Out now – Carolyn Seymour: In Conversation

BIG FINISH HAVE today (6 April) released, in digital download format, Carolyn Seymour: In Conversation – a two-hour conversation between the celebrated genre actor and voice artist and interviewer Toby Hadoke.

A new Big Finish press statement announcing the release gives more details:

Released today is an in-depth conversation about the life and career of Carolyn Seymour, an actress of renown in the UK and the US and best known to Big Finish listeners as Abby Grant in Survivors. Now she sits down to talk to Toby Hadoke about her astonishing career and life outside of the spotlight, unfiltered and unvarnished. 

This is the latest release in the incredibly popular Big Finish in Conversation series, where listeners get the opportunity to spend quality time in the company of their heroes, exploring their life stories in frank detail. 

Big Finish in Conversation: Carolyn Seymour is now available as a digital download for just £7.99, exclusively HERE!

Known best to Big Finish listeners as Abby Grant in Survivors, Carolyn Seymour is an actress who is equally at home in a Hollywood blockbuster, a British cult comedy or drama series. She played Jenny in Take Three Girls, Zita in the Steptoe & Son movie, and starred on the silver screen alongside Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney and Michael Keaton in a career that has lasted five decades.  

Now she opens up in an exclusive two-hour interview with writer, actor and comedian Toby Hadoke, talking with openness and honesty about her astonishing career and life outside of the spotlight. 

Carolyn Seymour said: “I have always hated giving interviews, and always, in my effort to be diplomatic, my words would be twisted into some kind of other person’s thoughts. This interview isn’t like that! I didn’t have to worry about that with Toby, so he asked the questions, and I gave him the answers, unedited and totally frank. What you get is purely and simply me. I hope that you get to know me a little, I hope that I don’t seem as distant as I might have done. My life has been full, challenging, sometimes a joy, and other times not so much… but work has always saved my soul. I thank [Big Finish senior producer] David Richardson for helping me to heal, and listening to my myriad stories with patience and humour!” 

David Richardson added: “I first noticed Carolyn Seymour when I was 14 years old – her performance as Abby Grant in Survivors made me take notice. Abby was, without a doubt, one of the first strong roles for women on TV. And from there I carried on watching Carolyn’s amazing work through her career – over to America, playing such memorable characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Quantum Leap… so many, many shows. I never dreamed I’d be lucky enough to work with her, or even better to know her as a friend, but in 2014 I was able to track her down to France, and over the last seven years she has become a regular player at Big Finish.  

“I know, from sitting in the green room with her, that Carolyn has the most fascinating life stories to tell. It’s a rich and sometimes dark journey – but here she shares it with Toby Hadoke without varnish. She calls herself an open book, and this is a book you won’t be able to put down. This time spent with Carolyn Seymour is time well spent indeed.” 

Big Finish in Conversation: Carolyn Seymour is now available as a digital download for just £7.99, exclusively HERE!

This release contains adult material and may not be suitable for younger listeners. 

Hampton Court Castle and the Severn Valley Railway prepare to reopen to visitors

The rear of Hampton Court Castle in Herefordshire

TWO OF THE most popular current-day tourist attractions which provided filming locations for Survivors back in the 1970s, and which have remained inaccessible during Covid lockdown restrictions, are now preparing to re-open and welcome visitors once more.

Hampton Court Castle, the location used throughout the latter episodes of series one of Survivors as the site for ‘The Grange’, re-opened its gates on 1 April 2021. With Covid restrictions still placing limits on how far people are allowed to travel, access to Hampton Court Castle is currently intended for “local people” only.

Those local visitors will be able to access the formal gardens, the ‘river walk’, and the main grounds of the estate. At present, the castle itself, together with the Gothic tower and the gift shop, remain closed. There will be some restrictions to movement through the gardens, including a one-way system that can ensure adherence to social distancing. The cafe will be open, providing takeaway services only, offering a limited menu.

Rail services on the Severn Valley Railway, which provided locations for the series three Survivors episodes Law of the Jungle, Mad Dog, and Bridgehead (and footage used in Power), will recommence on Monday 12 April.

Services will run between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster, with seats needing to be pre-booked for “travel in a private compartment or reserved table seats” on “specially tailored return trips”. Stations along the line will only be accessible to those with pre-booked tickets for specific journeys. The Engine House will remained closed until 17 May 2021, and there are social distancing restrictions and additional safety protocols in place whilst travelling.

A programme of events, including ‘steam galas’ and special services, has been announced for the coming months.

A SVR video, produced during last year’s easing of lockdown restrictions, gives a good indication of how services will operate in the coming weeks and months.