Filming the mosasaur attack - Radio Times, February 2007

Features

Filming the mosasaur attack - Radio Times, February 2007

Primeval star Andrew Lee Potts tells Danny Scott about filming a dinosaur attack.

"Go on… admit it. A 20ft crocodile isn't the first thing you expect to see in north London on a freezing November morning. But poor Andrew Lee Potts spent a whole week doing battle with the mosasaur at the Stoke Newington Pumping Station for ITV1's Primeval.

In [episode three] of the sci-fi thriller, Douglas Henshall and his team - including Potts's character (dino-geek Connor Temple) - are called into action when prehistoric creatures start appearing in a local reservoir. "Basically, I have a scrap with a monster that's four times the size of me," laughs Potts.

Much of the mosasaur's starring role is created by computer, but for close-up shots, including a frightening attack sequence, it was the turn of the fibreglass and rubber version, created by Jez Gibson- Harris of Aylesbury-based Crawley Creatures (Gibson-Harris's previous work includes Jabba the Hutt for the Star Wars movies). Built over a period of six weeks, the mosasaur works like a giant puppet. Pull the metal levers at the back and it starts snapping.

"I have to say, it's not the most frightening thing when you see it up close," admits Potts. "Especially when you've got a bloke pushing it into the water while he's smoking a fag. On screen, though, it's terrifying."

In the story, an SAS diving team is sent to investigate. While the underwater battle sequences were filmed in huge water tanks at Pinewood studios, Potts and his co-star Hannah Spearritt - formerly of pop band S Club 7 - meet the monster on the edge of the reservoir. The water was much too deep for the pair to walk in, so a wooden platform was built just a couple of feet below the surface.

The ends of the platform were marked by flags, but when it started getting crowded with members of the crew from make-up and wardrobe, Potts knew there was going to be trouble. "This thing was really slippy and once the wind began to pick up, it started rocking from side to side. I just managed to keep my footing, but one of the make-up girls went under. Remember that this was in November - the water was freezing!"

The reservoir shoot did have one advantage, though - it was the perfect cure for hangovers. "After a whole day in the water, you definitely needed a few beers," says Potts. "The great thing was, as soon as you got back in the water at the crack of dawn the following morning, you were so cold that you completely forgot about your headache!"

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