Paterson Joseph is no stranger to science fiction. He featured in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere in 1996, and appeared in the final episodes of Doctor Who's revamped first season. In Survivors, he plays Greg Preston, an initially reluctant member of Abby Grant's community. Words: Paul Simpson

Do you remember the original series?

I don’t remember ever seeing it. But I watched the opening title sequence and the first three episodes, and I was amazed how much I remembered: the face of that guy with the eyebrows, the vial of liquid smashing on the ground and him falling on the bridge…

Is Greg using the plague to forget his past?

No, I think the best way for him to forget his past would be to do what he was doing when he met Abby on the road – get away by himself, get a farm somewhere and just grow some vegetables and have a few animals. That's what he wanted to do.

He's been let down in his life quite seriously, even before the virus. He doesn't really want human contact, he doesn't want any of this community stuff to happen. He's fallen into it mainly because he's drawn to Abby, and that leads him to think that maybe he's not the loner he thought he was. That's his journey in these six episodes. He doesn't get there, but he begins to realise that he wants this more.

What’s the attraction to Abby – are we talking sexual, friendship, power of personality?

We're talking... we’re just talking at the moment! Next series, who knows? No, I think it's all those things. I think he is struck by her passion for this, her optimism that humankind will basically draw itself to each other and they will make community and it can work. He wants to drive away and leave her on the kerb, but he's a human being, and like all of us, he thinks of the other, if we're at all empathetic. What's it going to be like for this woman on her own? She could get raped, she could get attacked, anything could happen. So he takes her along, and that one incremental step leads him to the next, and then into this community. He's a reluctant but practical co-parent in the house.

It's a very democratic household. It's mirrored society quite a bit: women make much more decisions than they used to, and men, more times than not, will defer to the woman if she has a strong view. Abby is a very strong personality, Anya is a very strong personality. But we have people who come into the community who want to be looked after, who want the male figure to nurture them. Most of the time it's very even and balanced and the women are extremely strong.

How much input have you had into your character?

I have a real reluctance for a lot of soul-searching exposition. Greg is a systems analyst. He's very logical. Everything he does is very practical, and I like that. I don't want too much spiel about my heartache. But every now and then, with the right character, a little bit will come out, and I think that's fantastic. I trust what Adrian is doing with the characters, and that he does have them quite firmly in his mind. I don't try to speak to him too much because I don't want to set anything that isn't actually written, but whenever I've spoken about it, he's got a very strong bible in his head.

Episode one was a case in point. You saw a lot of the characters developing and their past, but at the same time there was a lot of mystery. That's that person, but how are they now once the world has changed? You don't find out immediately. I think that's fascinating for the viewer. "I'm very much like Abby, but how would I cope? I have no family, nobody to go to. Would I be strong or would I crumble?" It allows you to feel that whatever is subsequently coming up is going to be interesting, because layers are going to be coming off.

How would you cope in this situation?

When I got on set and saw my bloody Land Rover packed with stuff I didn't know what to do with, I looked in that outdoor survival guide that they gave me, and I started to do the rope knots. I was never a Scout so I didn't know that, I didn't know how to make fire. I made a rope ladder for my son and lots of hammocky things which he just loves playing with. I know where to build a shelter, where to find water, which shops to break into, what kind of rope you need.

Our dads knew it, and those of us who were scouts maybe knew it. Our grandfathers certainly knew it. My son has got a kids' version of the survival guide and he loves it because it's that practical thing of "I can make this. I can make a bed out of twigs and grass." It certainly changed my perspective.

If that's your last supply of water, how do you protect it? Do you immediately lash out?

Are we violent people? I don't think I am, but maybe I would be if I was protecting my son. Maybe I'd fight to the death for it. On the show, we have a small child with us: he's our priority, we've got to protect him and make sure he's alright, and protect each other because that's the way we're going to survive. We become very tribal.

But we have to adapt to the danger that comes. We become wilier. An ordinary supermarket is now run by a guy who has an Alsatian and a shotgun. So where do we go to find food? Are we willing to attack that guy in order to get some stuff? Some great dilemmas are thrown up by the script.

Do you think the fact we know we can't survive like our grandparents could has fed the fascination with these apocalyptic shows?

Yes, more so than in the 1970s. We are on the edge of chaos.

Would you like to do a second year?

We've been asked to sign up for it, as they always do, but it depends on the audience. That's the vicissitudes of working in this profession.

What would you like to see happen to Greg?

Survive. That's what I think of all the time. I want him to survive, and I think he deserves to, because he's a good guy. I don't want any vampires or clones or zombies or aliens. As long as that doesn't happen, I'm fine.