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 President at Hartmann Payne investment bank, working in the private wealth management department.

He’s exceptionally good at his job and, strangely, he’s also a good manager – his team respect him and not just because it’s expected of them.

Rock has a wide range of interests but his main passion is astronomy, which we later discover is shared with his new PA, Sid (Ruth Negga).

Robert says: “It is more than just their interest in astronomy that bonds them, in some strange way they are both outcasts of a sort. Astronomy is the tip of the iceberg of whole other realms of Rock’s imagination that got covered over when he was young.

“As he recognises a kindred spirit something is awakened which is very surprising to him and, all of a sudden, he starts to question his choices in life.

“He’s suddenly found himself in this corporate structure and the creative, free-spirited part of him has been hidden away under this very straight suit.

“But he starts to discover those feelings are still very much there, if slightly neglected.”

For the Los Angeles-based actor – who played Professor Ben Bruckner in four series of the US version of Queer As Folk and has also made appearances in Friends, Nip/Tuck and CSI – the chance to come over to the UK to work was the opportunity of a lifetime.

“My last long term job was Queer As Folk and it was heavily dramatic and largely I had this whole HIV storyline. But I got my start doing more comedic stuff and I could see the role of Rock Van Gelder was almost tailor-made for me, so I was very excited to get it,” he reveals.

“When my agent said it was going to be filming in Glasgow I got even more excited because I’d never been to Scotland before. I was thrilled to be able to do what I love as a performer, with a character that sounded like a hell of a lot of fun and to get to have this adventure in Scotland all along with it.”

He admits he thoroughly enjoyed his Glasgow experience and even the dubious British summer didn’t get him down.

“I am originally from Florida and had plenty of sunshine and heat growing up, so I’m a big fan of cooler weather and Glasgow has had plenty of that,” he grins.

“To be honest it hasn’t bothered me much. I like grey, overcast days and kind of enjoy them because they are such a change for me.

“The only slight downside about being in Scotland is that sometimes I really cannot understand what anyone is saying. I either have to ask them again to clarify it or I just let it go and hope it wasn’t anything too important.”

While Robert’s own outlook may be a million miles away from repressed Rock’s, the actor insists he can empathise with the change of mindset his character experiences within the series.

“I did my first national commercial as a kid aged ten, I loved tap dancing and was in a soft shoe routine with Bob Hope when I was 11.

“I wanted to be a performer from day one, but ended up going to law school because of conditioning I suppose. It was the way I was brought up.

“So I relate to Rock’s journey a lot actually because I too was willing to put aside what I cared about and what I was really passionate about in order to conform.

“Looking back I’m glad I got the education I did, but, hell, I’m more glad I am where I am now. This is the best job in the world!”

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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 admire him, because anyone who has half the attitude and indifference he does, to be that unapologetic for who you are is pretty impressive.”

But, as well as having a reputation as an emotion-free serial adulterer, Simon is also in love with Midge (Annabel Scholey), his PA.

Despite his numerous affairs and indiscretions he’d never make a move on her. He genuinely loves Midge and couldn’t bear to corrupt her in any way.

“For Simon probably the closest to any real human emotion he has is for his own PA. So his normal approach is very much turned on its head when it comes to dealing with this particular individual.

“I think Simon has feelings for Midge on a level hitherto unknown by him and that makes for a very possessive side to his relationship with her,” explains Darren.

If Simon can’t have Midge, he doesn’t want anyone else to either. So when his fame-hungry PA is offered a place in the final 12 of TV talent show, unbeknownst to Midge he makes a sneaky call to the show’s producers to ensure her musical dream doesn’t become a reality.

“These feelings are not something he makes known to Midge for fear of upsetting the status quo. And maybe because he doesn’t know how to make his feelings known, which would be unlike him in any other area of his life because he is a very smart and calculating person.

“With Midge he sees someone who is pure and such purity and innocence are long gone in his time on this planet. He inhabits a very cynical place in this world albeit a very successful one.”

With ten years under his belt of both writing and starring in comedies such as Smack The Pony, Kiss Me Kate, Green Wing and Saxondale, plus a stint in the US in the NBC sitcom Watching Ellie with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Steve Carell, Darren knows a good script when he sees one.

“The first episode of Personal Affairs is probably one of the fastest moving and high paced scripts I’ve ever read. It takes off and doesn’t stop.

“I can’t think of anything I’ve read for a while that really grabs you like a good book, where you want to keep turning the page with that burning desire to know what happens next.

“It’s a very slick, fast moving thing, with lots of surprises and it gets very uncomfortable and messy for most of the people involved,” laughs Darren.

However, the 35 year old actor admits there is one downside to working on Personal Affairs – it has made him feel old before his time.

“We have such a fresh, vibrant, young cast which is a great energy to be around, but at the same time it’s strange to suddenly realise you are now one of the oldies. Now I hear them all talking and there are so many film and music references that I just don’t get or understand.

“On one of the first days I was chatting in between scenes with one of the younger actresses when I happened to mention the film A Fistful Of Dollars and she didn’t have the faintest idea what I was talking about.

“At that point I suddenly felt for the first time on the wrong side of 30… .what happened?” he adds, with a sigh.

“I used to be the fresh-faced young buck. Where did all the time go?”

BBC Press Release

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 slutty – although she’s not a sexy person at all.

“She’s not unlike actors I’ve seen from bygone generations in that she’s larger than life and not afraid of being very camp and over-the-top. I suppose she’s based on an amalgam of people I know, but one person who has definitely ended up in Rachel is actually a relative of mine.

“I had a mad Italian grandmother who was rather stylish and used to wear clumpy Gucci shoes with amazing handbags and her way of being warm was always to be rather brusque and grumpy.”

As Emily explains, Rachel has never had a dark day in her entire life. She takes life upfront and full on and, from her very first scene, it quickly becomes clear that this grandiose businesswoman is an one-off.

“I have a scriptwriter friend who always tells me to look at the way a character is introduced because that determines your impact in the story. If it’s a very well written introductory scene everything about that character should be contained in that first moment.

“Rachel’s first moment is her flashing her breasts at a bunch of builders in the street and running off guffawing to herself. So I thought it doesn’t get much better or more high impact than that. She’s just someone who is entirely without fear.”

Whilst she may be unpredictable, Rachel is a good boss and with her PA Nicole shares a warm, genuine relationship based on mutual respect.

“It’s strangely maternal but only in a very indirect way because Rachel’s not a maternal person at all. But there is a lot of respect there, maybe because she sees some of her younger self in Nicole.

“However, generally when it comes to the PAs, Rachel does behave like a man sometimes. She’s highly predatory, but in not in an indirect way like women are. She is pretty blatant and touches bottoms and makes lewd comments. She’s like a lad basically, a Latin-talking lad.”

Despite her playfulness, Rachel is in a long-standing, loving, monogamous lesbian relationship and is also in the fortunate position to be working because she loves it and she’s good at it. She sure doesn’t need the money.

“When I first read the script what I loved about Personal Affairs is that it’s definitely not bland, plus I loved how entirely unselfconscious Rachel was and that she doesn’t pander to other people’s neuroses and isn’t even sensitive to them.

“She’s like a bull in a china shop and I was kind of in the mindset already when I got the part as I’d just played a mad upper-class nymphomaniac in a play called Ring Round The Moon in the West End, which I thought was a step in the right direction towards Rachel.”

However, while Rachel is at home wherever she rests her vintage Chanel clutch-bag, actress Emily admits she’d struggle with office life.

“I’m quite hyperactive and need to be on the move. I wouldn’t be able to sit still for a whole day. No way. I’d rather be a bicycle courier than sat in an office,” says Emily, who has also starred in Auf Wiedersehen Pet and played the lead in historical drama Catherine The Great.

Her next project is for the big screen, a movie called Secrets Of Love which is due to shoot next spring in New Orleans.

“It’s a dark strange story, a thriller about a very corrupt cop played by Malcolm McDowell. And yet again I am playing a lesbian who is slightly on the edge,” she adds, laughing. “However, she’s not posh and she’s in a very different world to Rachel. There definitely won’t be big hair and vintage sugar-mouse-pink Chanel miniskirts in that one!”

BBC Press Release

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 emotional thing as well so it’s quite nice with this to wipe the slate clean again and have a laugh.

“That’s not to say that Personal Affairs is just a comedy because it’s not – as it goes on it becomes very dark and mysterious and, to be honest, I had never read anything like it.”

In Personal Affairs Archie plays Jane Lesser, the youngest Hartmann Payne Vice President and that, coupled with the fact that she’s a woman, makes her a serious high-flyer.

Not the most approachable or warm character, Jane acts with utter undisguised superiority towards the PAs. She knows exactly how to wind the girls up and knows far more about what’s going on in their personal lives than she lets on.

Her relationship with Grace (Olivia Grant) begins with antagonism – Jane’s feminist ideals means she’s easily wound up by Grace’s view on sexual politics in the office.

But a mutual respect develops when Grace is seconded to help Jane with an important client.

“I don’t think Jane trusts a lot of people and I think in many ways she has lost sight of who she is,” says Archie.

“I come from quite an academic background and a lot of my friends have gone on to work in investment banking so I know that world.

“The thing about these people is that they are really nice, loving and fun people when you get them out of their work. But it’s the pressure of the job that makes them very focused, hardworking and maybe not a barrel of laughs in the office.

“For these people it’s all or nothing and everyday their job is on the line and then five years or so down the line you see these people and you realise they have aged so much, purely from stress.

“So we really only see this very serious, business-like side to Jane to start with but, hopefully as the story unravels, we’ll discover a more human side to her as well.”

Whilst Archie may have achieved success in the competitive film world, the Edgware-born actress insists she wouldn’t last five seconds in the back-stabbing world of the banking industry.

“Oh God it would be hell,” she exclaims, grinning. “I think this industry is bad enough but that one is a hell of a lot tougher, particularly for women. To the point where to have a family and settle down is really hard because it’s not nine to five.

“I’ve heard of people going in at six in the morning and getting home at one at night, then they have three or four hours sleep before it all starts over again. It’s tough and I think that’s why Jane looks at the PAs sometimes and thinks – ‘you have no idea. You just come in, dress up, have a gossip and go back home’. In Jane’s head they are so not like what women like her are trying to achieve.”

Romance-wise, Jane looks like she’s got the lot. She has a gorgeous boyfriend called Richard (Jeremy Sheffield) who is a handsome doctor working in war zones. All the girls in the office love him because he’s really good looking and a genuinely nice bloke.

So why won’t Jane marry him? He’s asked her six times after all…

“Needless to say the PAs don’t understand why these two are in a relationship, but she adores him and he’d do anything for her. I think the problem is that they don’t spend a huge amount of time together, mainly because of their jobs.”

With a CV that takes in everything from providing voices for Postman Pat to the title role in hard-hitting and controversial drama Yasmin, Archie is clearly not someone who wants to be pigeonholed.

She says: “One of the things my teachers always used to say to me was that I have a very short span of concentration. Even if I was doing the most amazing thing in the world I’d just switch off and become bored on sets when I wasn’t really excited.

“So I made a policy that, where possible, I try and do things where my mind is constantly ticking away and I’m excited. Thankfully – touch wood – it seems to be working so far!”

BBC Press Release

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 minibar and it’s as far away from the office as possible.

Quite simply, Iain can’t function without Lucy. She’s his lifeline. But theirs is an unequal partnership and Lucy is always the loser.

“Lucy covers for him both on the financial side as well as on the rare occasions he does come into the office when he’s drunk and he’s trying to wee on the sofa or something! She’s the one who has to sort him out. He’s just an upper-class twit really, isn’t he? I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description of him,” chuckles Mark.

“I did really enjoy playing Iain and it kind of appealed to me that he’s never actually there in office and is off getting drunk and womanising instead.

“Most of the time he just checks in with Lucy by video phone, so filming for me was basically me on my lonesome speaking to the camera by myself. Not that I want any sympathy…,” he sighs, with a grin.

“The other thing that attracted me to Iain is that he’s posh and it was nice to get paid to act that. Because a lot of the time as an actor you just get paid to be similar to what you’re like in real life.

“So, surprise surprise, I don’t get offered posh bloke roles very often. I’ve done a few before, but I think people see you as one thing and forget you’ve done lots of other stuff as well, so it’s nice to be able to show what I can do on this.

“Not that I’m complaining. Being typecast isn’t so bad – at least it means you’re working,” he adds.

“But ultimately Iain’s not someone I can relate to at all. I come from a council estate and I’ve got a work ethic. I don’t really drink either so all in all he’s the total opposite of me. You can’t be selfish and lazy when you’ve got three kids.

“But I do think he’d be a good laugh if you met him and you’d definitely have a good night out with Iain.”

Whilst he’s never spent any time in an office himself, the Yorkshire-born actor suggests that office politics aren’t that different to the clashes of egos on film sets.

“There can be rivalries, although I’ve never seen it as bad as the goings on at Hartmann Payne, but it depends on the job really.

“Personal Affairs had a lovely cast and everyone was really happy, but a lot of the time in casts you get someone who stirs it up and creates an atmosphere. There’s usually one person where you think, ‘Oh God, don’t let me get me stuck with them!’

“So I don’t think office life would suit me at all and I’d go mad after a while with all the internal politics that goes on. I hate all that. I’d probably just end up like Iain and be going off to get drunk all the time!”

Not that Mark needs to go looking for a change of career. He’s one of the country’s most in-demand comedic actors starring in the likes of Northern Lights and the acclaimed Hughie Green, Most Sincerely.

And these days it seems he can’t even go to the loo without someone recognising him.

“I think the most bizarre place I’ve ever been recognised was in the toilet at Newquay Zoo,” he remembers. “I came out the door and some idiot was stood there with a camera taking a picture, which was nice of him. I mean why would anyone want a picture of me walking out of the Gents? I’m just grateful that at least he wasn’t photographing me with me bits out at the flippin’ urinal!”

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