Every crime drama has its reveal scene, but as Celia Ireland explains, ABC drama approaches this a little differently.
Result is a French word that literally means the action of undoing, and in the world of television crime dramas, it is that scene where the hero unravels all the pieces of the plot to reveal the killer.
But ask Return to Paradise’s Celia Ireland and you’ll get a more down-to-earth interpretation.
“We call it the doona moment,” she says Television tonight.
“Because when you’re lying in bed and watching TV, you pull up the duvet. You’re about to turn off the light. It’s all wrapped up. That’s who did it, okay, I’ll pull up the duvet, and then you go to sleep.”
“It makes sense, doesn’t it? At first, a few of us couldn’t even really pronounce ‘denouement’.” It’s too hard. So we just captured it as ‘the doona moment’. It was an old friend of mine who told me that years ago. I thought, ‘I’m going to steal that!’
“These scenes are great to film because it’s like a piece of theater for Anna (Samson). It’s like she’s doing a monologue on stage, and the filming takes pretty much all day, because it depends on her and then everyone’s reaction. Then of course comes the dramatic moment where the accused tries to run out, or bursts into tears or something. But it’s a lot of fun to work on, because it doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
Ireland returns as Reggie Rocco, the Dolphin Cove retiree turned VIP (Volunteer in Policing), on hand with local history and plenty of local support.
“I think she’s a lot like me. She was an English teacher and I was trained as an elementary school teacher 1,000 years ago. I think she has a strong sense of civic duty and pride in her community. I think she’s very fond of Mack… she’s dynamic, she’s funny, she’s probably a bit of a sticky-dog, but she’s useful on the team because she has history in the town, because she’s lived there for so long. So she’s quite insightful about the connections between history of different relationships.”
VIPs assist with administrative tasks, victim assistance, community liaison, community policing initiatives, local record keeping and more. Ireland admits she wasn’t sure if it was legitimate or created by screenwriters.
“I thought, ‘Is that a made-up thing?’ But apparently in smaller communities, when the police are stretched a bit thin, they can enlist the help of police-controlled, dutiful community members who are highly respected and would like to have a job. So they just come by and help. I guess old Reggie was never at the murder scene. She’s never there when there’s a body on the ground or washed up on the shore or whatever. So she kind of hangs around the office and helps bring everything together,” she explains.
“So it’s a real job. But I think they have quite a license for what they do. I’m pretty sure the real people don’t do that much. They were probably just in the office, fielding calls and getting the coffee. I’ve never met a VIP – volunteering with the police – but I had to look it up because I thought it sounded like it was made up.”
Well known by fans of Wentworthwhere she played Lizzie Birdsworth, and All saints as Regina Butcher, the role of the benevolent, well-meaning character is not unknown to her.
“I actually think that’s a constant in the work that I do. If I go back to it straight away All Saints’ Day, Regina was a ward clerk, and I often got feedback from people saying, “We love that character because she’s not medical.” So she responds to the trauma and medical issues as a normal person in the hospital would.
“And I think she thinks it’s a bit true for Lizzie in Wentworth, she wasn’t a hardened criminal. She was a bit of a poor old soul who drove under the influence and ran over her mother-in-law, which was a bit unfortunate. But she wasn’t, she wasn’t some sort of hardened criminal like Kris McQuade’s character, or even Nicole de Silva’s Frankie.”
Also returning to the series are Tai Hara, Lloyd Griffith, Catherine McClements, Celia Ireland, Andrea Demetriades and Aaron McGrath as Constable Felix.
“There’s a beautiful storyline between Reggie and Felix that runs all the way through. They have such a great partnership and there’s something really beautiful that culminates for both of them in the final episode.
“The dynamic within the cast is also really nice. As actors we all get along really well. There’s a good work ethic. I think the guest casts really enjoyed being on the show together, so that’s really nice. When you get feedback afterwards about the traps and people say, ‘I had such a good time on your show,’ there are so many good guest stars.
“They’re all really nice, not a dud really. I can’t say anything bad about anyone. I hope it’s a huge success and I’ll be 70 by the time we’re done!”
Return to Paradise screens 7.30pm on Saturdays on ABC.
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