Rani and Clyde

Publication: SFX
Date: 364 (Apr 2023)
Author:
Page: 82
Language: English

THE SCHOOLGIRL INVESTIGATOR AND THE PUN-PERPETRATOR ARE BACK!

LAST SUMMER, 11 YEARS after filming wrapped on The Sarah Jane Adventures, Anjli Mohindra and Daniel Anthony were reunited for recording on an audio series for Big Finish: Rani Takes On The World. Volume one, Beyond Bannerman Road, sees an older Rani (who now has a successful podcast) investigating a flying saucer, a luxury island resort, and a haunted restaurant - with Clyde and mum Gita (Mina Anwar) in tow.

"She's a freelance journalist who can't quite help but keep being led on a trail to discovering alien meddling and having to sort it, basically," Mohindra tells SFX.

Meanwhile, the boy who loved sketching superhero The Silver Bullet has made a career from it. "He's matured - for the most part," Anthony says. "His art is still a big factor in his life, and he's doing well."

It was a happy reunion - and a seamless one. "I was like, 'Oh god, what does Rani sound like 10 years later? What's her interaction with Clyde going to be like?"' Mohindra says. "Then we started doing a scene and it was like that decade in-between hadn't happened!'

"It was like no time had passed," Anthony concurs. "The chemistry was back - we just bounced off each other."

Looking back, Mohindra recalls having doubts when she first won the role. "At the time, because I was 18, I'd just graduated from watching children's telly to watching Skins," she explains. "I felt, 'Oh, but I'm doing kids' TV'. That felt strange for a teenager - not necessarily very cool. I felt I was way too old for it!'

But her hesitancy melted away once the cameras started rolling. "The production values of that show, and the actors we'd get in as guest stars... These massive people would come in. So it never felt like you were doing a kids' show"

Anthony was older still when cast. Was it weird to be 19, playing a boy of 14? "I'd played roles before that were a bit younger, so I was used to it. And I'm a bit of a big kid anyway, so I guess it came naturally."

SFX recalls stepping outside during a set visit and finding Tommy Knight (Luke) playing with a remote-control car... then double-taking upon seeing Anthony smoking a quick fag. He laughs. "To be honest, I probably put it out then joined Tommy with his remote-control car. The age gap was never really a thing that any of us thought about."

It's a cliche for actors to say "we were like a family", but here it really seems to have been true. "You'd have a day off here and there, and I'd be sat in my flat and want to be with everyone," Anthony recalls.

"I remember once me and Anjli had the day off. We knew where they were shooting, and we drove down, bought some ice lollies - it was a really hot day - and just hung out on set. We all loved being around each other."

The "mother hen", as Anthony puts it, was Elisabeth Sladen. "You'd always go to Lis and she'd give you all the advice you needed,' he says. "So calm on set. And her dedication to her craft was second to none

Asked what in particular they learned from her, Mohindra says, "Just to not take it so seriously. She was so disciplined and dedicated, but she'd be the first person to corpse in a scene and have us all in stitches. She had a cheeky sense of humour as well - she'd be the ringleader of the pranks, which I loved."

Her death came as a huge shock. "It was heartbreaking," says Anthony. "It was out of the blue. None of us knew. I think she had something with her knee or her hip - I remember it was bothering her a bit. So when we went on this break I assumed she was just resting up and getting ready to come back and shoot the second half of series five.

"We loved her, absolutely adored her, and were so sad that it ended the way it did. But, y'know, we all worked really hard on something, and I know she'd be proud of how it turned out?'

He remains proud of that work. "We dealt with really important issues: homelessness, separation of parents, we had a story that involved dementia. But they were wrapped up in beautiful adventures. I did a signing last week and one guy, who is in his thirties now, said that one in particular really helped him when his parents were divorcing. He was like, 'I really appreciate The Sarah Jane Adventures. It helped me through a lot of hard times: So when people belittle children's TV, it doesn't sit right with me."

It's only with hindsight that Mohindra fully appreciates how special her first TV job was. "I wish I'd realised how lucky I was at the time. I was like, 'Oh, this is happening. Cool: I thought, 'It'll all at the beginning of my career"'

Rani Takes On The World: Beyond Bannerman Road is out on CD and that was an incredible thing to get to do be this great from here.

Rani and Clyde

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