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Jasmine Hyde - Tamara Swift

Horror stories
  Do you believe in ghosts?

I've never seen a ghost. I'm very open to the possibility, but no I haven't, and I'm very happy. To all ghosts watching this, 'I'm very happy. Please don't come and move my furniture around.'

Do you have an interest in the horror genre?

If people walk in the room and I'm not expecting it, I'll jump and scream, so I'm not very good with horror films. If I ever watch them I usually have my eyes closed most of the time.

But doing this has been brilliant because I've never done anything like it before. It's made me more interested, [and I] really want to watch more stuff like this now, because it's been so much fun to do.

A little bit of history
  Can you tell us a bit about your previous work?

I trained at RADA when I left Oxford, and was there for three years. That's how I first went to radio, because in my final year I won an award called The Carlton Hobbs Award and the prize was a six-month contract with the BBC.

I went straight from RADA to that and it was just amazing, because it was one or two different plays a week, different roles. [Everything] from new writing to Shakespeare to a bit of comedy. It was just the whole lot, so that was great.

What has been your favourite role so far?

I can't really think of a favourite role really. Little Dorrit was really nice because we did it on location, a bit tricky sometimes with planes and motorbikes, it being Dickens and all. But it was really lovely because we went to some really amazing [old] locations in London. It's a luxury, because obviously something like this has to be done in a studio, but when you do get the chance it's really nice to do that.

I worked with a physical theatre company called The Frantic Assembly, and after being in the studio for such a long time it was nice to actually get to do some proper physical work. We toured with a production called The Tiny Dynamite, which was great, really good fun, and then after that I went and did Stoppard at the National - The Coast of Utopia trilogy.

Meeting Tom, him being such a clever person and so generous [was nice]. It's interesting, [as] you sort of think that directors and writers will be very proprietorial about their work, but actually people can be really very generous. I was there for eight months. I've just left, so here I am - from Stoppard to fighting demons!

Brotherly love
  Would you want William Swift as a brother?

No, no! I don't have any brothers but...

He means well, William. I think he means well, but he's very annoying. I wouldn't want him as a brother.

How about Rory Kinnear?

How about Rory! I've only known Rory three days, and I have to say our relationship is morphing into Tamara and William because he's already started kicking and poking me! I think if this goes on any further we'll be bickering and slapping each other. Nice boy.

The quiet life
  If you found yourself transported back in time to the 1830s, do you think you would enjoy it?

I wouldn't enjoy it much. No, I don't think I'd like the basic conditions. [I'd probably miss] luxuries and the comfort that we have now.

I imagine that it was a lot quieter, especially in somewhere like London. Everything's so fast nowadays. It's great - we've got the internet - but the world goes by so quickly.

The whole computer generation means everyone's communicating so much quicker, which is great on the one hand, but if [the world] was [moving at] a gentler pace I think I'd like that. I don't know that I'd much like anything else.

Cartoon Tamara
  What are you expecting from the look of cartoon Tamara? Are you hoping she'll look just like you?

I'd be immensely flattered if she looked just like me, but I don't know. They might tweak it a bit, make it look a bit nicer. In the original breakdown, the cast breakdown, Tamara had long blonde hair and green eyes and I just read it and thought, 'Well, it's a good job I'm only doing the voice, really!'

I think [she will] probably [have] longer hair, and I think she's got to look quite strong because she does get it together. She has a terrible burden on her. Ludlow didn't teach them anything he was supposed to, and William's just being very annoying and obstructive - so it's on her shoulders [and] she has to be a tough cookie.

Studio fun
  Tell us about working with the rest of the cast and crew.

It's been amazing, I think Amber has been great. She's only 25 and she's really got it together. I'm slightly in awe really.

It's lovely when you get two writers together who really are coming from the same place. It's not like they've both got different agendas and there's any kind of fight there, there's a very strong voice coming from the two of them and that's really encouraging.

They've been really lovely about changes, because I know they were changing things quite a lot up to and during recording. They've been very flexible with that, and it's really lovely to work for them. They've been so supportive and very energetic, especially Amber. She's so 'up' that she's injected the cast - who are restrained British actors - with a bit of a zing. But that's the writing as well, because you can't really be too reserved.

[After] one battle scene, we'd all gotten over our reserve I think. You can't really fight someone, fight demons [with it]. Seeing people doing these amazingly silly voices on some of the demons and stuff [has been] very impressive, and the cast are lovely. I hadn't worked with any of them before, and we've got on like a house on fire, so it's been good.

Tamara's future
  How would you like to see Ghosts of Albion progress?

I think there's loads of potential from the way it's been written and the way it's been set up. Personally, I'd love to see it go on, I really would. I do like the way it's ending, because it's very much, 'Right, well we've gone through all of that, there's been some significant changes, but boy, we've got a lot of work to do.'

It really is an invite for a second episode. I'm hopeful Tamara will go on to bigger and better battles.