an independent guy, you're going to have fun with him. So it was yeah a dream come true.
DAN So you were a fan of the show before you came?
PETER Everyone knows of Hollyoaks, everyone knows about Hollyoaks and I was very familiar with some of the characters, the infamous Brendan Brady, you know what I mean? And of course there was Emmett Scanlan and Bronagh, who obviously are from back home as well, so yeah it was great. And to be working with both of them too is just amazing, absolutely amazing.
DAN And what was it like meeting the cast and crew and coming on set for the first time?
PETER I was petrified because I didn't know what to expect because obviously my only experience before was Cast Offs. Cast Offs was six weeks so to be together for six weeks was brilliant. But I knew coming here it's work it's five days a week at least and it's just all the time. So I knew that obviously they're going to have their own relationships on and off screen, and I knew I'd have to fit in, but everyone was so welcoming. They welcomed me with open arms and they've been more than helpful.
DAN And your character's head teacher of Hollyoaks High have you been back to school to remind yourself what it's like?
PETER There's going to be a lot of shocked teachers back home whenever I say I'm a head teacher, trust me. That's one thing. That's definitely something I think I'll be doing. But no obviously everyone's been to school and we all know what head teachers are like. It's been great to play a head teacher it's been completely different to what I thought I would have been doing. From our first meeting we didn't know exactly how he would come in and what his reasons were for coming here. And it was only a few weeks before I moved over fulltime that I realised... that I was told you're going to be the new head teacher.
DAN And have you been able to influence the writers as they develop your character? You mentioned that you're not coming in as a kind of poor Pete he's in a wheelchair, you're coming in as a professional, you're coming in as a strong character.
PETER So far I don't have to influence them, to be honest, their writing's been excellent so it has and there's been no poor Pete, Pete's in a wheelchair there's been none of that whatsoever. He's a very strong character from the get go which is absolutely fantastic, it makes it a lot easier for me to play.
DAN And Hollyoaks is known for its gritty and tough storylines can you tell us what your tough storyline's going to be? Or at least give a hint.
PETER Yeah. He's old friends with Brendan Brady and we all know Brendan Brady is the bad boy in Hollyoaks. But there's been a few characters that have come into this show which have been a part of Brendan's part; there was Macker and his ex-wife but they didn't stay around for long. But Pete's different. And for some reason Pete can get away with a lot more than what other people can.
DAN Right. So we'll teeter on to can you give us a teaser to what the future might hold? Just in one sentence.
PETER In one sentence. Maybe, just maybe, finally Brendan Brady has met his match.
DAN Thanks so much for talking to me and best of luck with the show.
PETER Thank you very much. Thank you.