When we meet Pip he's quite young and he is a very enthusiastic, excited kid in a lot of ways, although also quite unsatisfied. He's unsatisfied with where he is, what he's been born into and has these aspirations for travelling the world, seeing the Empire, going to Cairo to become a gentleman and escaping the situation he's in, which is not a particularly happy one at home. He lives with his sister and her husband – they’re a slightly dysfunctional family. I think he's a character who's possibly going through a lot of grief as well, like the death of other family members years before. As the story goes on, it's just him trying to shake that off and trying to become his own person and make his way in London. It’s obviously incredibly period, like Victorian, but I think Verity and Niamh Morrison, the hair and makeup designer, both had, surprisingly, a lot of fashion runway references. There were Galliano references, Vivienne Westwood references. So, they were trying to go for something that was a bit more editorial and grungy, not quite traditional. I guess I would describe her style as a weird rotting grunge princess. The process of hair, makeup and wardrobe with a period drama is so different to anything I've ever experienced, specifically with wardrobe. In our very first meeting with Verity Hawkes, who's the designer, she'd laid out all these incredible sketches that she had drawn up and was explaining the process of what happens to Estella – we see her bloom and rot in her clothing, like you would with flowers. I remember going in for those first fittings and seeing those dresses for the first time – they literally took my breath away. The dynamic between Pip and Jaggers is like an abusive relationship. Pip does everything Jaggers says and commits all kinds of terrible acts for and with Jaggers because he thinks that this is what he should do to become a gentleman. But, as it goes on, he starts to draw out the humanity in Jaggers and see that he's not as clear cut as he first appears. He's not just evil and, actually, some of the things he does he does for reasons that he tries not to let onto anyone, and I think that Pip breaks through some of that. With Magwitch, Pip doesn't really have very much to do with him. He's a very influential figure in his early life and I think that really affects him. That initial interaction really affects him throughout his life. I think it shakes him up because it's the first time he's experienced anyone who is completely out of his world, who is nothing to do with his village or where he's from. BBC One – Great Expectations – Miss Havisham". Bbc.co.uk. 1 January 1970 . Retrieved 14 August 2012.

Osborn, Michael (24 December 2011). "BBC News – Great Expectations: Miss Havisham given 'youthful' air". Bbc.co.uk . Retrieved 14 August 2012. Working with Fionn Whitehead has been very interesting. He is a really talented actor and we have been getting along on set. He likes to play his music from his little speaker and I love music as well. We have been really catching a vibe and laughing, making jokes and just enjoying each other’s company. I think that rings through on screen. Even though, at first, the characters are at odds, they come together and get closer and our relationship off screen starts to show on screen. There is a comfortability between us that is shining through. It’s kind of cheeky to say it because I'm playing Magwitch but it's the graveyard scene from the original movie. That haunting image. And Miss Havisham as well. The haunting image of this old lady who’s been jilted and resentful. That’s a powerful image.

Interview with Kate Crowe & Dean Baker (Executive Producers)

KC: Obviously Ridley is an icon of cinema so having his input and his lens on things is always really invaluable. In Chapter VIII, mention is made of her having "a Prayer-Book all confusedly heaped about the looking-glass." Pip is kind of obsessed with Shalom’s character even though she is quite intimidating, harsh and cold with him. This couldn't be further from the truth in real life. Shalom is a brilliant actor and so kind; we get on really well and have a real laugh in between takes. It’s been great to be able to switch in and out of that because it would be exhausting to be really cold with each other the whole time, but we've been able to have a really good time. While Estella was still a child, Miss Havisham began casting about for boys who could be a testing ground for Estella's education in breaking the hearts of men as vicarious revenge for Miss Havisham's pain. Pip, the narrator, is the eventual victim; and Miss Havisham readily dresses Estella in jewels to enhance her beauty and to exemplify all the more the vast social gulf between her and Pip. When, as a young adult, Estella leaves for France to receive education, Miss Havisham eagerly asks him, "Do you feel you have lost her?"

We first see Compeyson in Pip's life on the marshes. He's just escaped the hulk, and he and Pip stumble across each other--there's some distance between them--and Pip knows that there's something wrong with this person, something quite insidious and malevolent, and decides not to approach him, but Compeyson, being the charmer that he is, thinks he can talk anybody round, thinks he can get close enough to silence him, because Magwitch is on the marshes looking for Compeyson, and he doesn't want anything to thwart his escape. So the it's quite a horrible introduction for Pip to Compeyson. Can you tell us about the relationship between Pip and Miss Havisham and what it's been like working with Olivia Colman? Both Sunset Boulevard and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? were inspired by David Lean's adaptation of Great Expectations, as were, by extension, the characters of Norma Desmond and Baby Jane Hudson, and their homes. [9] In film and television [ edit ] It's hard to describe him really because he goes on a journey. It depends which Magwitch you're talking about, you know, he's quite different at the beginning to the end. Magwitch is a troubled man. On the surface, he's a convict, a rogue, a highwayman, a legend of the road, and he's lived the life of sin. We meet him when the repercussions of that are in full swing. Then there’s an awakening, and from there on he's someone who is trying to do the right thing in life.

Who stars in the series? 

Verity Hawkes and her costume department are basically my way in to Miss Havisham. The first time I tried on Verity's costume, she said "I don’t want it dusty and old, I want it rotten. I think Miss Havisham is darker than that, she is rotten on the inside." It was so great, and the dress is sort of rotting. You know when you see a lemon left in the fruit bowl, and it has gone those beautiful shades of green. The decay is growing up the dress, it’s amazing. Well I always say my favourite two words are ‘The End’. When you get to the end and it’s like: it’s an object now. That’s always good. But Jaggers and Miss Havisham are obviously two gigantic characters from a gigantic intellect and it’s amazing when you’ve got those characters to play with. KC: It really taps into themes that are there in Steve's writing in his other works. He looks at things like class and social mobility and, in this version, the time that it's set, the way that empire and commerce has affected and shaped London, for example, are all things that very much interest Steve. I like any of the scenes with Miss Havisham, Estella and Pip when he’s being educated. I think they’re just great. DB: I've known Brady for several years and it was really exciting to finally get a production away with him. When Brady came to us with his vision for it was just really it felt so personal to him. He’s bought an enormous depth to the story and a personal insight – and he's a really lovely human being.