DI Jack Caffery is a young detective beset by nightmares. Obsessed with the neighbour he believes murdered his 10 year-old brother in the 90s, Jack finds himself trying to right the wrongs of others – but at what cost? In an isolated house in Monmouthshire, the wealthy Anchor-Ferrers family find themselves the victims of a psychopath’s cruel games, trapped and terrorised. When the two narratives collide, it is a thrilling, nail-biting and deeply disturbing race against time.
WOLF is produced by Hartswood Films and APC Studios in association with Creative Wales for the BBC.
WOLF is a hugely entertaining, six-part horror-thriller series based on Mo Hayder’s twisted and imaginative crime novels featuring DI Jack Caffery. This series charts two storylines that are nail-bitingly close to one another but don’t collide until one heck of a finale that includes song and dance (yes, really), and a fair bit of blood. The tone of the series is at times heightened and absurd, with large doses of dark humour, which I think audiences will find really thrilling. A riveting crime story was baked into Mo’s novel – such incredible plotting – as a screenwriter, it completely hooked me in.
The project is a partnership between Laurent Boissel of APC Studios and Elaine Cameron of Hartswood Films. As a writer, you work with a lot of different producers. But the collaboration between myself, Elaine and Laurent has been extraordinarily special to me. This is a unique series with a very unique tone; as a writer, you need a lot of constructive encouragement and smart feedback to get it just right. Fortunately, that is exactly what I got with my producers every step of the way.
I was initially drawn to WOLF because, unlike so many crime novels, it’s a proper thriller, with massively high stakes and a hugely climatic finale. But at the heart of it all is Mo Hayder’s central character, whom I truly adore: DI Jack Caffery. What sets Jack apart from so many other maverick detective characters is rather simple – he’s a millennial. At just 32 years of age, Jack isn’t dealing with a failed marriage or a strained relationship with his children. He’s also not a deeply corrupt detective. Rather, he’s trying to make all of these life decisions for the first time. Do I want a relationship or family? What kind of detective am I going to be?
One of the biggest writing challenges of this series was balancing the two crime storylines, (both of which are rich with twists and turns – one of Mo Hayder’s specialities), with enough breathing room for characterisation. I’d like to think we succeeded in doing this, though, as evidenced by the stunning cast we got on board. The roles in this series are hugely demanding and every actor brought their A game.
Filming in Wales was a pleasure. Not only are there incredible visuals available to showcase in the series, but the creative departments were top notch. And at the heart of our production were two fantastic directors. The first three episodes were helmed by Kristoffer Nyholm, who brought such an artistry to the series. He understood the terror and the humour of the story so perfectly; it’s not an easy job but he made it look like it was. He simply nailed the tone. The back three episodes were directed by Lee Haven Jones who had some spectacularly challenging scenes and sequences, not only in terms of action and set pieces, but also in terms of emotional performances that had to be captured perfectly. To say Lee ‘came through’ on all that would be an understatement.
As a screenwriter, it’s not often you’re handed a world like the one Mo Hayder built. Getting to play around in what she created has genuinely been the highlight of my career. I’m incredibly proud of WOLF; it’s a series for people who like their crime served up in a slightly different way. The episodes build and build and the finale is truly an example of everyone – actors, directors, scripts, music, art department, everyone! – all coming together in a gorgeous harmony. This is not a series that deflates in its climax; this is a series that sings.
Cast
Jack Caffery – Ukweli Roach
Honey – Sacha Dhawan
Molina – Iwan Rheon
Oliver Anchor-Ferrers – Owen Teale
Mathilda Anchor-Ferrers – Juliet Stevenson
Lucia Anchor-Ferrers – Annes Elwy
D.I. Lincoln – Sian Reese-Williams
D.I. Prody – Ciarán Joyce
D.I Matthews – Kai Owen
Ivan Penderecki – Anthony Webster
Minnet Kable – Gethin Alderman
Veronica – Kezia Burrows
Sophie – Emily Adara
Colonel Frink – Karl Johnson
Walking Man – Tim Treloar
Emily – Zadeiah Campbell-Davies
Hugo – Gwïon Morris Jones
Bethany – Emma Cooney
Robbie – Hywel Simons
Driscoll – Amanda Drew
Creatives
Executive Producers – Elaine Cameron, Laurent Boissel, Megan Gallagher and Kristoffer Nyholm
Executive Producers for the BBC – Rebecca Ferguson and Ben Irving
Producer – Nikki Wilson
Writer & Creator – Megan Gallagher (based on novels by Mo Hayder)
Director – Kristoffer Nyholm (episodes 1, 2 and 3) and Lee Haven Jones (episodes 4, 5 and 6)
Casting Director – Andy Pryor
Costume Designer – Ray Holman
Hair & Make-up Designer – Claire Pritchard-Jones and James Spinks
Original Music – Chris Roe
Interview with Ukweli Roach (Jack Caffery)
Who is Jack Caffery?
Jack Caffery is a police detective who lives in London and previously worked in Wales – in Cardiff and Newport. He has a disturbed background with a lot of trauma that he tries to hide, which has made his character quite malformed. As clichéd as it sounds, I would describe Jack as a lone wolf. He’s someone who, because of the traumas in his past, has isolated himself and finds comfort in isolation because he can’t be hurt that way. His trauma essentially shaped his whole personality.
Can you tease a little bit about what’s in store for him?
Jack goes on quite a journey over the series to get to the answers he wants. That’s really where we see the wolf in him, in the sense that he can’t let go of the metaphorical scent of blood. We see the lengths that he will go to, whether legal or not, to get his man to speak. Jack is driven solely by wanting to find out what happened to his brother and where his brother is laid to rest. There’s a drive for a certain amount of revenge, but behind that revenge is the want for closure.
With regards to finding the killer of the Donkey Pitch murder case, Jack wants to prove a point to DI Lincoln that she was wrong because there’s also a power struggle going on there. He also wants to prove himself and his instincts right as he had a feeling from the beginning that something was wrong. Deep down there is a good core in Jack and a desire to catch whoever is responsible to prevent anything similar happening again.
What attracted you to the role?
As soon as I read the first script I wanted to be part of this. There were so many things about the series that I felt an affinity with so when I did get the part, I didn’t believe my agent. It was just such a fun part to play as an actor because it involved so many different actions, objectives and conflicts that all play out against each other. There was so much for me to work with and real substance to the character too – Jack is honest, brutally honest at times, and there’s a real root of pain that you can play off. It’s also been brilliant to work with these great directors and such a fantastic cast and crew, it really makes you want to up your game.
How did you approach playing him?
This is the most work I’ve done before filming any job, partly because it’s the best script I’ve ever read and the best part I’ve ever played. There was a lot of digging as I wanted to get to the root of my character to understand why he’s so aggressive in certain situations, when and why he’s become a wolfish character and where the pain is coming from. I think pain is quite a big part of his character and it’s malformed him in certain ways. For me, a big part of my preparation was also music. I made a Jack Caffery playlist that I listened to and there’s certain tracks from a range of different genres that really stick out to me as the lyrics would relate to Jack, his character or what he’s going through in his life. Music is a big way in for me – into the character, atmosphere and mood.
Why should audiences watch WOLF?
WOLF has something for everyone, especially those who like a great crime thriller. It’s got plenty of horror, plenty of crime and a lot of action. It’s got great dilemmas, interpersonal relationships and lots of twists and turns – everything that you could want. WOLF is unique because the series follows two parallel, quite deep and complex cases. It manipulates time with one storyline happening faster than the other but the two gradually catch up with each other to meet in their final culmination. Some elements are quite fantastical and theatrical which juxtaposes against the grit, gore and the action. I think audiences are really going to enjoy it.
Interview with Iwan Rheon (Molina)
Who is Molina?
Molina is a bit of a hapless criminal – he’s not the brightest, but he has some great ideas. He’s part of a double act with Honey, played by the brilliant Sacha Dhawan, who take the Anchor-Ferrers family hostage, although he’s probably not the ideal person for this job.
Very early on he believes the family aren’t quite the sharpest tool in the box so he starts to become a little bit silly. Throughout the series, we see that Molina has a wonderful imagination but struggles at sticking to the script, often provided by Honey, which is very frustrating for him. When certain situations arise, he sometimes gets a bit carried away and reinvents a backstory. I think there’s a lot of comedy between Molina and Honey. They’re idiots at the end of the day, but it’s been really fun to play.
How would you describe his relationship with Honey?
I would describe Molina’s relationship with Honey as very loving but I’m not sure if Honey would describe him in the same way. Honey is very much the leader and Molina is a bit of a sidekick and goes along with it. It’s been lovely working with Sacha to create this little double act and it’s been really good trying to make it as fun and weird as possible. What’s great about the writing is that it has some very comical elements to it as well as being quite dark, so you never really know what’s going on. It’s always surprising and it’s been a real pleasure.
What initially attracted you to this project?
When I first read the script, I read all six episodes in a day – I just couldn’t put them down. As I was reading, I would be thinking “I really want to play that scene” and then I’d read the next one and think the same. When I got to episode five, I read this particular scene and I just instantly thought, “right, I’m in”. I’ve been looking to play a different kind of character and I just loved Molina’s journey. It’s been nice to do the comedy, stupidity and lightness of him.
Why do you think Molina and Honey are so unsettling as criminals?
I think they’re mostly unsettling because they’re pretty incompetent and they have a penchant for the theatrical – Honey in particular, but Molina is a bit of a liability. They become desperate when things start to go wrong and there’s lots of other outside factors that keep putting more pressure on them which forces them to become more and more desperate. You then see them resort to more desperate measures the more the pressure builds.
Why do you think audiences will want to watch WOLF?
It’s a very intricate, thrilling storyline that keeps you guessing. That’s what kept me reading when I first received the scripts. I also think there’s a very compelling detective in Jack Caffery and then there’s this absolutely bonkers storyline with the Anchor-Ferrers family going on at the same time, although in a slightly different timeline which is very cleverly done. I think the juxtaposition between the two main plots will really keep people excited. It almost feels like two shows in one but it’s interesting when they slowly start to cross into each other’s worlds. In terms of the crime element, the murder has happened and the case has already been closed but we’re slowly unpicking it from a different perspective so you quickly get a sense that everything isn’t quite what it seems.
How does it feel to be back working in Wales?
It’s lovely to be back working in Wales, as always. Obviously I’m Welsh and grew up in Wales so it has a very dear place in my heart. It’s been really great to get to use the landscapes here; Wales has quite a wide variety of landscapes so you can really make it look like anything. It’s a really beautiful place to film. I think more and more things are being made here so the crews are fantastic – great professionals in every department which is amazing. Wales is just as good as anywhere to film.
Interview with Sacha Dhawan (Honey)
How would you describe Honey?
We first meet Honey and Molina at the beginning of the series when they con their way into the Anchor-Ferrers home. It was great to play those scenes. When I was prepping for Honey, I wanted to make it clear that Molina and Honey are two different characters. Honey, unlike Molina, is very tidy, sharp and focused about making this job meticulous. That’s his motivation – to complete it to the best of his ability. The stakes are so high because he’s also he’s got to fund his family but they’re of course kidnapping a family so there’s a lot of risks and things that could go wrong. Honey and Molina really are chalk and cheese but Molina is the only person Honey has and they’ve got to function together to get out alive.
How do you approach playing such a layered character?
One of the draws to this part was that it was unlike anything that I’ve ever read before. There’s an intensity, there’s violence and there’s crazy scenes to play. At the same time, towards the end of the series when things shift a little bit, you almost want to feel for Honey which is quite a tricky thing to do. It was interesting to explore the fact that Honey hasn’t been dealt the best cards in life – he feels like he’s been repressed, ignored and unrecognised. Yet now he’s kidnapping a family who are incredibly privileged and have all the things that he never had. So there is an element of suddenly having the position of power to take out some of that anger and frustration on that family, as well as the system in general.
I was chatting to Megan during preparation and there are almost points where Honey gets so wrapped up in what he’s doing that he could do something really dangerous and regret it. To get into all of that was a real joy.
What initially attracted you to the project?
When I first read the project, one of the draws was to work with Hartswood Films again and to work with Nikki Wilson, who I’d worked with on Doctor Who. The script was a real page turner and it really wasn’t what I expected. I initially thought I was just coming in as a detective but by the end of episode one I quickly realised it’s nothing like I’ve ever really done before, and something that I certainly haven’t seen on British TV before. It’s a really interesting genre but it also straddles an interesting tone which I really like, especially in my storyline which is drama but also dark comedy and sickly humour.
Megan has also done a fantastic job of honouring the books but also introducing new themes, new ideas, new characters and fleshing out Jack Caffery’s journey as well. She’s also taken Honey and Molina’s story and really heightened it – she wasn’t afraid to be imaginative or make it crazy or absurd at times.
Another draw to this project would be filming in Wales, it’s been a joy and I really adore the crews. They have been so supportive and allow me to do my best work especially when I’m doing some crazy scenes.
What do you think makes WOLF so unique as a crime thriller?
One of the things I really love about this project is that on paper it might sound like just another crime thriller, but what Megan has done so brilliantly is introduce an interesting genre where she combines crime, thriller, horror and even comedy. When I say comedy, it’s not like you’ve got these characters trying to be funny. Rather, she puts characters in situations you wouldn’t expect to find them and that’s where the humour lies. You’re laughing at the absurd circumstances the characters find themselves in and that’s unique. The team behind the show are also what make it unique, not just Hartswood Films and APC Studios but also our brilliant directors, the way it will be edited and the look of the show.
What has it been like working with Iwan?
One of the things that was really important to me was to make sure that dynamic between Honey and Molina works. I’ve always wanted to work with Iwan because he’s done such fantastic work on screen, theatre and in so many different genres too.
We have never worked together before but we just hit it off and it’s been great considering when you see them on screen they don’t really like each other. Well, Honey doesn’t really like Molina at all. It’s been a real joy to play around and just explore these scenes. We had a bit of freedom to switch things up a little bit so there’s been times when it’s been unpredictable and instinctive and we both kind of just go along with it.
Interview with Juliet Stevenson (Matilda Anchor-Ferrers)
How would you describe Matilda?
Matilda is an upper middle class woman from a wealthy family. Her and her husband, Oliver, have two children. The son, who isn’t present in the story, is a bit of a big success story which probably means a lot to this family as it seems there’s likely been pressure to be successful in this family. Their daughter, Lucia, who in worldly terms has been less successful and is very troubled. From when we first meet them in the car in the first scene, there is a lot of history and delicate references to the troubles that they’re bringing with them.
Matilda is very devoted and quite dependent on her husband so it’s very difficult for her to find herself cut off from him, as they are quite early on in the story, because she looks to him to be steady, calm, reassuring and have that patriarchal male wisdom. Matilda is highly intelligent, but it feels to me that her intelligence hasn’t anywhere to go, particularly if she hasn’t been working or in a situation where it could be fed or flourish.
This role has been a challenge as you’re normally given a character and you explore who they are and how the story changes them. With this one, they go into such an extreme situation right at the beginning that they’re always in a nightmarish and extremist situation. So you don’t get to know Matilda as she might be on a day-to-day or casual basis.
How does the family dynamic between them change across the series?
At the beginning of the story when they are hijacked, they’re first of all held in one room but they’re chained to different things in the kitchen. Even then, the dynamic begins to change. She’s always looking to Oliver for guidance and reassurance but then once they are separated she has to start relying on her own resources in ways she has never been asked to before. For most of the series, they’re separated into different rooms and isolated from each other. It’s interesting as we remove the woman from the relationship in which we find her and we see how she copes in this extremely terrifying situation alone.
In relation to Lucia, Matilda hasn’t really gone on the journey with her daughter to discover what it is that’s disturbing and upsetting for her, so there’s a sense of irritation and disappointment as well as love. But during the course of the series, in this very extreme situation, I think she discovers how profound her love of this daughter is and that she would indeed die for her to prevent her daughter suffering at all.
Can you tell us a little bit about the two narratives, how they’re intertwined and how some of the characters never meet?
A lot of the characters never meet the Anchor-Ferrers family. We are in a very isolated part of the story. We literally shot in one location – a mansion – so the Anchor-Ferrers story, vivid and extreme though it is, is always held in the bubble of that one house.
The rest of the story roams all over the place. Jack meets lots of characters, so it’s a huge canvas. That’s part of the great skill of the writer in how she has managed to keep all these narratives going and that somehow they will end up being part of one whole thing. And it’s really only Jack who finally ends up being in both narratives.
Why should audiences watch WOLF?
I think audiences will be hooked on WOLF because you just can’t see where it’s coming from or where it’s going. That is, for me, the definition of a great thriller. With some, you can quite often see perhaps who’s being set up, who will turn out to be the killer or the wrongdoer. But here, you really can’t tell. It is extremely thrilling.
The cast are amazing – we have the central character of Jack who is a fascinating version of a crime cracker, but he’s also got this personal history which is quite elusive but it creates that extra depth to him as a character, so you become really interested in who he is. I think that WOLF goes to places which most films and series don’t go to, in terms of the level of terror but also the kind of weird, crooked, bizarre, sometimes darkly humorous sort of quality of the storytelling and the characters. It’s not like anything I’ve seen before.
What attracted you to this project?
When I read the scripts, I found it really hard to put them down – I wanted to get to the next episode but I was so frightened when I was reading them, I had to go upstairs and read them beside my sleeping husband because I was too scared to be sitting alone in the kitchen. I think Megan has done a brilliant job with these scripts, really skillful and it’s incredibly challenging to keep everybody’s stories alive through six episodes but she has really kept us on our toes. Being able to play characters in these very extreme states was a big enticement as well.
Interview with Owen Teale (Oliver Anchor-Ferrers)
How would you describe Oliver?
Oliver is a self-made, successful businessman and it’s come through his own talent, his own academic knowhow. He’s made a great success of that and we see him immersed in that lifestyle, which ticks all those boxes. He is recovering from a heart transplant so he’s now keen to live every moment he can with his family. What is also clear, which I love about him because I don’t get to play many of these parts, is that he and his wife adore each other. I get the feeling they always have. You don’t often see much of that nowadays and that’s lovely. It goes downhill pretty quickly and we’re taken on quite a journey.
How did you approach playing him?
This character was really about being as honest as possible and honest about fear. You have a TV idea of how you would try to protect your family and when you’re truly desperate and scared, so we’ve really had to imagine what we would do in those moments. It’s been interesting when we’re filming as I’ve often had to stop for a moment and think what these two guys have done to Oliver and his family and I think by now you have to come through and you can’t stay frightened for all that time, so as a result you become quite dangerous. You’ve got nothing to lose if you think you’re going to die.
Why do you think Honey and Molina are so unsettling as criminals?
Iwan and Sasha have fresh, young faces that are both charming and disarming. Therefore you invite them in and, without realising, you’re basically asking the devil in for a cup of tea because they are plausible as policemen, which is how they present themselves initially. By the time you start to ask questions, it’s too late.
These guys give us a pretty bad time but not only that, they want to be heard and they want an audience. Honey has got a captive audience in us in the scene where the wonderful Juliet Stevenson, who plays Oliver’s wife, is hanging upside down while he trots out his opera performance from the Barber of Seville. On the surface, it’s a crazy, cruel comedic scene but it reveals how, on different levels, people can be and what they want from each other.
Why do you think audiences will want to watch WOLF?
The thing about WOLF is you have one storyline, which involves Oliver, his wife and daughter and of course Honey and Molina. There’s a second storyline that stars Ukweli Roach as Jack Caffery and that’s an amazing journey where he’s trying to find out more about his past and his brother. There’s many different genres across the series which eventually tie up into one intriguing narrative. Then there’s the exploration of different demographics – from the homeless to the cult that live outside society to the very wealthy upper middle classes, the police, the London life and the Welsh rural life. It’s fascinating, intriguing, thrilling and scary to watch.
How have you found filming in Wales? What opportunities does Wales present?
We were shooting WOLF very near to where I grew up and it’s utterly amazing to me because I’m of the generation that there wasn’t that much filming here when I was young. So becoming an actor meant me leaving Wales. That’s not necessarily true, but that’s how it felt. Now as an actor, I’m asked to come back quite readily to where I grew up and everything you could possibly need is here. The Anchor-Ferrers house, for instance, is a Georgian beauty. I never knew it even existed because it’s hidden from the road.
Wales has got everything you need. It’s naturally got the mountains and the wonderful coastline, some of those locations could look like California or some of the beaches in Australia. They could substitute for anywhere. You then have great studios and crew here now, a lot of investment has gone into the industry here in Wales. It’s really exciting and it’s so lovely to come home.