Simon Chandler - Sir Ian Rochester
As Permanent Secretary in the Lord Chancellor’s Department, Sir Ian Rochester is Judge John Deed’s arch enemy. The two men are from opposite sides of the fence and Deed stands for everything that Rochester finds most threatening: he’s freethinking, independent and inclined towards radicalism, whereas Rochester’s a yes man, committed to the Establishment, and deeply conservative.
They also come from opposite ends of the social scale. Rochester was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and can’t accept that a lowly baker’s son from Coventry could make it all the way to the bench on the basis of merit and determination alone.
There’s also a more personal reason for Rochester’s dislike; he suspects him of having an affair with his wife Francesca. And who could blame her? Rochester’s an up-tight megalomaniac, workaholic and pompous. He’s also wealthy and hugely powerful professionally, which inevitably has a certain allure. But what rankles Rochester above all else is the fact that, despite his best efforts to keep Deed in check, at the end of the day, he’s beyond his jurisdiction.
“It’s nice to play a character who’s in opposition to the main character,” says Simon Chandler. “He’s an enemy of Judge John Deed and represents all the kinds of things that Deed most dislikes. He also represents the kind of political forces that are always being put on judges to try to challenge their independence, to make them do things that the Lord Chancellor’s Department would like them to do.”
Simon also found the character intriguing to play because, despite his power and social status, Rochester is completely inept when it comes to personal relationships: “He’s very well educated, he went to a smart public school, he did very well at university, he’s done brilliantly in the civil service, and is very good at his job, but he doesn’t really know how to handle people.
He’s very manipulative, so he’s good at handling people that aren’t really very close to him, but when it comes to close relationships, he’s hopeless. He’s been brought up to be a leader of society and actually he’s a very lonely person.”
This is most apparent when it comes to his disintegrating marriage, as Simon explains: “He’s in serious denial about his marriage, he uses his job to escape from it.
I can’t see what his wife gets out of the marriage apart from a very comfortable standard of living. The relationship is dead on its feet but I can’t imagine Rochester ever going for relationship counselling. He’s too worried about what people might think of him. The appalling thing for Rochester is that everyone in the profession knows that Deed is screwing his wife, and they talk about it behind his back.”
Despite all his shortcomings, however, Simon points that Deed would be foolish to underestimate Rochester: “I think Deed has a very dangerous enemy in him. Judges are very closely monitored by the Lord Chancellor’s Department, which does wield a certain amount of power over their careers.
In the last episode in the series, when Deed sees a doctor who he’s acquitted of murder, Rochester has a very real chance to get at him.” Although Simon has played more than his fair share of unpleasant characters in his time, he is nonplussed as to why such roles keep coming his way. “I’m not like Rochester at all,” he points out. “But it gives me a buzz to play him. It’s fun to fantasize about these people and the lives they lead.”
There’s also a more personal reason for Rochester’s dislike; he suspects him of having an affair with his wife Francesca. And who could blame her? Rochester’s an up-tight megalomaniac, workaholic and pompous. He’s also wealthy and hugely powerful professionally, which inevitably has a certain allure. But what rankles Rochester above all else is the fact that, despite his best efforts to keep Deed in check, at the end of the day, he’s beyond his jurisdiction.
“It’s nice to play a character who’s in opposition to the main character,” says Simon Chandler. “He’s an enemy of Judge John Deed and represents all the kinds of things that Deed most dislikes. He also represents the kind of political forces that are always being put on judges to try to challenge their independence, to make them do things that the Lord Chancellor’s Department would like them to do.”
Simon also found the character intriguing to play because, despite his power and social status, Rochester is completely inept when it comes to personal relationships: “He’s very well educated, he went to a smart public school, he did very well at university, he’s done brilliantly in the civil service, and is very good at his job, but he doesn’t really know how to handle people.
He’s very manipulative, so he’s good at handling people that aren’t really very close to him, but when it comes to close relationships, he’s hopeless. He’s been brought up to be a leader of society and actually he’s a very lonely person.”
This is most apparent when it comes to his disintegrating marriage, as Simon explains: “He’s in serious denial about his marriage, he uses his job to escape from it.
I can’t see what his wife gets out of the marriage apart from a very comfortable standard of living. The relationship is dead on its feet but I can’t imagine Rochester ever going for relationship counselling. He’s too worried about what people might think of him. The appalling thing for Rochester is that everyone in the profession knows that Deed is screwing his wife, and they talk about it behind his back.”
Despite all his shortcomings, however, Simon points that Deed would be foolish to underestimate Rochester: “I think Deed has a very dangerous enemy in him. Judges are very closely monitored by the Lord Chancellor’s Department, which does wield a certain amount of power over their careers.
In the last episode in the series, when Deed sees a doctor who he’s acquitted of murder, Rochester has a very real chance to get at him.” Although Simon has played more than his fair share of unpleasant characters in his time, he is nonplussed as to why such roles keep coming his way. “I’m not like Rochester at all,” he points out. “But it gives me a buzz to play him. It’s fun to fantasize about these people and the lives they lead.”
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