Interview with Éanna Hardwicke who plays Ben Field in BBC drama The Sixth Commandment

Tell us about your character?

We meet Ben Field as one of Peter’s students at Buckingham University. He comes across as mature, intellectual, a devout Christian who loves literature. He appears funny, outgoing, affable, but he doesn't have any close friends. As the story progresses, we unpeel those layers bit by bit and begin to see what his motivations are.

Let's talk about the impression he makes on Peter.

Ben studies Romantic Literature with Peter and immediately strikes him as an exceptionally enthusiastic student. He likes to engage in lively debates about poetry and literature and he’s very creative, so they immediately share this bond. Peter sees him as mature, responsible, caring - and a committed Christian. So those two things - faith and literature - are the big entry points for their relationship.

How does their relationship develop?

It starts out very much as student and teacher, a meeting of friends with similar interests. We see them going to church together, exploring, discussing literature. But before long Ben starts playing on Peter’s insecurities. He also recognises Peter’s repressed sexuality and how isolated that has made him feel throughout his life, so he presents himself as the love of his life: finally, after all these years, someone to love and care for him. When their relationship becomes romantic and they are formally betrothed, it's very much as a meeting of two soulmates who share a strong faith. He presents himself as the kind of guy who's going to love Peter unconditionally and give him the affection he’s craved for so long.

One of the difficult things for audiences to understand will be Ben’s motivation for doing all this?

There are several but one of them is definitely financial gain; money, a house, to inherit something. But his chief motivation seems to be the thrill of doing what he's good at; it makes him feel significant, powerful, meaningful. I think the judge described him as someone who had a pathological need to manipulate, hurt and have power over others. He gets a thrill from lying and playing a part well, whilst fooling everyone, which he pretty much did. I think he himself said that what interested him was putting on a good performance.

We see Peter getting sucked into this loving relationship quite early on and as an audience, we're suspicious. What do you think are the other red flags?

It’s a tricky one, because for Peter this was a love story that felt real, even if it wasn’t for Ben. So in some senses, we should feel what Peter sees. The red flags are probably when you see Ben on his own with other people, those contradictions as the mask slips a little. This is what makes the script so interesting because it's a kind of objective viewpoint in that we get to see each person in different situations. So you can see Ben and Peter begin what could be a real, true, blossoming love story. Then you realise that there's something unreadable and ambiguous there. He might present a totally plausible, authentic-feeling persona to Peter, but in his interactions with everyone else we see that he's contradicting himself. There’s something really ironic and terrible in the thought that, had Peter met some of the other people in Ben's life, he might have realised he wasn't the caring, nurturing Christian he thought he was. But often these cases are about the need for love which means you’re blinkered to anything that might be remotely suspicious.

Is that what made Peter and Ann particularly vulnerable?

Peter and Ann both lived alone. They had close family but there were still lots of opportunities there for Ben. They say love is blind and it's very easy to see why you would be taken in because he was so plausible. Peter and Ann were shrewd people, both teachers who would have been very used to meeting hundreds of young people. It’s testament to the fact that they were both looking for companionship and that tragically, Ben offered them the exact version of what they needed and he came along at a time when they were at their most vulnerable. We see Peter opening up about his sexuality for maybe the first time, and that’s when he meets Ben - so it's a tragic coincidence.

How does Ben respond when Peter falls ill?

When Peter starts to get sick, you see Ben double down in his role as carer. He’s working at a nursing home and he's got all these credentials that suggest that’s his vocation in life. Peter writes in his diary about how he thanks God Ben is there to comfort him and give him his medicine. I suppose that is one of the most despicable manipulations he does, because it’s the medicine that’s killing him.

Ben then enters into a relationship with Peter’s 80-something neighbour Ann?

Ben enjoys deceiving people and he’s become more extravagant, ruthless, nightmarish. He finds those things that are precious to Ann and exploits them, in particular her Catholic faith. She was also a much-loved head teacher for years, she has a dog which she adores and she loves literature. He finds that common ground and presents the things she loves in life back to her.

What role does faith actually play in Ben’s life?

His faith gives him standing in the community; he's a church warden which gives him this veneer of credibility as a practising Christian who acts out the Word of God in his day-to-day life. Ben is a complex and evil character.

So what was the appeal of playing him?

When I first read the script, I suppose I was shocked - truth really can be stranger than fiction. Actually playing Ben felt a bit like going into a labyrinth. I had to set aside any horror and disgust I might have felt about what my character had done and get into his headspace. Thankfully there was loads to read and watch to try and understand him. I've always wanted to be able to play people with a distinctly different world view from my own - the thrill of acting is being able to momentarily step into something very different and surrender yourself to that. When it's a character who has done such terrible things, there’s a real balancing act in telling that story.

What appealed to you about Sarah’s scripts?

I love all the different viewpoints which seems very unusual for this genre. She follows the police, she follows Peter, Ann, Ben, Martyn, she follows the families. It's a rigorous, authentic portrayal of what happened. But it also shows you Peter and Ann before their lives were turned upside down and taken from them. It's really important that their deaths don't define their lives. Sarah has an amazing way of capturing the essence of people. We get to see and celebrate Peter and Ann as people before Ben enters their life. I love that broad overview. The second half is very much about celebrating the rigorous police investigation and the court case.

What is the appeal for audiences?

This is a story that cries out to be told, because it's a national story in some ways. It could be seen as a cautionary tale about people who might live by themselves but who are shrewd, sociable, part of a community - and yet this person was able to manipulate them and ruin their lives. Thankfully it’s an isolated and extreme example but there is something to be gleaned from that because elderly people living on their own can feel like unseen members of society and minor versions of what Ben did happen to people every day. This is a drama that tells their stories with great honesty and authenticity.