Director - Jon Sen

Jon Sen describes FRANCES TUESDAY as a traditional thriller with a 21st century twist.

“It’s a glossy, fast-paced thriller with car chases, gunfights and a kidnapping scene. We’ve gone to town on a big stunt where our lead character’s death is staged, and the boldest move of all is changing Tamzin Outhwaite’s face. You are in unchartered territory.”

The drama sees Tamzin undergo a complete physical transformation as her character Frances has extensive plastic surgery to gain a new identity.

“It would have been easier to have a mousy actress transformed into Tamzin but doing that would have been totally against the theme of the piece, which is about how someone gives up their identity and their beauty to pay for their mistakes.

“It’s a powerful moment at the end of part one when Frances unveils her new self and bursts into tears because she is so crushed by the change she has had to make. She is blinkered to the fact that she is involved in criminal activity but is forced to take very bold decisions in order to save her life when the sins of the past come to brook.”

Jon is full of praise at the way Tamzin rose to the challenge of such a demanding role.

“She was very brave. Attempting this kind of large transformation under the necessity of a television schedule is very tough. Some days she would have to go from the Frances in part one to the Frances in part two, which was a huge burden on her as a person and an actress. As well as a lengthy make-up change, she also had to portray a different side to her character.

“Frances West is into glamour and glitz and has a lifestyle protected by money, but her new identity is more vulnerable and cowed and she has to learn to be on her own. She cannot hide behind anyone from her previous life and has to find an inner resilience. Tamzin is incredibly versatile and distinctly characterised her role both pre and post the operation.

“The transformation is amazing. Suddenly everyone stopped approaching her while we were filming and asking for autographs and you had to pinch yourself to remind yourself that she was Tamzin. She had a completely difference presence as Frances 2 – much more reserved and protective.

”The change in Frances’ life is mirrored by the production values. “We made her life with Lucas look as good and glossy as possible using lighting and design, and when she is being courted to join the witness protection scheme there is an air of luxury in the safe houses she stays in. After the transformation her life is harsher. It’s more claustrophobic and downbeat and there’s a sense of the world caving in on her.

The stunt where Frances supposedly dies in a horrific car crash was another challenge for Jon.

“Nick Collins the writer had depicted something quite European and we had to find a tunnel near a valley to stage the crash. Frances’ car goes over a cliff watched by a helicopter. The production design team looked on Ordnance Survey maps and we sifted through the contours and valleys that suited us and came up with Snowdonia. The countryside has an epic feel to it with breathtaking views.

“The stunt took a lot of planning and preparation but because it only lasts for two or three minutes on screen we had to limit the time we spent on it. In the end it took two half days filming and we crossed our fingers that the car didn’t fire off in the wrong direction. In the end, it went better than we expected and we were blessed with good weather.”

The majority of the story is set in London.

“I went for a very contemporary urban London look,” says Jon. “I think TV sometimes lacks a sense of place and it’s important that you ground a story in a specific world. In trying to set that up we have vistas, huge landscapes of London. Lucas works in a contemporary urban system and an underworld within that.”

One of the more gruesome scenes involves Frances opening a box containing a severed head.

“I am a strong believer that you are haunted by your imagination – it’s more of what you don’t show. Tamzin opens the box on the beheading and we play it all on her reaction. It’s a difficult thing for an actor to perform but you are transfixed by her reaction to the box.”

Jon is full of praise for the performances of other cast members, too.

“I was desperate to work with Fraser Ayres since I’d seen him in a play at the Edinburgh Festival. I cast him against type as Birch and he does a great job as a hoodlum with intense violence.

“Lennie James I had seen in Buried and he has an amazing charisma. The world of the British FBI is traditionally seen as a white civil servant role so I wanted to make it more interesting by allowing Lennie to take that challenge on.”

Jon’s other credits include Second Generation, Reignited and the award-winning short film Dead On Time. He is also writing a two-part thriller called The Pact for BBC One.