Nolly, ITV's three part drama from TV legend Russell T Davies, has just dropped on ITVX. It tells the story of Noele Gordon – actress, presenter and gay icon.
While a lot of the show focuses on her achievements and her time on Crossroads, the final episode ends on a tragic note with a dying Noele in Venice and later in hospital.
Augustus Prew, who plays co-star and best friend Tony Adams, spoke to Digital Spy exclusively about the heartbreaking ending as part of our Rainbow Crew series.
"That day, that scene in the hospital, was my first day of duty," he recalled.
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"That's the first thing we did, her death scene. They really were soulmates. That sense of togetherness... He was everything to her. That final sequence, it's just the ultimate melancholy. It's beautiful that they had this and it's tragic that it got cut short. She died way before her time. It's gut-wrenching really.
"I was on my own for the hospital, that little segment, but by the Venice stuff, when we're in the restaurant, that was one of the last scenes we filmed. So by that point, Helena and I had become the bestest of friends and it sort of replicated the relationship between Nolly and Tony.
"I didn't want to cry too much during this. It wasn't like, 'How are we going to tap in?' It was like, 'How are we not going to tap in? And how do you temper this so it's not too much' It's Britain in the late 70s, early 80s. We're not a culture that's known for our emotional attachment, shall we say?"
He explained that the scene was the final thing that he filmed with Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Noele, after working together for three and a half months.
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"That scene was a goodbye for me and Helena, as well. It was one of the last things we shot, the bit where she's looking out over the balcony. That was the last scene of the whole shoot. I'm off camera, but I'm sitting next to her holding her hand.
"All of us, not just me and Helena, but the whole crew. All of the cast. Russell, Peter [Hoar, director], everyone. We were all there. We become so close by that point. It really was a Summer of Love.
"It's very easy to do those things because we've we've done the legwork. We'd all connected in a really authentic way, which is not always the case, so it was pretty magical."
Nolly is now available to stream on ITVX.
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