DR WILL IS GOING TO HAVE A BAD TIME
Simon Shepherd is back after a mid-life crisis, ready to face his Peak Practice character’s dramatic new storylines…
Patient problems are the last thing on Dr Will Preston’s mind as his personal life spirals out of control and into a trough of major depression. But in reality, actor Simon Shepherd couldn’t be happier.
“We see Will go through the wringer in a way you haven’t seen him before,” says Simon, 45, launching into the latest Cardale and Peak Practice gossip. “I think the powers-that-be thought it had become a bit too cosy, so they have introduced new characters, dynamic storylines and even a new location.”
In the first series Will had a nervous breakdown. “This is more a general disintegration that ends up with him secretly taking medication,” says Simon. “He’s certainly going through it this time!”
Acting the role of a GP with severe depression could have taken it’s toll on Simon, but he had to keep his head together for the sake of his family. “With four children, there’s no way I can take my work home with me. But I did keep on losing my scripts and glasses and not knowing if it was lunch or tea-time!”
The arrival of a new practice nurse, played by glamorous ex-Coronation Street star Eva Pope, causes havoc which may or may not have something to do with the fact that Dr Preston’s marriage begins to fall apart.
So is Dr Will about to cheat on his wife? Simon is reluctant to give away too much, but hints that the sexy new doctor won’t exactly be behaving like an angel.
In real life, Simon’s been married to Oscar-nominated costume designer Alexandra Byrne for 20 years. They live in a beautiful Georgian pile near Bath, with kids Joe, 13, twins Billie and Arthur, 10, and Beatrice, six. During filming, Simon is based in a cottage near Matlock in Derbyshire, but he makes sure he returns home most weekends.
Such a strong and happy marriage is fast becoming a rarity in showbiz circles – so what keeps their relationship together?
“I think acting is a bit like working in a chocolate factory,” says Simon. “You don’t want to eat chocolate any more if you’re surrounded by it all day. Actors work in situations where they’re surrounded by beautiful and available people, but that doesn’t mean you want to indulge in infidelity.
“Every relationship is different. I would never judge anyone else, nor would I expect to be judged. I think you have to be honest with yourself and your partner.”
Simon met Alexandra when he was studying drama at Bristol Old Vic and she was an architect student. They were friends for a couple of years before falling in love. “My wife is enormously intelligent and extremely beautiful,” says Simon. “But more than that, we’re best friends and we respect each other.”
Parenting is another subject that comes under scrutiny in Peak Practice, when Will’s teenage son from his first marriage arrives in the village. “They end up having blazing father-and-son rows,” says Simon. “Off screen, I find being a father incredibly complicated, very rewarding and utterly exhausting.
“Sometimes it feels like the blind leading the blind because your children expect you to have all the answers – but sometimes you don’t. Situations come up that that you’ve never had to deal with before and all you can do is try to guide your kids.”
During his own childhood, Simon was packed off to boarding school. “My parents were great and I was fine at boarding school but, personally, I wouldn’t want to send my children away. It’s the mundane day-to-day things that you do as a parent that bond you.”
His own beloved mum Margot died two years ago from a heart attack.
“Bereavement is a big life-changing event, especially in a close family,” says Simon. “When your mum dies, it hits you in ways you can’t envisage. But, without being too spooky about it, if it was a good relationship it does carry on. For example, if it’s a lovely sunny day, I find myself wondering what my mum would be thinking about…”
Time of life is something that Simon has been considering recently, and he admits that he’s been going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. “I bought a really silly car last year,” he says. “Well, OK, it’s a Mercedes convertible, and I justify it by the fact that I have to do so much driving.
“I did have a Jaguar on order but, as I drove home from the garage, I saw three – and they all belonged to grey-haired old men. So I got a Mercedes instead. Alex said, ‘That has to be a mid-life crisis car,’ – and it was.
“The Mercedes is what I’ve wanted my entire life, and what my mum always wanted. But as soon as Peak Practice finishes, I’ll be selling it and going back to a Golf or whatever.”
Meanwhile Simon is really happy to be back in Cardale and realistic enough to know that it’s a better option than trying his luck as a movie star in Hollywood. “I’ve never been to America because I’ve never been asked,” he says. “My agent said, ‘The bottom line is – you’re not 28.’ She means that in terms of Jude Law or a Ewan McGregor, I’ve missed the boat. And I can take that on the chin because Peak Practice is a fantastic job.
“I look at actors like James Fox and think, ‘Maybe when the children are educated and I’m in my 50s; if people think I’m an OK actor and my teeth are still my own – then we can look at it again.”
“I really have come back to this show with a passion. I was very tired when I left the series in 1997 but now I’m doing the best acting I’ve done in a long time.”
Pam Francis,‘Best’ 6th November 2001 Issue 44/01