A MAN from Dursley has taken a key role in a new TV drama starring Michael Sheen, Ruth Wilson and Joanna Scanlan.
Tom Arnold, 48, is credited as the interview cameraman in A Very Royal Scandal, available on Prime and produced by Blueprint Television for Amazon MGM Studios.
The miniseries focuses on the 2019 Newsnight interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew, Duke of York over his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and allegations made against him about his own conduct.
Ruth plays Emily - herself an executive producer for the drama - while Michael takes on the role of Prince Andrew.
“The Prime show is based primarily on Emily doing the actual interview with Andrew,” Tom explained.
“We were operating real working film cameras in the programme, and you’ll see footage from the cameras that I operated.
“Michael was a very genuine person and very well liked, and he had a great camaraderie with the crew and the rest of the cast.”
Tom, who has lived in Dursley for around 10 years, has worked as a supporting actor and crew member on various productions.
Recent work has included an uncredited role as a gangster in Series 11 Episode 5 of the BBC detective series Father Brown.
He trained as a camera operator through work on the BBC medical drama Casualty.
“The casting agents for A Very Royal Scandal sent me an availability check, saying: ‘We have you listed as a trained camera operator,’” he explained.
“When I turned up on set, I met director Julian Jarrold and a number of other crew members who I’ve worked with previously.”
The local man added that he hopes to continue working on big productions.
An upcoming production he has been involved in is the superhero film Kraven the Hunter starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, for which Tom provided communications and satellite internet.
“It’s a great industry to be in,” he said.
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