| A Blaze Of Glory? Jonathan Kerrigan makes a fiery but heroic departure from the police drama. By Jim Maloney PC Steve Traynor has a life-or-death decision to make in this week's dramatic final episode of Merseybeat. And the storyline marks actor Jonathan Kerrrigan's exit from the Liverpool-based police series. Steve's wayward brother Chris is targeted in a firebomb attack and is trapped inside a blazing house with his ex-girlfriend, PC Jodie Finn. Steve arrives on the scene and has to act quickly. "He doesn't hesitate about going in," says Jonathan. "The tough part is deciding who to rescue firs - his brother or his colleague. Whichever one he saves first, will there be time for him to rescue the other?" Steve manages to save Jodie and then goes back in for Chris... Whatever the outcome for Steve and Chris, one thing is certain - Jonathan has quit the show. "My contract was for three series and I knew I didn't want to do any more," says the 30-year-old, who lives in Bristol. "I did three series of Casualty too, playing staff nurse Sam Colloby. That's my yardstick. I've not left for any other reason than wanting to do other things." But Jonathan's dream of having a long rest over the winter hasn't quite gone to plan. "As soon as we finished filming Merseybeat in late October, I was offered the West End play Sleuth," he says. "It was such a good opportunity I couldn't turn it down." The play - a two-hander in which her co-stars with Ian Ogilvy - runs until February 8, and has given Jonathan the opportunity to spend more time with his actress girlfriend Shelley Conn. The pair met during the first series of Merseybeat, when Shelley played his colleague PC Miriam Da Silva. While he was in Liverpool filming the second and third series of Merseybeat, Shelley, 26, was in Stratford-upon-Avon, performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company. "It was difficult getting together," says Jonathan. "If I had any spare time, I travelled down to see her in Stratford and she would visit me whenever she could. "But the great thing now is her production has transferred to the West End. That was another factor in me taking the role in Sleuth." After filming the play, Jonathan is looking forward to returning to Bristol and working with his music company, Smirk, who are behind Merseybeat's theme tune. "I set up Smirk with three musician friends of mine with the idea of writing music for films and television. I mostly play the keyboards but I'm jack of all trades and master of none," he laughs. "I would like to concentrate on the music for a while. But you never know what might happen. I always think that if somebody is stupid enough to want to employ me, I can only accept!" |