Apparitions is BBC’s new supernatural drama series about a priest who becomes an exorcist and finds himself assailed by evil. Marie O’Regan chatted to star and consulting producer Martin Shaw about Apparitions’ origins and the positive message behind the darkness.

Is it true that this role originated because you approached the BBC saying you were interested in playing an exorcist?

Yes, it’s kind of like that. I had the idea of what I wanted to do next, and thought of it, and by various routes took it to the BBC. They passed it to Lime Pictures, who then passed it to Joe Ahearne – the writer and director – and off we went.

Did you have a lot of input into how the show was developed?

Yes. I was given a great deal, and more than usual freedom. More than most actors would get because A) It was my idea and B) I’m a consulting producer. And also because Joe is a wonderfully allowing person. He likes a creative partnership and we developed a very strong creative partnership between the two of us.

But I think there comes a point where, having told people what my individual parameters were for the character, I have to just let it go because I can’t – and nor would I want to – tell somebody how to write, or how to direct. And Joe and I have a great deal of respect and admiration for each other. We come at it from different points of view, obviously: Joe’s said he’s an atheist, and I’m emphatically not. But I think we reached something in the middle that will put both points of view very well. What Joe believes in is love and goodness, which, in a sense, is what I believe in – it’s just called a different name.

What was it about the rite of exorcism that caught your interest initially?

It wasn’t so much about the rite of exorcism; it was more about, first of all, wanting to put something different on the screen that didn’t involve cops, lawyers or doctors. Something that would engage people’s interest and challenge them. And something that would put out a message of positivity and make people think.

So given that overall and overriding purpose, we took the temperature of what was grabbing people’s interest – and it seems to me that the supernatural was engaging a lot of people more than it has done. So the idea of a priest whose sense of faith was absolutely immaculate, whose love of God and his religion is unshakable, grew out of that, became a story about that.

Father Jacob’s a bit of a maverick, isn’t he?

He’s a maverick only in so far in that his immediate superior in the Vatican, Cardinal Bukovak, doesn’t approve of what he sees as the medieval rite of exorcism. I wouldn’t have said he was a maverick, no, because he is very orthodox in his religion. But he’s also very practical. And he’s not averse – if he feels that it’s in his heart, that it’s a directive God gives him – to doing whatever is necessary.

I suppose the accepted public view of the modern church is trying to get away from things like exorcism and demons, isn’t it? Whereas traditionally, in medieval times and since then, the Catholic Church was very much involved.

I think it’s going the other way, you know. I don’t know if this is true but I’ve heard that Pope Benedict is recommending that every parish has an exorcist now. So, on the contrary, I think it’s moving very much back in that direction, people are becoming much more aware of forces and entities outside what is scientifically accepted.

Did your research for the role reveal anything that surprised you? Like the fact that Mother Teresa had been exorcised…

Yes, that did surprise me I must admit. But on reflection it didn’t, for the same reason I mentioned to you before, which is whenever positivity and good arises, then the opposite has to come up and counterbalance it. It’s not a malevolent force that says, ‘Ooh, there’s something good, I must destroy it.’ It’s just the nature of physicality.

But I believe that good will always win, and that love will always triumph over hate. It’s just a question of when; it’s the time factor, which is inconvenient and uncomfortable for us.

Are you surprised at how dark the show was allowed to go?

No, I’m not surprised, because we talked about it a lot and I had talked to Jane Tranter about it, who makes these decisions, and it was agreed that this is where we were going to go. And I’m not sure I agree with you: I think it deals with dark subject matter, but I don’t think the show itself is dark because the overriding message is that love will prevail, love conquers all.

Do you think that there’s a risk of a mainstream audience finding the subject matter too shocking?

It might well be, but you see you have to challenge people; otherwise they will go to sleep in a way that we don’t want them to (laughs). They may well not like Apparitions, so they’ll either turn it off or they’ll find it too challenging, or they’ll fall asleep in front of the TV.

But it’s the old thing isn’t it, use it or lose it – and I think we have to get people to wake up and think. And if they think, no I don’t like this, or I don’t agree with this, then at least they’ve exercised some choice, rather than just sitting in front of something easy and bland. And as long as our overriding purpose was positive, you can’t always have sunshine. The weather changes and I think the emotional weather changes as well. However positive people are, and however loving people are, there will always be the opposite polarity because that’s the way of the physical universe.

Apparitions begins on BBC One on Thursday 13th November 2008.