Channel 5's Ellis star opens up on 'brutal' scenes as she admits 'my body couldn't cope'

Sharon D Clarke, 58, a renowned actress, has secured the lead role of DCI Ellis in Channel 5's detective drama Ellis. This marks a milestone in her four-decade-long career, as it's her first leading role.

The three-part series follows Ellis, a determined detective who takes on challenging cases. Alongside her trusted ally DS Harper, played by Andrew Gower, Ellis navigates new police stations, earning the respect of local detectives and delving into complex investigations.

As a black female detective, Ellis often faces dismissal and underestimation, but she's a top-notch murder investigator driven by a passion for justice and empathy for those in need.

Reflecting on working with co-star Andrew, Sharon shared: "I had to do a set of chemistry reads, and Andrew was the first guy that walked through the door in the morning. And as he walked through the door, he had my heart. We did the chemistry read, and I just thought... it just lived."

She added: "It just made sense. It was like we'd been working together for years. I was just like, "It's got to be him!, reports the Mirror.

" I was so pleased they agreed, and we got to work together. And it was an absolute joy. We are two people who love music and spent a lot of time singing around that set, which was just such a joy. "The actress opened up about the challenging filming conditions, describing the weather as 'brutal'.

She shared: "One day we were doing the low loader filming for outside scenes. It was a beautiful sunny day. I've got to be honest with you, the Belfast weather was brutal. Brutal. It continually rained. We had snow. My body couldn't cope with it."

Reflecting on lighter moments during production, she recounted: "So on this beautiful sunny day, the scenes would go down, and Andy and I would turn the radio on and we'd sing at the top of our voices. And you had the radios in the car, and the crew who were in the other car could hear it. So there was like this big singalong going along the street. We had a lot of fun. It was an absolute pleasure, and a joy and a privilege to work with Andrew."

She went on to express her fondness for her co-star Andrew, saying: "I just had the best time. In this industry we meet so many people. We have this wonderful turnover of people from all different walks of life, religions, creeds, colours."

Sharon concluded by highlighting the lasting impact of their friendship: "And for me, the real gift of a job is when you take someone with you for life. And Andrew is with me for life. And that's the gift of Ellis for me, that I've come away with that friendship."

Ellis airs on Channel 5 at 8pm on Thursday 31 October.