Tsunami, The Aftermath
Kate Ashfield plays Ellen
Kate Ashfield plays Ellen, the representative of a multi-national hotel chain, who becomes embroiled in the aftermath of the tsunami.
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The actress, who has starred in such diverse dramas as Shaun of the Dead, The War Zone, Beyond Borders, Perfect Day, Crime and Punishment, Secret Smile and The Best Man, explains that "Ellen's a trouble-shooter in hotel management.
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She's an outsider who is sent down after the disaster and has a job to do.
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"Her role, which is to sort things out for the hotel, is in complete contrast to what the bereaved families are going through. She's very career-focused, but when she arrives on the scene, the devastation really shocks her. But she can't show that she just has to get on with her task."
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Kate, who is 34, goes on to defend her character against accusations that she may in some ways be exploiting the situation. "She can be seen as a baddie - how could someone be like that in the wake of such a catastrophe?
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But she's only doing her job, which is to try to rebuild the hotel as fast as possible and create jobs again. That's a really valid thing to do.
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"And what are the alternatives? If you don't reconstruct the hotels, what will happen to the local economy? The Thais are incredibly resourceful and some of the bars there reopened within eight hours of the tsunami. For the survivors, life must go on.
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"We shot this scene where the survivors are really angry with Ellen at a press conference. It's like they're looking for someone to blame and you can quite understand that. But it wasn't her fault that so many died.
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"The point is to try to make Ellen as human as possible. After the disaster, mistakes were made all over the place, but she is only doing her job."
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During the course of the drama, Ellen has many acrimonious encounters with Nick (played by Tim Roth), the journalist who suspects that the hotel corporation may be trying to grab land from the affected villagers.
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"Nick rattles Ellen," affirms the actress, who will be starring next in The Baker opposite Damian Lewis and Michael Gambon.
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"He finds out that the land has been bulldozed and taken away from the Thai people, but Ellen doesn't know anything about it. It's bizarre because when they first meet, he's so horrible to her. But in some way that appeals to her.
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"She sees beyond that and understands that he's really trying to do his job. In another situation, maybe something would happen between them. But it doesn't get that far here."
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Kate continues that it has been a pleasure performing these scenes with Tim. "Working with Tim is great. I've worked with him once before because he directed me in The War Zone. That really makes a big difference we have a kind of shorthand. It's really good working with him."
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