As part of their Learning and New Talent activity, BAFTA previewed The Commuter segment from Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, followed by a Q&A with writer Jack Thorne, director Tom Harper and actors Tuppence Middleton and Anthony Boyle. 

We’ll be reviewing The Commuter immediately after it airs on 1st October, but for the sake of this interview you need to know that the film follows a train ticket clerk who follows a mysterious woman to a town that doesn’t exist.

After the screening of the episode, host Stephen Armstrong took to the stage and immediately raised a laugh by suggesting that any drama which shows South-Western trains running to time must by definition be sci-fi! He asked writer Jack Thorne (who also wrote Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) why he chose this particular PKD story to adapt. “My grandad worked on the railways all his life as a ticket clerk at Euston,” he clarified. He then went on to describe a number of real-life events that he incorporated into the teleplay, but we’ll avoid for now, for fear of spoiling the story. “I wanted to show a bit of Britain that the Americans weren’t aware of… Woking seemed a good choice,” he chuckled. Goodness knows what they’ll make of the running “F**k Basingstoke” gag!

The episode was partially filmed in Poundbury, a new-town near Dorchester in Dorset. It perfectly fits the not-quite-right Stepford Wives feel of fictional town Macon Heights, as War and Peace director Tom Harper explained. “We didn’t have to change anything – that’s exactly how it looked,” before clarifying that the fake, detached frontage of a house that appears at one point was clearly an addition.

As a Dorset native, I live near to this unique town and I asked Tuppence Middleton if being in a complete 360-degree location rather than a studio made acting easier. “The strange thing is that the houses are built in period style and yet they don’t have actual history. It’s strange. But the locals were very friendly and plied us with tea,” she countered.

Tuppence pointed out that in the original story the eponymous commuter is a short man with glasses, so she’s grateful that Thorne opted to turn him into an enigmatic female. “This meant I didn’t have to base my performance on an existing character,” she continued. “I didn’t want her to be an angel or a devil… more like a fairy godmother.”

Indeed, Linda (as we discover she’s called) offers some wishes to Timothy’s Spall’s railway clerk, and what’s great about the story is that you don’t clearly know whether or not he made the right decision. A show of hands in the auditorium carried the vote that he did make the right choice.

Anthony Boyle has appeared in Jack’s Harry Potter play and was encouraged by the attention to detail that went into his character, a troubled young man. This included their talking to a counsellor and finding out the sort of clothes he’d likely be wearing, and how he’d wear them as part of his condition.

On working with Timothy Spall, everyone was highly complimentary. “He’s a legend,” Tuppence said. “He’s also really silly and has a great sense of humour. He’s a pro, and it was a big acting lesson watching him.” Director Harper equally praised the Sweeney Todd star’s meticulous preparation and research into the role, and how he made it look effortless.

On writing a one-hour film instead of a movie script, Jack shared: “It’s like writing a shortish film, but with a lot of story to tell. I didn’t want to over-tell it, and neither did I want to under-tell it.” Spoiler: He got it just right.

Thorne also confirmed he’s a huge Battlestar Galactica fan and so relished working for executive producer Ronald D Moore. “I’ve always been a nerd,” he confessed. He was in safe company.

Other snippets we found out: Tuppence prefers sci-fi that’s more rooted in reality (ahem… Jupiter Ascending?) and that Jack Thorne believes a lot of sci-fi has posh characters, due in no small part to villains played by British actors (ahem, Jupiter Ascending?)

The Commuter airs on Channel 4 on October 1