DragonslayerT H E L A ST

A Note from the Author

Jasper Fforde, author of The Last Dragonslayer books

The Last Dragonslayer popped into my head almost fully formed after a gruelling six-month shoot in Mexico back in 1997. The initial draft took 22 days to complete, and was thematically much as we see it today – a fresh take on the wizard and dragon genre, an off-kilter mash-up world of modernism and medieval barbarism, torpid dragons, useless wizards and rubbish kings – and all seen through the eyes of our heroine, Jennifer Strange.

Orphaned, indentured, seemingly with little prospects, she is thrust reluctantly into the controversial dragonslaying business, where she must do the right thing, even if the power of the king and big industry is heaped against her. But she’s resourceful, principled, smart and funny, and has fellow orphan Tiger Prawns to assist her, along with her ever-loyal quarkbeast.

Since any film would always be an interpretation of my book, I had to ensure that the people I entrusted with the production fully understood the spirit of the piece – absurdist fun, but with serious undertones – and I was delighted that producer Pete Czernin and I clicked almost immediately. He took it to Sky and Jamie Stone, and sim-sala-bim: in colour, with sound, for real. It will be like falling into my own head.

In a good way, of course.

IntroductionAdam MacDonald, Director of Sky 1 HD

There’s no question about it: Christmas is magic. The excitement as the day draws closer, wrapping up the presents on Christmas Eve, and, of course, the big day itself. Having the whole family gathered round to exchange gifts, eat plenty of food, and this Christmas Day, welcome a fire-breathing dragon into their homes. I’m immensely proud to present the spectacular feature-length adventure The Last Dragonslayer as the highlight of this year’s Sky 1 Christmas celebrations. From Blueprint Pictures, the makers of modern greats In Bruges and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and GroupM Entertainment (Cilla, Wild Things), comes an adventure the whole family will adore: a fantastic world where wizards and magic co-exist with television and supermarkets. It really is a place never before realised on the screen, and I’m very excited about the amazing cast that brings it to life, featuring favourites like Ricky Tomlinson, Pauline Collins, Andrew Buchan and Richard E Grant, while also introducing new faces, like the extraordinarily talented Ellise Chappell as our story’s heroine, Jennifer Strange. At Sky 1, we’re committed to providing the very best family entertainment all year round, and this year we’re delivering a truly magical gift to our customers on Christmas Day. On behalf of everyone at Sky 1, I would like to wish you, your family, and your quarkbeasts, a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

A Song of Tea and Biscuits

It’s a fairly typical day in Hereford, all in all. Property prices are rising, the same old celebrity talent shows are on the TV, and the wizards you got in to rewire the house made a right mess of things.

Under the rule of His Royal Wondrousness King Snodd, magic is on the way out; we’re on our way to there being a car in every garage and a Wonderbarn on every high street. The orphan-based economy is booming, and overseas, the Great Troll War rolls on. Meanwhile, over the forbidden Dragonlands, Maltcaisson, the last of the great dragons, awaits his final battle.

It’s in this world that Jennifer Strange, an orphan indentured to the great wizard Zambini, finds herself thrust into an adventure fizzing with magic, mystery, and quarkbeasts. She may not know it yet, but Jennifer Strange is The Last Dragonslayer.

Character Guide

Jennifer Strange (Ellise Chappell)

The brave, smart and resilient heroine of our tale. Plucked from an orphanage by the great wizard Zambini, she follows his work in monitoring the declining dragon population and develops a fascination with the magical world. When Zambini disappears mysteriously, her search for him uncovers a prophecy naming her as the last dragonslayer, and with that she enters a complex world of celebrity, sponsorship deals and assassination attempts. But why would someone who wants to save the dragons ever be made a dragonslayer?

Tiger Prawns (Noah Jupe)

Jennifer’s closest friend from the orphanage, who she treats as her little brother. Tiger’s appetite and knack for getting in trouble prevents him from being permanently indentured – and threatens to get him conscripted to the Troll War. Luckily for him, he manages to blag a home at Zambini Towers before that can happen.

The Great Zambini (Andrew Buchan)

A wizard of considerable skill and owner of the last magical agency in Hereford. He saves Jennifer from an uncertain fate at the orphanage and becomes the closest thing she has ever had to a father. His sudden disappearance is the event that sparks Jennifer’s great adventure.

Lady Mawgon (Pauline Collins)

Once a wizard of some renown and celebrity, Lady Mawgon’s grandness has faded along with her ability to perform magic as she used to. Now she finds herself having to resort to taking oddjobs and handy work for Zambini’s magical agency. She’s still very formidable and has an acid tongue, so it’s best to stay on her good side by being prompt with the tea and biscuits.

Gordon (John Bradley)

Appearing surreptitiously at her doorstep just when she is in need of a helping hand, Gordon is a bright, capable young man who applies to be Jennifer’s assistant dragonslayer. He shares a history quite similar to Jennifer’s, and keeps a cool, calculating head when it seems everyone else in the realm is losing theirs. But is he hiding something from her?

Sir Grifflon (George Webster)

Charm, cheekbones and chainmail, Sir Grifflon is the leader of King Snodd’s Royal Guard, and the nation’s biggest celebrity heartthrob. He takes a liking to Jennifer, and can’t comprehend why the feelings are not reciprocated. He’s got an awesome car! What more does she want?

Blacklock (John Dagleish)

A dark, shady character who, for reasons known only to himself, will stop at nothing to bring Jennifer’s short time as a dragonslayer to an end.

King Snodd (Matt Berry)

Tyrannical ruler of the kingdom and slave to the latest trends and gadgets. Snodd believes magic is on its way out, being replaced by technology and commerce. As such, he is keen to double the size of his kingdom by claiming The Dragonlands once the last dragon has been slain. Cross him and he’ll put you in the stocks and throw coconuts at you.

Mother Xenobia (Nina Wadia)

Proprietor of the orphanage Jennifer and Tiger grew up in. She’s kind, caring, and driven to distraction trying to keep Tiger from being conscripted to the Troll Wars.

The President of StuffCo (Anna Chancellor)

President of the world’s biggest conglomerate – bringing the public such modern conveniences as the Wonderbarn chain of supermarkets and the prolific carbonated drink Fizzipop. Seeing an opportunity in Jennifer, she’s keen to sign her to a sponsorship and merchandising deal for her battle with the dragon, or what she is keen to promote as “Slayday”.

Maltcaisson (Richard E Grant)

The last of the dragons and the source of all remaining magic left in the world. Restricted by magic to the desolate wastes known as “The Dragonlands”, he doesn’t seem to have any desire to leave, or cause humankind any real harm. Which begs the question, why has it been foretold he must either be slain, or else cause the end of the world?

Moobin (Ricky Tomlinson)

Working at Zambini’s magical agency, Moobin is a dear old thing whose best magic days may have passed, but is still happy to help out at the agency – even if it does mean having Lady Mawgon in his ear all day long. Moobin is prone to visions, and it is he who foresees the climactic battle between the dragon and the last dragonslayer.

How would you describe The Last Dragonslayer?It’s a funny, fantastical, family adventure. It’s about Jennifer Strange, who is a 17-year-old indentured orphan to a man called Zambini, who’s a wizard, and it’s about her journey as she reluctantly discovers her destiny to become the eponymous last dragonslayer.

How did you find the filming? It looks like some of the locations were pretty extreme?I loved every second of it. It’s my first big job and I felt like the luckiest girl. I was so fortunate

to be surrounded by such an amazing group of people. The locations were just incredible, so different. It was great to be on location rather than in a studio as it made everything seem so visceral and real, and it felt like there was so much to play with, among all the nature and surroundings. Our first week in Snowdonia was pretty extreme – the weather was so unpredictable! It would be gorgeous, gorgeous sunshine and then next thing we knew it would literally be full-on hailing and then we’d wake up the next day with a foot of snow. It made it quite challenging, but being in

such intense conditions ended up being useful to get the feel right for the scenes with the dragon.

Regarding the dragon, how difficult was it acting with creatures you couldn’t actually see? It was quite difficult. You have to use so much imagination, but I guess that’s your job as an actor. The crew was amazing and made it as easy for me as possible. We used different kinds of devices to help me. For example, when I’m in scenes with the dragon there are parts where he’s flying around the sky

Ellise ChappellJennifer Strange

and all over the landscape, and to help my eyeline Jamie would be shouting instructions at me as to where he would be, so I could keep track of where I was looking. We also had a stick in the shape of a T with tennis balls stuck on either side, and that was technically the dragon’s head. That’s going to be pretty different to the final product, but it was very helpful for keeping the eyeline in check. We also had a record of the dragon’s lines as well so I could listen and play off that too.

Moving on to the creatures that you could see, you play an adopted sister to Tiger, played by Noah Jupe. How did you enjoy working so closely with such a young actor?It was a complete pleasure. He’s so professional for someone so young. He’s got so much energy and he’s just a dream. We both had so much fun on set, we were always laughing, and that was so important obviously

“

because Jennifer and Tiger have this sort of brother-sister bond. They come from the same place and they know things about each other that other people don’t understand. This bond is really important so the fact that we got on so well off camera was great as hopefully it means that will translate believably on to the screen.

Did you have a favourite scene from the shooting?That’s such a difficult question, I loved so much of it. In one of the scenes I get taken to the StuffCo Wonderbarn for the first time, where I have to promote this Fizzipop drink and do some sort of forced, corny promotional bit on that, and it was so much fun. All around me there was merchandise with cartoon versions of my face on it. Which was just so bizarre. But so much fun.

Having a corporate sponsor is just one of the quite modern challenges that Jennifer finds herself unexpectedly having to deal with – for a fantasy

adventure it carries quite a strong satirical message about commercialism today, doesn’t it?Absolutely. Jennifer faces so much in terms of commercialism that is so alien to her, it’s completely unfamiliar. Jennifer is all about magic and dragons and very much a part of that world that is considered stoic and outdated and just the fact that she’s thrown into these situations, it really highlights how weird it is that people are driven by selling and buying and owning stuff, and just the greed of it all.

Can you draw any parallels from being thrust into such a huge role quite early in your career?Well, only that it’s been completely unexpected. Jennifer isn’t expecting this at all, she’s just thrust into the position, and I for one wasn’t expecting to be offered such an amazing opportunity. But I guess we’re also completely different in that sense and Jennifer gets offered the responsibilities that she absolutely does not want,

she’s so reluctant about it, whereas I couldn’t be happier to be taking on the role and experiencing all these things.

Do you think Jennifer follows in the footsteps of characters like Katniss from The Hunger Games in that she provides a tough female role model for young women?Absolutely, I think you can draw really strong parallels between characters like Katniss Everdeen and Jennifer Strange, but what I really love about Jennifer in particular is the fact that she’s so not a born heroine. She hasn’t got the first clue about how to wield a sword and she doesn’t want any of this responsibility. It’s something she had to juggle and deal with while she’s trying to find her missing father-figure, Zambini. It’s actually that which makes her a strong female figure – the devotion to the people that she cares about and her drive and her self-belief. Her integrity and intelligence. She takes everything in her stride. Those qualities in her as a person are the things that make her someone not just for young

women and girls to look up to but anybody, really.

Are you prepared for the increase in attention once the programme has aired? Especially on social media?To be honest, I haven’t even really thought about it. The idea that that might happen, to me it feels so in the future. I can’t quite comprehend what will happen; I’ve kind of been trying to just enjoy what’s happening now. I guess we’ll see.

Who knows what the future holds. On that note – you’re of course aware that The Last Dragonslayer is based on the first of a series of books by Jasper Fforde. Would you be willing to reprise the role should the opportunity arise?Absolutely. I had such a brilliant time playing Jennifer and I would love to see where her story goes from here. She is such an amazing character. It would be great to see what happens to her.

What I really love about Jennifer in particular is the fact that she’s so not a born heroine. She hasn’t got the first clue about how to wield a sword and she doesn’t want any of this responsibility

John Bradley

unique aesthetic, having that conflict between the old and the new. Some people are dressed vaguely in medieval clothes, and some are in dungarees – it just makes it so visually exciting because whenever a new element is introduced you’re never sure what it’s going to be like. Whenever a new character is introduced, they’re dressed in quite often an ingenious way. No two people are ever wearing the same thing, and everyone could be dressed by a different costume designer from a different show. People are going to be constantly surprised throughout.

An aspect of that conflict is tied into the satirical edge of The Last Dragonslayer where commerce, property and sponsorship are still deeply entrenched in the world at large. Are you glad you were able to play a part in this side of the story?Yeah. In terms of holding a mirror up to reality it’s often so effective to take it out of the real world. Taking social commentary into a slightly more

blown away. When you’re an actor you’re at your best before you get bogged down by rules. In your first job you’re not really thinking of it as a career, you’re just doing it because you love it. I mean I’m still acting because I love it, but the thing about her is she’s acting by instinct. She still has that instinct and she still has some playfulness – she’s not yet had her process, her art and her enjoyment of acting compromised by all the prescribed rules that come with a career in front of the camera. I learned a lot from her too – she occupies the screen and the set as a lead – she was never cowed by it. I think she’s a born lead actress.

The world of The Last Dragonslayer is a mix of fantasy and modern conveniences. At one point you even get to wield a pretty neat gun – how was that?The interesting thing is that I’ve done quite a lot of stuff aimed at an older audience, but it’s only now I’m doing something for younger viewers that I get to wield a gun around! Dragonslayer does have a very

Would you agree that your role in The Last Dragonslayer, Gordon, is a much more capable character?Definitely. Although there is a parallel in that they are aware of how vulnerable they appear. Gordon was an orphan just like Jennifer, and was a very vulnerable child – quite a broken child, and that’s how Jennifer remembers him. And he knows that’s how Jennifer will think of him. Someone who needs protecting and needs shielding. And he uses it to his advantage. He uses it to become Jennifer’s assistant. But even Sam uses that to his advantage. He may appear dependent on Jon Snow but in fact Sam is a real manipulator of people. He makes Jon change his mind all the time. But Gordon does have an edge to him that he’s developed over the years – he doesn’t cower in the face of characters like Sir Grifflon at all,

You spend a fair bit of time with Ellise on screen, with this being her first major role. How did you find working with her?She was incredible. I was so

and his infectious enthusiasm for what he does. Being able to tell a story in collaboration with one director over two hours, especially someone with his knowledge, imagination and inventiveness, as well as the incredible support he gave us – that’s a real joy. Everyone really threw themselves into the spirit of it. It was a joyous experience.

Your two characters are really very different; Sam’s continuing survival in Game of Thrones is a constant surprise…That’s a really good way of looking at it. Yeah.

This is obviously your second big fantasy role, following that of Sam in Game of Thrones. How did filming the two series compare?The main difference was that with Game of Thrones we’d have to shoot 10 hour-long episodes, where you’d be working with four or five different directors – you’d find yourself being a little bit compartmentalised. The thing I enjoyed the most about The Last Dragonslayer was we had this collaboration with Jamie Stone [the director] all the way through. You really got a sense of how he worked and how he liked to do things. You’d get used to his rhythm

Gordon “stylised, surreal place can portray the message more effectively. A lot of people do that sort of thing with Shakespeare – it makes people pay more attention to the lesson. People don’t like to be spoon fed a lesson, but if you can make it nice and subtle as well as entertaining, that’s when satire is at its very best.

The Dragonland scenes that were shot in Snowdonia look pretty cold. Did your time spent at The Wall prepare you well for scenes like that?The thing about filming the Game of Thrones scenes is that you’re in Iceland in September and it’s minus 35 degrees. I wear a very heavy costume, which keeps you warm, but it weighs you down to such an extent that you’re not actually walking on the ground, you’re walking on compacted snow. When you’re wearing that costume and attempting to run across the snow it’s basically driving you into the snow and it’s so hard to move around. The costume I had in Snowdonia, cold as it was, was slightly more flexible so I could move a little easier.

But I think I found it easier than everyone else just because I’m used to wearing a costume that weighs about 12 stone. It wasn’t even the coldest scene that I’d ever shot before, so that gave me an air of superiority over the others. I felt like a Vietnam veteran – telling people they don’t know what cold is and that they don’t know they’re born.

Did you have any favourite scenes from shooting?There’s a brilliant scene where Jennifer, Gordon and Grifflon go to StuffCo to meet the company president and Jennifer is introduced to all the merchandise and the sponsorship surrounding her. I really love that scene – there are all these characters

with their own motives, and I really like how different everyone’s reactions were in that scene. Anna Chancellor plays the president and has an amazing presence. You have all these different relationships interplaying – lots of arrows pointing in lots of different ways, and I really enjoyed the ensemble style of it.

The Last Dragonslayer is aimed at families and young adults, so you’ll be in front of a younger audience than usual. Are you excited or nervous about seeing their reactions?It’s frightening, in a way, as the younger viewers won’t have seen my previous work. It’s difficult when you’ve appeared in something

as iconic as Game of Thrones and appeared as a character you’re so closely associated with. All most people can do is reference how different or similar you are to the work you’ve done in the past. Which is fine, but it’s refreshing to go out to an audience with no prejudices or preconceptions on what’s happened before. I’m very excited to make my debut for a younger audience and be judged purely on the merits of that performance. I think for the Game of Thrones audience it is going to take them a while for them to switch me out of the role of Sam, but for all intents and purposes I’m going to be a complete unknown for a lot of the audience here.

Everyone really threw themselves into the spirit of it. It was a joyous experience

Ricky Tomlinson

delighted to do it. And I’m so glad we did.

Did you ever think that you’d be playing a wizard?I’d say, “Get out of it! I won’t be able to do that!” But I did and I loved it! It was hard work by the way. My costume must have weighed half a hundred mate, easy. Big flowing coats and undergarments, this huge hat and stuff like that. There were a lot of night shoots and a lot of working under the stars, but it was all such good fun with everyone. I’ve worked with one or two of the crew before over the years and that always helps. But also another big thing was the location was fascinating! I don’t know if it was an ex-stately home or what the bloody hell it was, but it was steeped in magic. It was amazing that bloody place.

You play Moobin, one of the two kindly and eccentric wizards that our heroine Jennifer lives with. How would you describe him?He’s a lovable guy, who’s a little bit under the thumb of Lady Mawgon [Pauline Collins’

character]. He thinks he’s losing his touch with magic, hence his taking on work using the little magic he has left to rewire houses and such – which if you watch, you’ll see goes a bit wrong.. But he’s a dear. His heart’s in the right place.

Obviously it’s not the first time you’ve been in a big Christmas special – The Royle Family Christmas specials are so well loved. But it might be the first time you’ve been in anything so deeply rooted in fantasy.It is! Absolutely yeah. It’s the first time I’ve had to sit up in the makeup chair to get my hair done and my makeup done, they took real care over it and it shows in the performance. There’s a scene where I’ve been trying to invent a self-replenishing biscuit tin. The way the prop guys have put it together – it’s fantastic. I’m holding this tin and it’s dragging me all over the place throwing thousands and thousands of bloody biscuits everywhere. I’ve been in the business a few years and I’ve seen how

special effects work, but it really was as good as that. I mean they have me flying up and down on this bloody machine, bloody hell, it was like taking off on EasyJet! I was up in the air kicking my arms and legs about…

You probably had more baggage allowance than you would with EasyJet.Yeah! My coat alone weighed more than I’d have got with EasyJet! I really am delighted with the director because, blimey he never stopped. I think he weighed about five stone wet through by the end. He was here, there, everywhere setting shots up or he’ll do this… He’s one of these whizz kids, he had his phone out – he had all sorts of stuff on his phone and he’s going “here, look at this, this is what happens here, look at that” and I’ve just learned how to text, you know. So I said to him “listen, I’ll have to ask you what you want me to do and you better tell me because I’m bloody 76 and technology has passed me by. “ If I was a real wizard I’d give myself a few more years, you know.

How did you find the experience of stepping into the shoes (and hat) of a wizard?It was tremendous. For a start it was a bloody good excuse to keep my own beard. We had a great time; there was a great feeling on the set. Working with Pauline Collins was fantastic; she’s another ex-Liverpool girl so we got along. But for me the highlight was the two young leads, Ellise and Noah, bloody hell they were absolutely amazing! It was a great job, lovely to work on, and everyone sort of done their bit. The special effects are going to

blow the kids away when they watch this. To be honest with you, I can’t wait to see it myself. I think it will be a big, big hit over Christmas.

What drew you to the project in the first place?I like to try something new. I’ve been a trade union official, I’ve been a next door neighbour that loses his mind, I’ve been Jim Royle, I’ve been a private investigator – and this was just something brand new. And it also coincided with the first children story I’ve written, and there’s a wizard in that too. I couldn’t wait to say yeah, I’d be

Moobin “You share a lot of screen time with two young actors – Ellise Chappell and Noah Jupe – as well as the veteran actress Pauline Collins. Were the pair of you able to impart any sage advice to the younger stars?No, it was the other bloody way round! We’d change the script every now and again for whatever reason, and the kid [Noah] was amazing! It was just “OK, thank you!” and not a problem, then as soon as they shouted “Action” he’d get right into it. And what was nice to me was, now and again, when we had the same call times, we’d all have our breakfast together, the four of us. That helps to get a real good bond and feeling. The only thing wrong with him was he’s a bloody Manchester United supporter. But I’ll forgive him for that. So there was a little bit of banter and stuff, but he’s a very, very talented young man, and I tell you what mister, he’s going right to the top.

Do you think people will get a kick out of seeing you perform magic?

Oh yeah! I’ll have to learn a few tricks. I love Liverpool and I love Liverpool people. I don’t believe in the honours list, but it was an honour to be made a freeman of the city of Liverpool – and I know before it comes on the screen when I go out into the street people will be saying “Hey Rick, turn this 5p into a pound coin” and all that. And that goes with the job and it’s lovely, because it means people have enjoyed the show. I must get 50 people a day shouting “My arse!”, from when I was Jim Royle, at me as I walk down the road, and people say to me “Don’t you get fed up with it?” and I say “No I do not.” It means they’ve enjoyed the character – it doesn’t bother me one bit. And I know I’m going to get the same off this. I’m a Liverpool supporter, and I know

someone’s going to call in to the radio asking me to cast a spell to improve their game.

Now that would be magic! Will the grandkids be hoping you’ll be able to break out the self-replenishing biscuit tin at home?I’ll have to do something, because they are going to be asking about it! I might have to tell them to take a couple then tell them the magic is having a rest and that I’ll see if I can get it to work tomorrow. Then tell them the same bloody thing the next day.

The special effects are going to blow the kids away when they watch this. To be honest with you, I can’t wait to see it myself

Pauline Collins

How was filming? How did you like being a wizard?It was terrific. I mean I’ve done Doctor Who and Merlin before, both of which had CGI – but this is spectacular. What has been undertaken is absolutely amazing. Some of the effects go across huge distances. We have great big walls and mountains tumbling down, thunder in the sky… and that was before they even started the post production.

How would you describe your character, Lady Mawgon? She has quite a formidable personality, hasn’t she?

I think she’s someone who’s suffered from having celebrity in her youth, and now suddenly she’s in her 70s and she’s particularly maddened and saddened by the diminishing of her powers – it makes her really bitter. She’s very critical of Jennifer Strange, I think she’s jealous of her really. She can see in her someone who’s got great things ahead of her.

On that note, you spend much of your screen time with Jennifer and Tiger. These are huge roles for two young actors in Ellise and Noah. Do you see big

quality, the innocence and vulnerability, but also tough. She has to be when dealing with dragons. I think she has a huge career ahead of her.

You’ve worked with some amazing directors in your time – Dustin Hoffman and Woody Allen among them. For this you worked with the up-and-coming Jamie Stone. How did you enjoy working with him?What’s great about Jamie is that he’s taken on this enormous job and bears the load lightly. He’s really tuned in to actors. One thing I liked about him very much, which he

Lady Mawgon

things in their future?Absolutely. With Noah, it was like working with an old actor, an old knight. He’s so comfortable and truthful; he’s wonderful to act with. He has a natural instinct for doing the right thing. And as for Ellise, I’m a huge, huge fan already. To take on that responsibility, to take on the whole film and never be off the screen, it’s an enormous thing to do that early on in your career. She’s an amazingly hard worker, stunningly beautiful, one of the most charming girls I’ve ever met. She reminds me of a young Audrey Hepburn. She has that

has in common with some of the experienced directors I’ve worked with, is that he doesn’t over direct you. He takes what he has and every now and then just opens your mind as to another way to do the scene. At times he was wrangling actors in their hundreds in the larger scenes. He’s a really cool dude.

What was your favourite scene to shoot?I really enjoyed the scene where Ricky and I got to do a job – in this world some everyday tasks like rewiring a house are done through magic – and we make a complete balls-up of it. We leave the householder with a huge mess. It’s also the scene in which Ricky starts levitating, and it’s very funny.

Lady Mawgon’s three favourite things are tea, biscuits, and gin. Which of the three did you get through the most of during the making of the The Last Dragonslayer?No contest. Yorkshire Tea for hard water.

“It was terrific. I mean I’ve done Doctor Who and Merlin before, both of which had CGI – but this is spectacular

“There are two roles that every actor yearns to play at some stage in their career. One is a wizard. The other is King Lear

What drew you to the project? Have you been harbouring dreams of being a wizard for a while?It was a brilliant script. Magical, heart-warming, imaginative, and often hilarious. It had me laughing out loud on several occasions. It’s a wonderful Christmas story. There are two roles that every actor yearns to play at some stage in their career. One is a wizard. The other is King Lear.

How did you find shooting The Last Dragonslayer compared to your past roles in

Andrew BuchanThe Great Zambini

more down-to-earth dramas such as Broadchurch?You still have to be truthful. Despite the fantastical elements, you still have to approach each element as if it were completely real. The obvious difference is that there’s more scope for invention and play.

How would you describe your character, The Great Zambini?Witty, caring, kind and mercurial.

The mystery behind your character’s disappearance is what drives the story and motivates our heroine,

Jennifer. In your opinion, what makes an effective mystery?Tricky. That’s more of a question for the writers of this world. A series of unanswered questions? I’ve also heard it said: let the audience seek the truth by showing them a lie.

At one point you turn a man into a polar bear. How did that work?That’s the one point in the story that was actually real. It’s something I’ve been able to do since I was small. I’ve sent a written apology to the man’s family. Poor sod.

Sir Grifflon

George Webster

Tell us a little bit about your character, Sir Grifflon.He’s like the Justin Bieber of the world we find ourselves in. He’s got a huge fanbase for being the King’s favourite knight. He’s a complicated little chap, he’s got aspirations to be more than a knight, and he tries to use Jennifer to achieve those aspirations. His loyalty is questionable to everyone.

He’s something of a celebrity heart-throb within the fantasy universe of The Last Dragonslayer – did you base the performance on anyone?

I gave him a walk inspired by Ace Ventura, for some reason. They made my hair so bloody huge I couldn’t walk like a normal person and that was the only person who came to mind with hair like that.

Sir Grifflon has a bit of a crush on Jennifer Strange, which leads to some very funny exchanges. Was it a fun atmosphere on set?Absolutely. I’ve worked with Jamie [Stone, director] before in the E4 mini-series Tripped and he brings such a good energy. He’s so excitable. And that rubs off on every

department. John Bradley is hilarious and he’d be making us laugh all day. We felt like a little roaming band of circus performers after all while and our whole world became dragonslaying. And Ellise was great, in her first huge job. She was such a delight.

We can’t talk about your character without mentioning the costume. I think the word for it might be flamboyant. What did you make of it?I loved it. The costume designers did such a good job of making everybody look so unique but like they still belong

to the same world. It wasn’t very comfortable, mind you. I had this neck plate that meant I couldn’t really move my head. It was a bit like Tim Burton’s Batman where I had to turn my entire body to talk to people. But being able to wear that kind of stuff is the sort of thing that you dream about being able to wear when you think about becoming an actor. My own suit of armour? Amazing! My own sword? Amazing!

In terms of toys and gadgets, Grifflon has all the best stuff. Cars, extendi-bows… a tank. How much fun was that?

Every day I’d turn up to set there’d be a new toy to play with. The tank was crazy. I think they built over a JCB, but it looks like it’s made out of bricks – it’s a brick, castle tank. It’s nuts. It’s huge as well. We got to go on top of that and shoot a cannon off of it, which fired smoke and there were all these practical effects going off in-camera. At one point we did a scene where we were charging into the Dragonlands and we had about 50 extras all running along with the tank. That was great fun. It felt huge – like being in one of those ‘making of ’ programmes you’d watch when you were a kid. It makes such a big difference to actors and the audience when you have that tangible feeling of something actually existing. We weren’t firing actual cannon balls…

Health and safety…[Laughs] Yeah, health and safety ruins everything again. The pyro games would time it so I would shout “Fire!” and then a second later in the distance a market stall would blow up. You can’t get better than that.

Mother Xenobia

As Mother Xenobia, you run the orphanage Jennifer and Tiger live in as our story begins. Is this the first time you’ve had to play a nun?No! The funny thing is I’m Parsee, but I’ve only ever played Indian or Pakistani characters. So I did a Persian movie a while back where I thought I’d finally get to pay a Parsee character… No chance, I ended up playing a nun. So when this opportunity came along I thought, “I bet I’m playing the nun in this.” And I was.

So how did it feel getting back in the habit?

Nina Wadia

The costume took my breath away. It was so detailed. Right down to the staining of the rusty keys. It took two people to get me into the costume because of the way that it was sewn. The only way to zip it up is for someone to put an arm in through a sleeve and zip it from the inside. And the wimple, oh my God don’t get me started. I would beg for breaks where I could take it off. My ears were on fire. I have no idea how women dressed like that!

Did you have a favourite moment from the filming?There was a fantastic moment

on the first day when we were at the top of the orphanage looking down at Zambini turning Mr Brittle into a bear. We were just doing reaction shots of us all looking shocked. But there was one shot in particular Jamie [the director] noticed I looked particularly terrified. It was because the most massive spider had crawled on to this boy’s head in front of me. I absolutely froze – and I didn’t want to frighten him because we were quite high up. The minute they shouted cut I had to get him away from it.

That was probably a professional spider put there by the crew to get those reactions.Yes, probably a trained spider.

Did you ever see yourself in a production where you’d tangle with knights and dragonslayers?No, and I love that it happened. The producers wanted someone who could play hard, but also has some kind of empathy with the character, which is kind of

why I also got EastEnders. It’s the balance of being able to play dark, but also being able to like the character. That seems to be something I can do that is probably a reflection of my own personality. I just wish there’d have been a scene where I had a sword on me and got to fight a dragon. That would have been the ultimate dream.

Maybe in the sequel.The Last Dragonslayer 2: Xenobia Gets Rough.

The President of StuffCo

What got you interested in the project?I thought it was a terrific script. I just thought it was really engaging and well written. It showed real talent and Jennifer was such a great part for a girl. It was nice to see a central role being played by a girl – even though Harry Potter was written by a woman, I feel the best parts were the guys’. But she’s just a great female lead role.

You play the head of StuffCo in The Last Dragonslayer. Considering it’s a fantasy-adventure you’ve got quite a unique look.

I had worked with the costume designer before and I really like his stuff. He made me this really fabulous pinstripe suit with massive shoulder pads. A little bit ordinary, a little bit exaggerated, a little bit futuristic. So that was great – getting the look right. I felt very presidential on set. I very much enjoyed it.

StuffCo is the big corporation that runs into direct conflict with the fantasy and magical aspects of The Last Dragonslayer. It’s a theme that runs through the show: would you say you’re a

baddy or is it not that black and white?I suppose it’s like it is with life – you can’t turn your back and think the world can exist without the big corporations, in terms of making money and employing people. It is a necessity. But I think she is the iron fist in the velvet glove.

Having spoken to some of your fellow cast members, the scene they shot with you in the Wonderbarn comes up as one of the favourites. How did you find it?Everyone looked fantastic. The set design was really brilliant –

this modern make-believe supermarket in a beautiful old barn. All the major characters converge in that scene and it was just fun to be together.

The world the show is set in sees magic being sidelined in favour of technology and capitalism. Do you think something is being lost in the real world in the name of progress? That’s what’s clever about the script. It highlights in this slightly exaggerated way that

there are magical, unexplainable things that are so often ignored and run roughshod over by society. Everybody likes everything to be proven, for profit to be proven, for everything to be knowable. And we know nothing anyway, we know we know nothing. How can we? We’ve only been on this planet for a blink of an eye in the history of the planet. So it is nice to be reminded that there are forces over which we don’t have, and never will have, any control.

Anna Chancellor

Jasper Fforde

This will be the first time one of your novels will have been adapted for the screen. Are you looking forward to seeing your work come to life? Are there any nerves?I spent the first 20 years of my career in the film industry, so I have an interesting perspective on the whole adaptation theme. It stops you being precious about losing things you think are important. I’m very excited to see how the book is adapted into a film. I’m not looking at what is similar, but I’m looking to see what they’ve found exciting and used. For me it’s very exciting, not to see whether it’s

faithful to the novel, but just how exactly they’ve run with it.

Did you have any involvement in the production in an advisory capacity? Not really, and I think that’s quite important. If they needed me, I was there, ready and waiting, but if they didn’t want me to be involved then I was totally happy for that as well. I was quite happy to have a hands-off role. Because each book is very personal to the reader, reading is a very imaginative process, as you create the pictures in your head – which is why people often say

how films based on books are nothing like how they imagined. But you should take it as an interpretation of the book. Trust in the producer and director and screenwriter as everyone wants to do a good job.

You visited the set during filming. How close did the finished product meet the picture you had in your head while writing?It was great. I met with Ellise and she had this brilliant, orphan-chic outfit on, and she looked absolutely spot-on.

The Last Dragonslayer series were your first books written for a young adult audience – what made you want to explore that territory?The Last Dragonslayer was written in 1996 and my first novel wasn’t published until 2001, then The Last Dragonslayer wasn’t actually published until 2010, so there were a good few years from conception to publishing. At the time I had 12 years trying to write and wrote six books. I’d written absurdist books and a

Gothic horror: none of them were selling. It was just rejections straight down the line, as is normal when you’re trying to be an author. My sister got me on to writing children’s books and I wrote my first draft in six weeks. The books are very much for kids who are slightly sophisticated and know that you’re subverting a genre – with themes of orphan economies and human greed to go along with the magic and dragons that are typical of fantasy novels. It was rejected at first, but it stayed on my hard drive, and years later my agent asked me if I still had it, and sent it out again after I had finally been published.

The Last Dragonslayer is a real mix of fantasy and modern day conveniences and concepts like celebrity, commercialism and free markets. What was your inspiration when creating this world?When I write, I write to entertain myself, primarily. Whenever you’re involved in a creative endeavour you have a world view. You’re exporting your way

of seeing the world. The Last Dragonslayer world is kind of the off-kilter world that I see. In a world of magic, where we mix this medieval brutalism with faddy-commercialism. There are characters like Jennifer trying to negotiate media scrums, which is very now, while in this medieval world. There’s a mix and match going on – it allows for some strange new and exciting ideas from the fantasy genre. Just having a protagonist in a story about dragons and magic who can’t do magic was something that very few stories have done before. It was a case of saying, “What’s everyone else doing, let’s do something different”.

The Last Dragonslayer is, ultimately, the story of Jennifer Strange. What inspired the character and what do you hope people will see in her? I like the idea of an ordinary person thrust into a situation that they didn’t ask for, nor did they particularly want. But they step up to the plate and deal with things in the best possible way they can, with resolve, guile

Author, The Last Dragonslayer

“and a lot of fortitude and bravery. Jennifer comes across as quite serious a lot of the time, but there’s a quirkiness to her as well. She doesn’t want any of the responsibilities thrust upon her, but she shoulders her duties with a brave stoicism – I kind of like that about people. We’d all like to think if something very adventurous happened to us we’d all step into the breach and march forward victorious. In real life that doesn’t happen and everyone runs around panicking.

In writing Jennifer do you think you’ve created someone young women can aspire to?Strong role models are important for young women and strong women are great fun to write. But what’s also important is to have secondary male characters as role models for men who are OK with strong women. A lot of my characters are beta men among alpha females.

Jennifer Strange will be Ellise Chappell’s first big role on screen – were you surprised that the

part went to an up-and-coming actress?I’m often asked who I’d have play my characters in film adaptations. I always say “an incredibly talented unknown”, because if it’s a star it’s always immediately recognisable as that person playing a character. But if you have someone of immense talent, but relatively unknown, then the suspension of disbelief is much more readily attainable. Ellise is Jennifer Strange. I was delighted.

The show has a superb ensemble cast, a mix of up-and-coming actors as well as a range of stars from comedy and drama backgrounds. What was your reaction when you saw the confirmed cast list?It’s very important to have that mix of new and established actors because, when you think about it, the skills in the acting profession have been handed down from elder to younger since the days of Sophocles and the Greeks in an unbroken chain. There have always been young actors and always been old actors and they’ve always

talked on the set or on the stage or on the wings giving the lore and helping them progress. It’s a wonderful thing for young actors to work on a cast with literally thousands of years of acting experience. Actors always help other actors in this unbroken chain of education that’s been going on for thousands of years. It’s wonderful to see.

What part of the story are you most looking forward to seeing brought to life in the finished product?The quarkbeast. In the book, I purposely never really describe it. But it is absolutely terrifying. Anyone who sees it, the bravest man in the world, is absolutely rooted to the floor. I’ll be very interested to see how that turns out.

We’d all like to think

if something very

adventurous happened

to us we’d all step into

the breach and march

forward victorious.

In real life that doesn’t

happen and everyone

runs around panicking

A Magical ChristmasWith The Last Dragonslayer set to make this festive season even more magical, we asked the cast to share how they like to enjoy their Christmas

Jasper FfordeI have an awful lot of children. So it’s

mostly at their kind of speed. We have big family Christmases and of course

because The Last Dragonslayer is showing everyone will be clustered around the

television, with me probably hiding behind the sofa. I think it will be the high point of

the day. Not for the children of course – that’s always the present opening.

George Webster

My Christmas for the past 10 years has been in my family house. I still live in the garage of my parents’ house like the struggling artist that I

am. Mum cooks a big dinner, we all get drunk. This year as a bonus we

all get to gather round and watch Grifflon’s hair

bounce about.

Nick Mohammed

Our baby will be one this December – last year he was only three weeks old and we were still

learning the ropes. So it will be our second Christmas as a family but

it will be a little less sleep deprived.

Ellise Chappell

I love talking about this and finding out everyone’s Christmas traditions. Everyone

does it so differently. Our Christmas usually consists of waking up with a cup of tea, opening our stockings, having a bit of breakfast, maybe opening one or two Christmas tree presents,

making lunch together, then usually the afternoon and the evening are spent with jigsaw puzzles, board games and… last year it got very intense

and competitive. It was a bit scary. And then sometimes a film in the evening. I’m pretty sure I know what film that’s

going to be this year!

Pauline Collins

I know this is terrible, but we never know what’s going to happen until very close to Christmas. We always

seem to end up with the whole family together, one way or another. Even

those who planned to be away turn up at the door on

Christmas Eve.

John BradleyI’m going to spend my Christmas the

way I’ve spent it the past 27 years: I’ll be at home in Manchester with my family. A lot of

people talk about going away for Christmas, but I think location is secondary to people. It’s a time

for children, but also a time for adults to think back to when they were a child. You can go all

over the world, have whatever career you want, meet whatever people you want, but as long

as you spend Christmas back where you spent Christmas as a child I think

that’s what it’s all about.

Anna Chancellor

My daughter is a marvellous sous chef and a papercraft artist, so she’s

good with a scalpel. I like to just see her cut everything up so precisely. She helps

me cook and we cook together and take it really, really seriously. We dunk the turkey

in water and spices overnight – I really do like the cooking. And I’m very

inquisitive, I like presents. Giving and having. Ricky

TomlinsonWe have a family Christmas. Rita, my

wife, is a smashing cook. There’ll be six or eight of us round the Christmas table. Then

my grandson, who’s eleven, is a bloody incredible guitarist – we’ll get the guitar out with his uncle Tony and it’ll be a singsong. It

goes on for a few days in Liverpool, obviously. Have a laugh, have a drink. Although I’ve

stopped as I’m on a diet and I’ve lost two stone. If I were a real wizard I’d

just bloody magic it away.

Andrew Buchan

I’m about to move house. So I’ll probably be sorting

out issues with the guttering.

ContactsPamela Anderson

pamela.anderson@sky.uk020 7032 1625

Ben Bratchellben.bratchell@sky.uk

020 7032 1532

Stillshttps://seac.bskyb.com

020 7032 4202stillsdepartment@sky.uk

Media Centrecorporate.sky.com/media-centre

For previews contact:isabel.moore@sky.uk

nicole.estwick@sky.uk