Zoe Tapper ('Desperate Romantics')

Friday, July 17 2009, 10:44 BST

By Dan French, TV Reporter
Zoe Tapper ('Desperate Romantics')

There's been a distinct lack of racy period dramas since The Tudors departed our screens last year. Thankfully, new BBC Two series Desperate Romantics has arrived and is more than happy to fill such a void. Charting the philandering ways of the Pre-Raphaelites, and featuring a sexy cast including Zoe Tapper and Tom Hollinder, we're promised some old-fashioned risqué romances with more than a helping of raunchiness to whet our appetites. We got on the blower to Survivors star Tapper to find out more.

What is Desperate Romantics all about?
"It follows the lives of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of painters - Rossetti, Millais and William Hunt being the main contenders. It's actually quite a modern take on their lives and it shows their lives as pretty scandalous! Even though it seems like a pretty sexed-up version, it's true to history. They did leave scandalous lives - they were bohemians, they drank a lot, they were womanizers."

What's your character, Effie, like?
"She's quite a complicated little character, really. She's married to John Ruskin, who was the big art critic of the day, and she's a refined lady from a good family. She finds herself in this arranged marriage with Ruskin and unfortunately it's completely loveless and they never consummate their marriage. This constant rejection eventually grinds her down and she finds herself falling falling for one of the painters, John Millais, and she sees a complete turnaround in her life. She changes quite a bit - she starts off as this demure woman and she ends up quite bohemian herself."

Can we expect a bit of raunchiness?
"Yes - I think you can expect quite a lot of raunchiness! Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on which way you're looking at it - I escape with a minimal amount. But yes, there's quite a lot of sexiness. It's going to be pretty full-on! These boys had a lot of fun, and they didn't hold back - the drama certainly explores that side of things as well!"

How is filming going on the new series of Survivors?
"I'm filming up in Birmingham at the moment, but in terms of the story, you're not supposed to know any different. There was no specific place that it was set last year, although people that know Manchester obviously recognised it. But we're on quite a lot of location. It's hard to find a city where you can close it off fairly easily. We've got to do a lot of scenes where there's not a lot of people around, and no cars... it's tricky."

What's to come in the new series?
"I think - if this is possible - that this series is much darker than the last. They're that much further on in their lives in this new world. They're broken down, they're weary, and they're having to struggle that much more to find food and water. They're having to be much more on their guard as people become more desperate. The storylines reflect that - it's quite sinister. There's a lot of action and high emotion. I think people are going to be left on the edge of their seats because there's some brilliant cliffhangers and some great writing."

Has the show been affected by the swine flu breakout?
"Not at all. There were some rumours that we were going to postpone it because of the breakout but in my cynical mind, it helped. It's such a real threat that when you watch Survivors, which is supposed to be a sci-fi drama, it actually resonates massively with the audience. I think it's very pertinent with what we're doing."

How do you think the US audiences will react to it?
"Obviously I hope that they're gonna love it. I think it had an American feel to it, in a way. The way it was edited, the action... it had a slightly 24-ish mindset, so I think it's gonna stand well against some of those brilliant American dramas."

You also worked on Demons. How do you feel about it being axed?
"It's a shame that it's not going again but it's not massively surprising to me. I think the climate as it is affected everyone, but certainly it's affected drama on television. ITV really aren't making a lot of new drama at all at the moment and a lot of my friends who are actors are finding that dramas aren't being made. A lot of shows have been axed this year."

Desperate Romantics begins Tuesday, July 21 at 9pm on BBC Two.

Original article here.