New Street Law – second series coming soon to 91Èȱ¬ One
Lee Williams plays Joe Stevens
Joe is very ambitious and headstrong. Do you think that his inability to take advice is going to hinder his career or does it make him a good barrister?
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Joe is a very proactive, ambitious guy. He's not ruthless, but he commits 100 per cent to his cause and believes that he's right most of the time (even when he isn't). He just wants to get ahead in his practice and wants to be acknowledged for his contributions and his success.
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His frustration really stems from not having the recognition from his peers, particularly from Jack, which manifests itself in the second series when he crosses over to Laurence Scammell's chambers, prosecuting against Jack.
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He feels that he's made the move to advance his career and that he'll finally be treated in the way he thinks he deserves – but also to get his own back on Jack for not recognising his talents.
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How would you describe Joe's relationship with Laurence? Do you think he made the right decision to defect to the opposition?
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Joe admires Laurence from afar. He's a kind of dynamic character with his own successful chambers – a chambers that Joe would love to have for himself in the future. But when he starts to work for Laurence, the image doesn't fall in with the reality.
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Even though he's prosecuting, Laurence is a lot more like Jack than Joe anticipated, so his frustrations grow. Once again, he's being stifled and told what to do.
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Do you think your character has changed since the first series?
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He has definitely changed; he goes on a real journey. He goes from being a defence barrister to the "dark side" of prosecution. He also starts to work on cases that have much more weight to them, more gravitas.
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He's performing in front of a jury, which is all he wanted in the first series. Joe found his cases quite mundane in Jack's chambers but, fighting as a prosecution barrister, he can now get his teeth into some juicy battles and show what he's made of.
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The audience have gained little insight into Joe's personal life – would you like to see that side of him developed?
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In series one you got a glimpse of his emotional back-story – he was defending a patient with mental illness and it came to light that his mother was in an institution – so maybe that's worth looking at. Also, there are references in the second series about why he had to leave London.
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