We’ve doing various bits and bobs on this weekend’s big Robin Hood/Primeval showdown, and earlier this morning I posted up a Robin Hood trailer. I can trump that with this – an actual chat with actual Primeval star, the actual Andrew-Lee Potts, who plays loveable geeky hero-type-person, Connor. Over the jump you’ll find out what Andrew had to say about Douglas Henshawe’s imminent departure, Connor’s relationship with Abby and series three in general. He also produces the best simile since the infamous Eric Cantona sardine/trawler moment. You have to like him for that alone.

For all our Primeval news and reviews, go here.

TV Scoop: When you first joined Primeval, did you have any idea this was going to be such a success? It’s pretty massive, right?
Andrew-Lee Potts: None at all. It was all a bit weird. Bar Doctor Who there was nothing out there like it. I know now it’s different, and everyone seems to be making shows like this now. I knew Walking With Dinosaurs and couldn’t really understand how they were going to make this work. When I got sent the script, I really didn’t know. I honestly thought it was going to be like a crap Channel 5 show, no offence to Channel 5. It felt like something quite low budget. I was reading it and thinking: “How the hell are they going to do this?” Once we got cast… [laughs] I think the team itself – me, Hannah, James, Dougie and Ruthie – is such an eclectic bunch. When we all got together in the same room, we all sat down together and told each other we all looked weird! When Adrian, the creator, started talking about it we all started to get excited. We then went to [special effects people] Framestore who wanted to show us what they were all about. We all sat down and saw a little film of some of the effects and they told us that this would be how Primeval would look. We were all like: “Wow, this is going to be big!” Also, sometimes you have to go for castings and screen tests, and I only ended up going for auditions twice. I certainly didn’t think it was going to be such a big deal. When some of the roughcuts started to comeback that’s when we realised. That was when all the comparisons with Doctor Who started to come through, which was frustrating because we’re nothing like Doctor Who. Sure, it’s the same genre and people picked up on the fact that we had a professor and there was time travel… but it’s not really about that. There’s education in it too – kids really love dinosaurs and it’s a way to kids interested. The dinosaurs are always the stars of the show, but it has become more daring, and more daring. Episode one is great, but it’s more to introduce Laila Rouass.

TVS: Isn’t there some sort of Super Croc running havoc in the British Museum?
ALP: Yeah, we filmed it in the British Museum, which was fantastic. We did nightshoots, which were also fantastic.

TVS: Hold on… nightshoots? Every actor I’ve spoken to hates nightshoots!
ALP: Yeah! There’s something quite romantic about nightshoots. That’s how I always imagined filming to be like. Everyone’s a bit excited, especially on the first night, because we all think we shouldn’t be up that late! Don’t get me wrong though, it wears off quite quickly. But when you’re in somewhere as cool as the British Museum… I’d never even been to the British Museum.

TVS: So yeah, sorry, Super Croc…
ALP: It’s based on a real creature and a mythical creature called Amut, which has the head of a crocodile and the body of a very scaly man. It can run on either two or four legs. They thought it was a god in Egyptian times. Laila plays an Egyptologist who think this could be Amut. She’s not very good at taking orders – she’s a super-intelligent gitl who, possibly because of her own attitude – teaching kids. But she’s way above that and Cutter sees her potential straight away.

TVS: So with the advent of the Super Croc, does this mean series three’s monster will be more diverse?
ALP: It’s the most ambitious series we’ve ever done. You’ve probably seen in the press about Dougie (Henshawe)… he does leave the show in this series, which is immense really. I know there have been questions on whether the show can keep going, but the way they do it is really good and clever. There are three new characters coming… the dynamic of the team has to change and does change, but in a way we could reinvent a lot of stuff. It’ll be more about the anamolies, the reasons why they happen. When Dougie does leave – I can’t say when or how – it’s pretty spectacular.

TVS: Yeah, because shows like Spooks have no qualms about killing off characters and reinventing itself on an almost annual basis…
ALP: When I heard the news about Dougie, I was shocked. And sad in a way because we’re all really close, especially my character and Dougie’s character. I didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but as soon as I met the new characters and we all started working together it became clear very quickly that the show was still going to work.

TVS: I can’t not ask about Connor’s relationship with Abby… what’s going to happen there?
ALP: I describe their relationship as… you know when you really want to walk on a beach and you go to Brighton and it’s all pebbly but you still need to walk on it because it’s a beach? That’s the way I see Connor and Abby’s relationship.

TVS: Connor and Abby are the pebble beach of TV relationships, is that what you’re trying to tell me?
ALP: Yeah! [laughs] With Cutter going this series, Connor gets a lot more responsibility and he gets to show less of the geeky side,. He’s always been an accidental hero, but now he has to be an actual hero. Some of the stuff he does shows Abby… well, she might be falling for him.

TVS: What else happens to Connor this series?
ALP: I get to live with Lester (Ben Miller). I’m homeless for a little bit and I end up living with Lester. Being the two comedic style characters… both of us have a very different approach to comedy. He’s the proper comedian. Put us both together in a situation and the very sight of Ben Miller makes me laugh.

Primeval series three starts on Saturday 28 March, ITV1, 7.20pm

You can watch the first episode online as well as on the telly here, and comment during it on the show’s Twitter feed here. There’s also a nifty game on the Primeval website – Primeval Evolutions – right here.