Exclusive Interview: Ricky Whittle

harchester.net (August 2004)

How has your character developed since your arrival?  I have to say he has come a long way since his arrival in episode 4 series 6. Fraud, arson, joyriding, hit'n'run, drink-driving, break and entry into house and car, drugs, murder, manslaughter, suicide, touting the list goes on. I guess he has developed most since the accident with steve. He felt responsible for steve's fall and has had to grow up quickly to deal with it! We see a more mature happy Ryan. When he arrived, he felt pressured into playing football by his dad and resented both him and the game as a result, this season he is enjoying his football, playing for himself and for his dad who has been forced to retire through injury. The new season will become even more important as this is the only way his father will see him after him joining the witness protection program, so there is added pressure to make his father proud, but this time he has to do it all alone!! (Sniff sniff, gettin emotional!!) But all bad boys have to settle down sometime, though in Ryan, there is always that spontaneous element and little bit of devilment in him that can get him into trouble, that's what makes him interesting!!!

What sort of storylines would you like to see your character be involved with this season?  Well I've been trying for 2 years now to convince the script writers that a love hexagon between ryan, abi, nikki, pilar, tash and sandra would make great tv, I mean at first it would be hard to make it look like I was enjoying it, but I'm an actor and professional and would just have to learn!! But seriously, now ryan's dad has left he has nobody, so it would be nice if he could find a woman or 10 to find a bit of companionship, and someone to turn to, we all need a shoulder to cry on, its just nicer when they are gorgeous.......wink

If you could play the role of another Dream Team character, who would you play and why?  Im really fascinated with viv wrights character, I love the whole obsessive compulsive disorder and would love to see what i could do with it. Phil Brody is a great actor and does a great job!!

What has been your Favourite Scene that you have filmed?  To film, Ienjoy changing room scenes, there is so much banter we have such a laugh and often get told off for getting the giggles, filming has to stop while everyone tries to calm down. It can last for ages and its the hardest thing in the world to keep a straight face whilst all around you are cracking up so next time theres a changing room scene, have a look at the boys in the background, if they look flustered or duck out of shot, they are probably trying not to laugh!!

Have you got any wild stories to tell about yourself and fellow cast mates outside of work?  Well well, I've got plenty of stories, it's just trying to keep them clean and legal that's the problem! I'm sorry, gonna have to keep it clean I'm afraid guys. The names will be changed to protect their identities! We all get on so well we go out together and often go to all night, morning parties and its not unusual for us to go straight from the club to the studios. But one night, we went to the launch of a club, free drink everywhere, by 11pm Bob had his shirt off dancing on the dance floor, Bill was so drunk he decided to walk half way across London home, he left at midnight, we left about 4.30am and still got home before him. He said it was so dark and lonely he had to sing and tell himself jokes to stop himself getting scared and keep him going on his 5 hour walk home!! The next day Ted was nearly 4 hours late for filming a training ground scene, and the boys had to keep dipping into the bushes to be sick!! Never go drinking when you have to run for 4 hours the next morning in blistering heat!!!

What are your long term ambitions, and where do you see yourself in 5-10 years time?  Well, if my leg doesn't heal soon, in the dole que and writing on this site how I used to be on tv 10 years ago! But fingers crossed, id like to get into film, id love to move to America and try my luck out there. But its really tough and I've got alot to learn but hey, you never know. I would love to do a comedy too!! I really want to test myself in different roles, from romance to action and comedy, but as long as I,m still working, ill be happy, I love my job!!

What other jobs have you done in the past besides acting?  What jobs haven't I done? I used to be a lifeguard, football/athletics coach, waiter, barman, model. University was funny though, my housemate and I got fired from the post sorting office after half a day after taking a 2 hour lunch, we fell asleep in the sun but as we were sneaking back in we were busted!! We also never even made it to one job. We were to be glass collectors in a night club but really didn't want to do it, so on the way we played stone, paper, scissors to see if we'd show up, I won and we didn't go, we became barmen at a fancy bar instead, great decision!!

You recently completed a Degree in Law- what made you switch to acting, and would you ever consider going back to a career in Law?  According to me ole dear, when I was 5 years old I wanted to be a lawyer in Italy for the mafia! As I got older, I realised I'm useless at foreign languages so dropped the Italy part, working for the mafia (don't fancy swimming with the fishes), so dropped that part, and then dream team came along and I thought tv or hours reading in a library, no contest! Don't look back and think 'what if', you only get one chance at life so go out there and do what you enjoy, the laws always there to fall back on but acting is where I wanna be now!

If you could play any character in any TV show, which would it be and why?  Right this may sound weird but Jack from 'Will & Grace'. I think he is the funniest character on tv at the moment and for me has even overtaken joey from friends! It is so different to ryan and I would like the challenge of creating a far fetched character like him!

If a film was to be made about your life, who would you want to play you and why?  Will Smith has always been my idol, he is loved by women and idolised by men, that's a hard skill to master, men usually get jealous! But he has been able to successfully move from comedy to serious to true-life drama and is believable in all those roles!

Have you ever used the line 'Do you know who I am'?  To my mum right before she slapped me round the back of the head!!

Who is your ideal co-star?  I would have to say Terence Maynard who played my dad stuart. He is an amazing actor and taught me so much over the last 2 years, he was always there to give me advice and I feel he always raised my level when I was acting out scenes with him! Love him like a father!

What animal do you most resemble and why?  Right now bambi, I'm learning to walk again and wobbling all over the place!!

What is your favourite/or dream Holiday destination?  I would love to go to either New Zealand or Cuba, both are beautiful islands and haven't been industrialised by man, great places to relax and slow life down!

..if you could take one of your fellow cast mates with you, who would it be and why?  Anyone of the girls, they are all beautiful, mad and would be great company on a romantic island like NZ or Cuba

Describe your perfect day from waking up in the morning until falling asleep at night.  Im awoken softly by a gospel choir, lay for a while cuddling kylie who had popped round the night before for kebabs and karioke, have breakfast by the pool, nah jus kiddin! Lay in till mid-day, go to work after lunch, film a few changing room scenes with the boys, (giggle like schoolgirls), then out with the lads for a curry before heading up north for a wild night out in Manchester!

What do you most like doing in your spare time- in chill out mode?  We don't really get that much spare time so when we do get days off, you usually spend it doing paperwork or visiting family! Either bank stuff or shopping, as we finish filming at 7pm, everything is always shut so anytime we get spare, its good to get those things out the way! Otherwise just swim, gym, cinema and party!

If you could give 1 million pounds to a charity, which charity would you support and why?  Deaf children, breast/testicular cancer, and children's hospitals are all close to my heart so one of those! I have a personal trainer who has been helping me get back to fitness since my break and she has a deaf child, so im running for that cause in the reading half marathon next march. The marathon is something to aim for physically and will mark my return to full fitness and ill be raising money for a good cause!

What is your Star Sign, and do you believe in them?  Capricorn, id like to believe in all of it apart from I'm supposed to be a goat, I mean come on!! You've got lions, twins, fish, all sorts and theres me eatin grass on mountain tops!!

What type of Mobile Phone do you have?  I have a few, a sony ericsson and 2 nokias, ones just old numbers, the others my chick-tionary ha ha man I need to get out more!!

What was your favourite toy as a child?  My little brother, we were in the RAF so moved around every 3 years and had to make new friends everytime, so until then me and me ickle bro would stick together like glue! We had great fun getting into all sorts of trouble when we were little!

What was the last CD your brought?  Actually the last cd I bought was a Spanish cd, I want to learn a new language and Spanish is spoken in quite a few countries! The last albums I bought were kanye west and Prince greatest hits!

Favourite Film and why?  Topgun, it has everything! My dad was RAF and always flying round in helicopters, I wanted to fly too, I wanted to be maverick.

Favourite Alcoholic Drink?  Vodka and redbull PINT

Favourite Chocolate Bar?  Its not a bar but M&M's, I cant go 2 days without them!

What is your fragrance?  I like to mix it up, usually wear lacoste or bvlgari or wait for it, the red women's armani (that's my secret, I love it!)

Do you moisturize?  Very important, I like to use cocoa butter, smooth and smells yummy!!

If you could appear in a Reality TV show, which would it be and why?  I don't really like reality tv shows, but if I had to, Big Brother I guess, I think id do well. I'm not a nasty person, I'm quite cheeky and would just take the mick out of everyone, id be the joker of the house, now a Dream Team big brother house would be hilarious, tyson, sexy, ob, ammo, tim, chucky, phil and of course the ledge that is ansah, now I would pay to see that!!

Who is your favourite Big Brother housemate and why? (don't try to deny it!! Everyone is a Big Brother fan at heart!)  I liked emma. She was from my home town Oldham up in Manchester! She was honest and dappy, a very endearing quality!

If you were to appear on the front page of The Sun this weekend, what would the headline be?  ''Jennifer leaves Brad in the Pitts for DREAMBOY!''

Tell us a Joke..  The other day I saw 6 guys kicking and punching my mother-in-law, my neighbour said ''aren't you going to help?'', I replied ''nah,6 should be enough!!''ha ha boom boom!!

What would be the best Christmas present you could wish for this year?  To play a full 90minutes without any problems with my leg, fingers and toes crossed!!

We are all very pleased to hear that you are on the road to full recovery following your accident earlier this year, is there anything positive that you have taken away from the experience? (fresh outlook on life etc?)  Yeah without a doubt, something that big will always effect you somehow! I saw how short life could be, and that things could have been so much worse, so I live for now. I enjoy life and live it to the full, I appreciate what I've got, what I've done and realised that the problems I thought I had weren't big at all. If I die tomorrow, I wanna know I had a great day today, that it was full of love, fun and happiness, no regrets!! If you love someone, tell them, you might not get another chance, if you see something you want to buy but you're thinking its a bit too expensive, buy it, enjoy it (well that's what I told my bank manager, he wasn't too happy though)!

Thank-you for taking the time to answer these questions, good luck for everything in the future!

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