A STUNNING TWIST IN THE FLAMES: GABBY AND KYLE COWER IN TER*ROR AS GRAHAM’S SURPRISE NEW ROLE IS FINALLY UNLEASHED!
“I think it’s that vulnerability of being lost. Graham’s own backstory has a lot of tragedy. He found himself in situations that were not good, which he needed to get out of. Graham self-medicated – and arson, I suppose, is a form of that.
“So Graham sees Kyle as somebody who’s lost his way but is still young, so he has a bit more forgiveness for him. I think Graham would have been a very good tutor in another life! He’d have been one of those guys you would have gone to as a rock, if he hadn’t gone off the rails himself. I think that’s what he’s trying to give Kyle.”
“Graham does have a huge respect for Cain, despite their on-and-off tensions. I think Graham is also mourning due to his own backstory. He wanted a family when he was younger, but he blew that completely.
“So he’s mourning that the whole time, hence the reason he wears a suit. He also wears a red tie because I told costume when I came back that he’s been to hell and back, and that’s his reminder that he’s been to hell! He does have one suit because he has OCD and PTSD. That’s his coping mechanism. You’ll find in the wardrobe that he has 20 suits all like that.
“When Graham came back, he wanted to be the fixer for Joe. I think it’s that family craving. He’s drawn to people to try and help them – especially Leo, who he has a great relationship with. I think he’s craving family.”
If Cain found out about him helping Kyle, would Graham be worried about his reaction?
“Yes! But it’s odd, because I would hope that it doesn’t look like Graham’s trying to out-manoeuvre or be Machiavellian. I don’t think that’s the side to him here. I don’t think he plays it that way.
“Graham is fairer than that and he wouldn’t do that to Kyle either. So, he’s not playing mind games. I think it’s genuine care. He wants to be paternal and put Kyle on the right track.”
How has it been to work with Huey Quinn, who plays Kyle, on this storyline?
“Very good – he’s a lovely boy and very good as well. He’s not like some typical child actors. He’s just very down to earth and he’s very good. He’s very disciplined and he turns up on time. I’m looking forward to working with him more, because Jeff Hordley [who plays Cain] has said he’s wonderful.”
Fans seemed to like the recent scenes where Graham and Cain got along…
“I loved those scenes with him. They’re two emotionally stunted men, who are showing quite a lot of emotion underneath. That’s always good. They’ve got different ways of showing it. I love working with Jeff.”
How does it feel to be back after Graham’s shock return in Corriedale?
“It’s fantastic. I really missed it when I went. The place is lovely. I know it’s a cliché, but the crew are great, the cast are great, the press office, everybody. It was lovely. I keep going round the corridors and it feels like I’m being transported back six years. I forget about being away for six years. It’s lovely.”
So you’ve settled back in?
“It took me a while! I was a bit like a rabbit in headlights when I first landed, because I had quite a lot to do to convince people that Lazarus had risen! I had a lot of information to try and do very quickly, so that was all a bit dreamlike. But after Christmas, it was great to just relax a bit more and get into it.”
Given the personal motivations that you mentioned for him earlier, would you like to see Graham settle down and have his own family?
“I think Graham would like it. I’m not so sure as an actor that I would! I think it would dull him a bit. Some people think he’s very quiet and emotionally stunted and dull in that form, but that would dull him even more. I wouldn’t want to do that. But as an actor, you’ll do anything that they throw at you. It would be interesting to see how Graham would really settle down.”
Does he still want to get Joe back on track?
“I think there’s an element where Graham grabs him by the ear, but at the same time holds him steady. He wants to correct him. Graham loves Joe, so he wants to help him. Again, it’s that paternal thing. He realises Joe was hurt. He recognises that and is drawn to Joe because of the bond they have. Also, Joe helped him and saved his life a few years ago in the backstory. I think that’s when they really started bonding.
“I think he will stand by him. Graham has his own rules, as we know. He has a good heart, good intentions, but sometimes uses bad methods to get to that, whereas Joe’s messier and doesn’t care about the method!”