A Class Apart comes to ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ One
Jessie Wallace plays Candy
It's been a year since Jessie Wallace hung up Kat Slater's mini-skirts and
left the trials and tribulations of Albert Square life behind her. But the
former EastEnders actress is returning to ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ One for the first time since
leaving the flagship soap to star with Nathaniel Parker and George Cole in a
one-off ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ drama, A Class Apart, written by the Bafta-nominated Tony Grounds.
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Jessie plays single mum Candy, writes Sarah Ward, who tries to keep her 11-
year-old son, Kyle, on the straight and narrow with help from her grandad,
George, played by ex-Minder star George Cole.
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"Candy is a very headstrong character, who is all for her son," explains
Jessie. "She lives on a council estate and just fights for her son to have a
very good education. Kyle and Candy are more like best friends than mother and
son β they're really, really close.
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"It's a very warm, amusing script. There are some really funny bits and there
are some sad bits. It's written by Tony Grounds, so it's genius."
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As a mother herself, to daughter Tallulah, Jessie can relate to Candy's
determination to get the best for her child, and has a lot of empathy for her
character's plight.
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"I think if I wasn't a mum I couldn't really associate with it. But I can,
because you would fight tooth and nail for your child and you'd want the best
for them,β says Jessie, who is also set to take the lead in a major new drama
for ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Four, detailing the turbulent life and times of music-hall darling
Marie Lloyd β part of the channel's forthcoming Edwardian Season.
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"I love Candy," smiles Jessie. "I'd love her as a mate. I think she's great,
and so loyal. She says what she thinks and is down to Earth and really strong
-minded."
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When Kyle is offered a place at the local failing school, Clampmead Academy,
Candy isn't happy β she wants more for her son. She has her eye on another
nearby school and can't understand why he can't go there, instead. Passionate
about her son's education, Candy mounts a one-woman protest outside the
school, chaining herself to the gates, and attracts the attention of the local
news and press.
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Fate intervenes, however, when the smug headmaster of a prestigious private
school, played by Inspector Lynley star Nathaniel Parker, watches the protest
unfold on the local news.
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"While Anthony and his deputy are watching it on the news, they have a bet
with each other that they can teach this 'chav', as they say, boy to be well-educated and make him succeed in their school," explains Jessie. "So they bet
each other a Walnut Whip that they can do it!"
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Eager to win the bet, Anthony must find a way to get Kyle into his school, and
slips a prospectus into Candy's bag at the protest.
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Candy attends the school's open day, but soon realises Kyle is a class apart
from the rest and doesn't feel comfortable in that environment.
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"When she goes to Haltham on the open day she thinks it's going to be
perfect," says Jessie. "But then she hears Anthony make a speech and she
realises that it's not for her son. She's a bit upset and a bit disheartened
that it's not what she thought it was going to be."
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How would Jessie describe Candy and Anthony's relationship? Is she grateful
for the chance he's giving her son?
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"At first, the relationship between them is quite rocky β she doesn't warm to
him at all because they are from two completely different worlds, and she
finds him quite snooty," explains Jessie. "But he dares her to bring her son
to the school."
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Kyle initially has problems settling into Haltham, but he soon starts to make
friends.
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"He's mixing with these kids that have never been part of his world before,
and they're not very nice to him because they look upon him as this chav,"
shares Jessie. "But then he starts to make friends and he realises that he can
have a crack at it; he can make a go of it and doesn't want to end up being in
prison or being a bad boy. He wants a good start, so he sort of slips into
it."
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Throughout her continuous battle to get the best for her son, Candy is
supported by her grandad, George, played by George Cole. Is he the closest
thing Kyle has to a father figure?
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"The family is really, really close and Candy is really close to her grandad,"
says Jessie. "He's always getting into trouble, though, and has spent most of
his years in prison because he's a bit of a rogue. I'm not sure that Kyle
looks up to him as a father figure.
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"Working with George was lovely," smiles Jessie. "I was quite sad to see him
go, actually, because he was only here for a week. And it's just great working
with someone like that. He's a legend and he's been around for years. I learnt
so much from him.
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"I watched him in Minder and asked him when the first episode went out. It was
in 1979 β I didn't realise it was that long ago! My dad was really chuffed
when I told him I was working with George, because he was a big Minder fan."
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Jessie also enjoyed working with Nathaniel Parker: "Nat's a real gent and a
really lovely person and great fun to work with β the perfect leading man.
Candy's a lucky woman! And, I thoroughly enjoyed playing her."
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But does Jessie miss Kat Slater? "I do miss Kat; Kat was great β I played her
for six years," says Jessie. "The last thing I did when I was in the toilet in
the Vic was take off all my make-up. I felt like I was putting her in a
suitcase and locking it. She hasn't gone entirely, though, they didn't kill
her off and they've left the door open for me, which I'm highly grateful for.
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"But you can never say never. You just don't know what's around the corner."
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