Damian Lewis and Sarah Parish enjoy a love-hate relationship with the Bard

by Marie-Anne Hamilton, TV Choice, November 5, 2005

Shakespeare gets a modern makeover in a new season of BBC dramas, starting this week with Much Ado About Nothing.

Starring Damian Lewis and Sarah Parish, the action unfolds in a television newsroom. Loosely based on the original play, it is a tale of love, hate and passion.

Beatrice (Sarah) is a presenter on a regional news show, whose ex-lover and archrival Benedick (Lewis) is hired as her co-presenter.

Forced to share a studio sofa every night, the pair are hardly Richard and Judy. But at times their tempestuous relationship seems closer to love than hate.

Meanwhile, Billie Piper plays weathergirl Hero, who enjoys a chequered romance with sports presenter Claude (Tom Ellis).

"Not a lot of the Shakespeare survives," Damian says. But the actor hopes that TV will make people look at the playwright, who died in 1616, with new eyes. "His work may seem very remote to kids today. But we want to impress on them that there is huge joy in Shakespeare."

The season continues through November with modern versions of Macbeth, The Taming Of The Shrew and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Damian's own love of theatre was nurtured by family visits to see musicals such as Guys And Dolls and 42nd Street. And while he is now a regular on TV and cinema screens with credits including Band Of Brothers and the upcoming Robert Redford - Jennifer Lopez movie An Unfinished Life -- he admits that the stage is still close to his heart.

"I find the theatre very romantic -- settling down in your seats and waiting for the lights to go down," he says. "I wasn't allowed to watch TV as a kid. We were told to read a book instead!"

Caption: Damian and his Much Ado About Nothing co-stars.

Caption: Sarah and Damian as the co-presenters.