Jack Shepherd on his famous role as Wycliffe – and why it might have looked “terribly boring” to outsiders

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I originally wrote this piece back in July of 1997 for RT’s ‘My Kind of Day’ series. It’s a bit bittersweet republishing it now, as it comes following the incredibly sad news of Jack Shepherd‘s passing at the age of 85. I hope you’ll still enjoy this look back at a day in his life.

While filming, I’ve been sharing a renovated schoolhouse near Perranporth, Cornwall with Jimmy Yuill, who plays DI Doug Kersey. It’s been beautifully converted into a atmospheric, gothic-style home, and still retains some original features like signs for the Infants, Juniors, and Seniors classrooms, and even the old school bell. I suspect the bell would still work if you rang it, but I haven’t ever tested it.

How my day starts really depends on the call time. If I don’t have to be on set early, everything gets pushed back a few hours and I end up eating at strange times. But if it’s an early start, I’m up around 5am with a cup of tea – I’m avoiding yeast right now, so it’s decaf. Once I’m awake, I immediately start memorizing my lines. Being the lead in a long series means there’s a lot to learn, and thankfully I’m about a week ahead right now, which is a relief.

I get picked up from home and we head out for breakfast – usually around 7:30am if it’s an early start, or closer to noon if we’re having a later day. I eat in the caravan, and it’s usually something simple like porridge or a poached egg. Right now, I’m trying to eat healthy, so I’ve been having it on soda bread.

I get ready in my caravan – I do my costume first, then makeup. The makeup is pretty quick, about ten minutes, just to even out my skin. After that, the work begins. Anyone who’s been on a film set knows it takes a lot of patience – there’s a lot of downtime and things get repeated often.

Lunch is around five hours into the day. If I need some quiet time to study, I eat alone. Otherwise, we all line up, and it’s always a bit of a rush to be first. The quicker ones – we call them ‘sparks’ – usually get there first, followed closely by Jimmy and me. After lunch, I like to take a twenty-minute nap, which is easy if I’ve been awake since five in the morning. Memorizing lines can be exhausting, but a short nap really helps. A longer sleep, though, leaves me feeling groggy and sluggish – like I’m dragging myself out of a swamp.

Filming in Cornwall is definitely at the mercy of the weather. We’ve experienced everything from frightening storms on the Lizard peninsula to snow on Bodmin Moor – it even dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius with the wind chill, making it almost impossible to talk! While it can be really disheartening, the amazing thing about Cornwall is how quickly the weather shifts. As soon as the sun reappears, everyone’s spirits lift instantly.

If we finish work early, Jimmy and I like to play a quick nine holes at Perranporth. I’m not very good at golf, but I’m completely hooked on the game.

Besides playing games with Jimmy, we also have a monthly poker night with Brian Morgan, the cinematographer, and Eddie Armstrong, the chief electrician. It’s usually a close game, and we end up betting quite a bit of money!

If you rush over and arrive late, you barely have time to grab a bite to eat and maybe a quick drink. It doesn’t leave much room for a social life – starring in a show for eight episodes over four and a half months can seem incredibly monotonous to others. And frankly, if I tried to go out and party, my health wouldn’t be able to handle it.

I recently visited a friend’s art exhibition at St Agnes. My wife is heavily involved in film work, so she’s only had a chance to go once. Our children are all at university and visit when they can, which is always lovely. But working on the Wycliffe project is incredibly demanding, and it leaves very little time for anything beyond work.

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2025-11-26 14:04