“Having said that, he can take the view that he is above them all because his position is so close to the King.
“When I first read the script, I really liked the relationships everybody had within the Palace. There are struggles for power, not just between the Royal Family, but also unseen power struggles below stairs. That is really interesting to play, and there is a lot of scope for Neil’s character to go places. I think I would like to see him getting into more trouble, because it would be interesting to play out a situation where he was tempted to be a little less than perfect all the time. It would be good for him to find himself in trouble and have to dig his way out of it. He would be absolutely mortified if ever Richard found out that he was anything less than wonderful.
“I don’t know if the series has given me much of an insight into the Monarchy, but it has certainly made me more sympathetic towards the real Royal Family. I think they work a lot harder than we give them credit for. Also, what this programme makes clear is that there are hundreds of people who are all pulling you in one direction and hundreds more pulling you in another direction – it must be hard work to try and be a normal human being through that.
“Filming in Lithuania was odd - if you were to walk out of the fancy double-doors of the palace set, you would find yourself standing in a chilly, dilapidated old building. But once you are on set you forget about everything outside. What is nice about our set is that a lot of the rooms naturally lead into other rooms and they have four walls – so you do feel like you are in the middle of a real palace.
“If we do go to a second series, I think it would be interesting to explore just how far Neil would go to keep his position next to Richard. I'm sure if anything or anyone were to jeopardise their relationship, he would do everything within his power to eliminate the threat. I also think Neil would appreciate some nattier ties to wear next time.”
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