Warning: contains spoilers forRipper Streetseries 1-3.
Series four however, sees him battle a different enemy: restlessness.
Reunited with daughter Mathilda and trapped in the stultifying town of Hampton-On-Sea, Reid feels that something is missing.
Work and Whitechapel, to be precise.
MyAnna Buring:I love that scene.
And she replied saying they were caught in the teeth of some grotesque.
Do you see your characters as being essentially trapped?
Matthew Macfadyen:I think yes, theyre fighting against the confines of where they are.
MM:He has to compromise to do good.
Both of them think theyre doing good.
That was a lovely bit of writing.
MB:What I really appreciate with the writers is that Reid and Susan have developed this understanding.
Hes come to a sort of peace about it.
MB:Its whether their action comes out of malice or whether an action comes out of desperation.
Matthew, you mentioned Reid coming to a sort of peace.
MM:The peace of Edmund Reid!
Does he find peace in series four?
MM:I think it would be a different prayer.
When we find him againhow many years later is it?
In the small-town provincial Victorian seaside, somethings missing.
And then Deborah Goren comes with a request and that immediately brings him back.
I think he was probably looking for something to do that.
Was Whitechapel what was missing?
MM:I think so.
Its the work that makes you who you are.
Perhaps thats gone from him now, but its about doinghis job.Hes a job-man.
Theres a lot of vanity to Reid.
You mentioned Mathilda growing restless, what can you tell us about her in series four?
MM:Shes eighteen and like any teenager she wants to be on the train to London.
Shes starting to kick against him and hes aware of that.
And I think hes feeling the provincial pettiness a bit of Hampton-on-Sea.
MB:Its interesting that she feels very much like her fathers daughter.
Because thats just not a true reflection of us as human beings.
MM:And shes had this crazy life.
Its a brilliantly drawn character.
MB:Shes extraordinary.
Its interesting that she feels very much like her fathers daughter.
Its very hard to fight against somebody who you fundamentally understand quite well.
I think theres always going to be an element of her trying to control her world.
Is that possible for her in Newgate Prison?
Youve both praised the writing onRipper Street.
MM:It does help, very much.
Everythings heightened, so anything that makes him more buttoned-up the better.
But Richards writings brilliant, and Toby Finlays as well, just brilliant, so clever.
Its a real skill, because its so beautifully constructed and it doesnt feel mannered.
Or, it feels mannered in the right way!
MM:No, no.
MM:Yes, youre sort of marvelling at the technical achievement of it but not necessarily feeling it…
Does it make a difference going into a series knowing it wont be the end?
MM:No, we just play what weve got.
MB:Its definitely a writers thing.
MM:You cant play anything hence.
Youve got to just play…
MB:…whats there in the moment.
You cant play the end-game because then it makes no sense.
Things change so quickly from one moment to the next, new bits of information arrive.
MM:And the characters dont know, so you shouldnt.
So youre not playing an endgame, not looking at an end-of-series arc?
MM:No, and the writers keep things very close to their chest.
Could you see it going further?
An Edwardian Susan and Reid?
MM:Downton Stabby!
MB:Yes, but also no.
I think this is a sort of story that belongs in the Victorian era.
Thats where it started and its where it should end.
Then on the other hand, its such great fun, so yeah, sure!
Long Susan could live for two hundred years, carry on!
MM:Shes a vampire!
Youve hit on something here [laughs].
MyAnna, you did Jimmy McGovernsBanishedrecently, would you say youre drawn to dramas with a political conscience?
MB:Not necessarily consciously.
MM:Really good writing is political anyway.
You know,Finding Nemohas a political narrative.
I really do believe that.
Stories exist to tell us how to live.
Thats why the arts are important.
And thats politics, how we live and how society operates and all the rest of it.
But if you only did…
Tub-thumpers?
MM:Tub-thumping, yes, it would be so boring.
MM:I think there was a genuine fan base that we werent really aware of.
I think it probably just had a bit more to run, and people thought No!.
MB:I think also it was picked up a bit more by some media.
MM:Because as actors, really, the truth of it is you go, oh well!
because our whole life is like that.
My agent was saying theres this big petition, which was a really lovely thing.
MB:I think thats exactly right.
A lot of people were fighting to make this show happen.
MM:And its not necessarily the Beebs fault.
You have to commission shows, it wasnt like the BBC is the baddie.
The BBC is brilliant!
Is there anything that feels different for you on set?
MM:Being on set?
MM:We felt very looked after on both.
But the Beeb are still involved.
Speaking of the BBC, this January, youre going to be up against another Victorian detective.
TheSherlockChristmas special is going back to the original era.
Do you think Sherlock Holmes would fit in in Whitechapel?
MM:Edmund would be bamboozled by Sherlock.
Hes quite bright, but not that bright.
[laughs]
MB:I think shed be intrigued by them.
I think we should make that happen.
Matthew Macfadyen and MyAnna Buring, thank you very much!
With thanks toBecky Lea.
Ripper Street Series 4 will be available exclusively for Prime Members in the UK from 15th January 2016
