PA – Grace and Sid (Olivia Grant and Ruth Negga)

Texan-born Rock is something of a Fifties matinee idol and has very retro ideas on sexual politics in the workplace. He likes his women to be more Doris Day than Kerry Katona and very much sees his world as populated with the kind of perfection his PA Grace (Olivia Grant) carefully creates for him.

“Rock sees women in that wholesome, smiley and supportive Doris Day kind of role because that is the way he was raised. That’s the picture in his head from his upbringing and the way his mother looked after his father,” explains Robert.

“Grace fits the bill perfectly. She falls right into his old school notion of what it means to be a PA, a woman, everything.

“And then Sid comes along who couldn’t be more the antithesis of that. She’s the absolute opposite of Grace, from her physical demeanour and her sulky attitude, to the way she sees the world, yet bizarrely there’s a connection between them.”

Rock is Senior Vice (more…)

PA – Midge (Annabel Scholey)

He may be married to Evie, the daughter of head honcho Leo Hartmann, but that still doesn’t make Simon what you’d call a devoted husband.

Yes, he enjoys the kudos and status that marrying the boss’s daughter brings, but monogamous and loving are not words often used when describing this notoriously ruthless and cold-hearted vice-president.

“He’s a terrible Lothario and if there were such a thing as a professional Lothario then I think he’d be the one doing diplomas in it and probably running courses in it as well,” laughs Darren.

“His sexual prowess is something he is noted for so I don’t think his marriage is especially high on his list of priorities. But I do think that’s where a certain level of his arrogance comes from because he’s basically family.

“He has married himself into the position he holds and is well aware of the status that gives him over his peers within the company. It’s all about money and wealth for Simon and being able to display that money and wealth for all to see.

“In a way you can only (more…)

PA – Nicole (Maimie McCoy)

Born to wealth, privilege and education, Rachel is a searing intellect, possesses an extraordinary business ability and has an extremely unselfconscious and eccentric attitude to life. Combining that with a look and a demeanour that can only be described as “ageing toff meets Amy Winehouse”, she’s a no-nonsense force to be reckoned with at Hartmann Payne.

“It’s not everyday you get asked to play a mad upper-class lesbian who wears vintage Chanel and speaks Latin most of the time,” says Emily, with a grin.

“I have to say we’ve worked very hard on Rachel’s look and I would say the main elements of my performance are my hairdo and my almost belt-like mini skirts.

“The hairdo is a cross between a posh toff and Amy Winehouse. It is very big hair and as a junior member of the cast – who shall remain nameless – told me, it’s also rather ageing.

“We wanted Rachel to look posh and imperious but slightly (more…)

PA – Robbie (Jamie Davis)

Having just starred alongside Angelina Jolie in the big screen weepfest A Mighty Heart – the true story of the search for kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl – it’s perhaps not surprising that, despite bagging the Breakout Performance Award at the Cannes Film Festival, for her next role Archie Punjabi was looking for something a bit less emotionally draining.

So when the script for Personal Affairs arrived she realised it was her perfect opportunity to have some fun.

“I was very keen after A Mighty Heart to do a little bit of comedy and let my hair down,” admits Archie.

“I wanted to have a bit of fun because Mighty Heart was so depressing. It was a brilliant thing to do, but it was such an (more…)

PA – Lucy (Laura Aikman)

A selfish, lazy, posh pig of a man who owes his considerable success not down to the contacts he brings to the Hartmann Payne table but the money Lucy (Laura Aikman) makes for him and his clients.

“Iain is a posh yobbo who does nothing and is a law unto himself,” says Mark.

“He has been given this job because of a link with the CEO Leo Hartmann, but he’s clueless and it’s Lucy who does all the work.

“He takes all the credit, yet in reality he hasn’t been anywhere near the office and is off getting bladdered abroad somewhere.”

A true bon vivant, Iain is defined mainly by his absences. He spends a considerable amount of time away drinking his way around Monte Carlo, Paris, Cannes, Aspen… wherever, as long as there’s a (more…)