Primeval Douglas Henshall: 'Bring on the monsters!'

Primeval star Douglas Henshall is ready to do battle once again with beasts from the past - and future...

In the new series, your character Professor Nick Cutter is grieving the loss of his mate Stephen Hart – who basically used himself as bait to stop the team being killed by a pack of prehistoric monsters, but ended up being eaten himself. How has that affected him?
"He's obviously really devastated by the loss. Stephen was an old friend and no mater what had happened between them he was still a huge part of Cutter's life. He feels like unless he can make some very real progress in terms of finding out what's happened and why, they are heading for very dark times. There is a real sense of foreboding on his part."

Cutter's long-lost wife Helen is back and she means business – what's she up to?
"Helen has developed what can only be described as a serious God complex. She has been to the future – has seen it decimated and overrun with future predators and truly believes that Cutter is responsible in some way. Helen is driven by all consuming desire to change the course of the future – in her really twisted reality she is going to save the human race. She is totally mad, which is why she's such a great villain. There is no reasoning with her."

There are a few new characters including, in the first episode, Dr Sarah Page (played by Footballers' Wives actress Laila Rouass), an Egyptologist at the British Museum in London. Does romance beckon for Cutter?
"What's interesting about the relationship between Dr Sarah Page and Cutter is that there is a real chemistry there, but it's not sexual, which is great because there doesn't always have to be that frisson. She's very much his equal and is someone he can spark with and bounce ideas off. Laila, by the way, has an amazing vibe about her. She's very, very funny and lovely to have around."

Sarah calls for the team's help when an anomaly opens at the museum and a terrifying creature called a Pristichampsus – a crocodile-like creature that can run fast on two legs – emerges and goes on the rampage. What was it like filming in the British Museum?
"That was a real privilege. To get to run around the museum at night when it is on total lockdown with our crew was just fantastic. Obviously, we had to be so careful with the artefacts so there was a guy from the museum on set with us making sure we weren't leaning on the exhibits. But sometimes you forget where you are and the next thing you know you're being asked to stop resting on the arm of Ramesses II."

But then the creature escapes from the museum and runs amok on the streets of London!
"Yes, we were also filming around the Southbank along by the Festival Hall and Cleopatra's Needle. While we were there a bus-load of German kids spotted us – they knew exactly who we were and were so excited to see us out and about filming. That was really lovely as it demonstrated just how well this show is doing in other countries as well."

The monsters are a key part of Primeval – do you have a favourite in the new series?
"Episode three is cool as we've got these diictodons which are these really cute, almost cartoonish, burrowing creatures which can chew through anything. They are totally harmless in one respect, however, they have been set loose in a hospital and the damage they cause by chewing through electrical cables, for example, is obviously potentially life threatening. That's what I love about this show. Not everything which comes through the anomalies has to be 40-foot high with dripping fangs and a healthy appetite!”

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