Name: Jill Green
Position: Producer
Episode: All Episodes
Jill Green worked for Red Rooster Film and Television between 1991-1998, initially as Head of Children's and Family Entertainment, then as Deputy Managing Director before finally being promoted to Managing Director. She produced kids' series The Tics and Samson Superslug, for ITV1, as well as the BBC family serial Smokescreen and the animated series Monty The Dog. Her prime time drama credits include the Channel Five's launch night drama Beyond Fear, The Alchemists and Deadly Summer. Jill Green founded Greenlit Productions in 1998.
Jill Green is constantly surprised by the way events in Foyle's War ring true today.
"What's so interesting is how the films mirror contemporary situations. Particularly the first one in this series which explores the whole idea of the Americans joining forces with the Brits. It mirrors Iraq, but in a different way. The war department in Washington issued pamphlets on how to deal with all our idiosyncrasies. We were the underdog and not paid so well - of all which has very interesting resonances now."
To help convey the feeling that Britain had been 'invaded' by the Americans, Jill and her team cast real Americans as GIs and bought them copies of the wartime pamphlets.
"The instruction book has been reissued and I gave all the American cast a copy at the readthrough. It was fascinating to read all that social detail. And because we cast real Americans you can see the difference. They are more direct and open and more robust and confident in their body language. They were dynamic and confident at the readthrough and it comes through in Invasion.
"We had great fun working with the American cast members. There were about eight or nine of them and they were like a little corps within the main unit. They had different uniforms, drove around in Jeeps and were a bit like the outsiders they were playing. And Jonah Lotan who plays Sam's love interest Joe was riveting. He appears in both episodes, which is unusual for us, and the chemistry between him and Honeysuckle was electric."
The second film, Bad Blood, features Foyle's War's most ambitious script to date.
"The main mystery of the story is the destruction of a North Atlantic convoy of ships by the Germans. It was a huge production number for us and we recreated it at Pinewood Studios. We used a big water tank, created the waves, put our actors in and threw wind and snow at them. We used CGI for the flames and a distant wrecked convoy. It took a whole day to recreate what is only seen in flashback, but it's pivotal to the story."
Bad Blood looks at the development of biological warfare.
"Again, the themes are so current. Even when Anthony did the script there was a piece on Radio 4 about one of the scientists who'd had to expose himself to his experiments and is now suffering quite badly. It was heavily researched on the real people who worked at Porton Down and it's a very intriguing story," says Jill.
After four series, Jill admits finding locations is proving a big challenge.
"It's getting increasingly difficult to find suitable World War Two locations, not just the obvious ones but the very ordinary ones too. Every time there's a street scene we have to spend half a day getting rid of everything like people's cars and satellite dishes. And it's almost impossible with themed pubs today to find an authentic 1940s space. We are a very location-based show and don't spend a lot of time in our police station."
Jill was delighted that a former star of the series, Julian Ovenden who played Foyle's RAF pilot son Andrew, was able to make a contribution to the new films.
"Andrew sends a letter to Sam and Julian is the voice reading it. It's so much better to have his real voice than somebody else's and we were very grateful he was able to do it."
Jill and her team are now in pre-production for the next series of Foyle's War, which begins shooting in February.
January, 2006; Publicity Release
Jill Green is immensely proud of the care and attention that goes into creating Foyle's War.
"We never call it series three because it is like making four new films. What happens in many cases of other television drama is that a third series can become "factory output". It's the complete reverse with Foyle's War. It takes us 14 to 16 months to make from original development and I think the care and attention shows on screen. It's a handcrafted show - and we don't use that word lightly.
"Each year we build our knowledge, and more and more people want to be in it because it's a prestigious show and we attract an award-winning crew. I think we have maintained the richness and variety between the films and the storylines are still very complex. They have strong themes, new period detail that people don't know about, coupled with strong performances from the best cast."
Jill admits that the new films, set in 1941, were a big challenge to produce.
"The toughest one we shot was They Fought In The Fields, because 80 per cent of it was filmed outside in April and May and we had every kind of weather you can imagine including snow! We had to recreate a 1940s farm, film with tricky cows, build a German POW camp and crash a German plane. Visually it is a stunning episode, greatly pulled off by the director Jeremy Silberston."
"For Enemy Fire we had to create a burns unit with tricky prosthetics on a fairly large cast, plus we had the Spitfires. We had to construct a complete Spitfire in order to burn it. The film is inspired by the teachings of pioneering plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe and his patients who called themselves the Guinea Pig Club. It's a really good true story."
The way historical facts - right down to tiny details - are included in the films is a crucial element of Foyle's War, according to Jill.
"Everything is researched very thoroughly by Anthony Horowitz. For example, we reflect the way McIndoe got rid of the injured airmen's uniforms because he thought it was unfair to put them through the humiliation of trying to do up their buttons with burned fingers. That sort of detail is part and parcel of the show.
"In War of Nerves, we show the bravery of the engineers who diffused unexploded bombs. Their life expectancy when they first started out was something like seven weeks because they knew so little about what they were doing."
The first episode The French Drop focuses on the work of the Special Operations Executive.
"Very few people knew about the SOE at the time but what we depict is absolutely real, based on the SOE syllabus and the people who worked there. It's a fascinating story of how agents were trained and what a disparate group of people they were."
Jill was delighted to attract a high calibre cast for the films once again.
"Our regulars are wonderful, of course, and we also have some fantastic performances from our guest stars. Samuel West as Wintringham in The French Drop is really extraordinary, measured and subtle, and Bill Paterson as our surgeon Jamieson is completely inspirational.
"We were thrilled to get Corin Redgrave back as Foyle's boss Rose in War of Nerves. He filmed with us in the middle of doing King Lear at the RSC and his chemistry with Michael is magical. He's the one person who can really question and agitate the Foyle character. That episode also features Peter Capaldi, a very fine actor. The fact that we can attract a great cast even for the smaller roles is so complimentary towards the series."
Jill, head of Greenlit Productions, is now working on two new Foyle's War films for transmission in 2005, to be followed by two more in 2006.
"We are thrilled to be making more Foyle's War and other development is coming through, as well. Next year we hope to film a big event drama in the summer for Sky and a single film for ITV as well as a feature film. It's all bubbling away quite nicely."
October, 2004; Publicity Release
Producer Jill Green describes Foyle's War as a multi-layered murder-mystery, which she believes has huge potential as an on-going ITV1 series.
"For me, Foyle's War combines the appeal of an almost forgotten England and the depth of character and richness of Inspector Morse.
"All the elements of a successful whodunit are there - jealousy, blackmail, passion, revenge - but set against the extraordinary background of the Second World War, which is a tremendously popular period.
"It begins in 1941 when the south coast area is full of displaced people - evacuees, American servicemen, free Frenchmen, immigrants fleeing from the Nazis, troops in training and spies. There are blackouts, rationing, a flourishing black market. The first bombs are falling and the future is bleak. Yet day-to-day life must go on.
"As the war progresses, there are unpredictable and compelling new settings to explore. Although Foyle's War is about life on the home front, the Second World War will always be in the background. Foyle is on the edge of the war and his community don't know if they are going to live or die. But the mood of the piece is earthy and warm, rather than grim."
Foyle's War is the third ITV1 production for Jill's company Greenlit Productions, following on from The Swap and Trust.
"It's important for us and I believe it has great potential. The stories and characters are original, not based on a book, and it is quite serious and intelligent, yet still classy and populist."
Jill was delighted to attract such star names as Edward Fox, Robert Hardy, David Horovitch, Charles Dance and Maggie Steed, along with MichaelKitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks and Anthony Howell as the on-going cast.
"The cast have all given very powerful performances. Michael gives it class; he says very little but has enormous presence. He is not just another conventional detective."
Adds Jill: "Award winning composer Jim Parker has written the music and it is haunting and mysterious. He makes it private and unforgettable - totally apposite for the film."
September, 2002; Publicity Release