Andrew's in his prime (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Andrew's in his prime

8:21am Monday 30th March 2009 in

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When Andrew-Lee Potts walks down the aisles of his local Tesco, it still comes as a shock to him when his face leaps out from action figures, magazines, even pyjamas.

But the merchandising machine rolling into action is just one of the side-effects of being the star of an all-conquering television show.

Another one is being instantly recognised in the street – and not just in his native Bradford. The Wibsey-born star and his co-star and real-life partner Hannah Spearritt recently took a romantic break in Paris.

They went into the Sacre Coeur church in Montmartre, not realising an eagle-eyed fan had spotted them on the street. When they came out, there was a crowd of more than 60 people clamouring for photos and autographs.

With the third season of ITV’s Saturday night spectacular Primeval hitting screens tonight, Andrew, 29, is set to cement his place in the firmament of British TV celebrities.

He reprises his role of uber-geek Connor Temple, one of the team tasked with investigating the increasingly bizarre appearances of monsters, beasts and demons from the prehistoric past and the far future.

His sidekicks come in the shape of two little beasties he descibes as “so ugly they’re actually cute.” And their names? A wickedly cool Sid and Nancy, of course.

Because of the high-level of post-production special effects work that has to go into each episode, Andrew himself didn’t see the later episodes in the series until just a couple of weeks ago.

“We were quite anxious because it was taking so long and ITV hadn’t confirmed a broadcast date until really near the time,” he says. “But when we saw them we were blown away, and we could see from the work that had gone into them why they had taken so long.”

With the team doing a spot of time-travelling themselves and leaping into a brilliantly-imagined far future landscape, Andrew says fans will be on the edge of their seats. “The action in this series is hardcore,” he says.

It also sees Andrew’s character develop further, and grow up from the loveable geek of the first two series. “This series is definitely a bit darker,” he says.

“The team takes some knocks. I can’t say any more, but not everyone will make it through to the end. Connor has a major storyline in this series. It’s actually quite shocking, what happens. No-one would ever expect it. It’s certainly the biggest storyline I’ve had, and I feel very lucky to have been able to do it.”

The filming for Primeval, over last year, was high-pressure and often began at five in the morning, at a variety of locations across the country.

With Primeval hitting screens tonight, and the internet already on fire with discussions about what the series will hold, Andrew is going to be catapulted right into the public eye once again.

While previous series were being aired, he and Hannah made it into the celebrity photo slots of magazines and tabloids once or twice, though he seems refreshingly down to earth about his celeb status and, hordes of fans outside French churches notwithstanding, tends not to get pictured falling out of nightclubs in a bleary-eyed state.

“That’s just not what I’m all about!” he protests with a laugh. So it’s more cosy nights in with Hannah? Are Primeval wedding bells going to ring? He laughs again. “All I’ll say is that we’re very happy, thank you.”

With three new central characters joining the show – newcomer Ben Mansfield, Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels actor Jason Flemyng, and former Footballers’ Wives schemer Laila Rouass – the Primeval “family” is getting bigger than ever, with more and more storylines and sub-plots to be juggled by the writers.

In spite of punishing Primeval filming schedules and traumatic family upheavals, we should be seeing Andrew in several other projects in the near future.

These including a Chinese-American-Canadian movie titled Heart Of A Dragon, and an appearance (“as a psychopath,” he says cheerfully) in the BBC detective series George Gently, due to be aired later this year.

And there are even talks about an animated spin-off series starring Andrew and Hannah’s characters, although discussions are at a very early stage, while in a bit of viral marketing the Primeval team will be releasing online video blogs of Andrew in character as Connor, adding depth and texture to the TV action.

It seems that Andrew-Lee Potts will be seen everywhere in 2009… even on pyjamas.

Primeval is on ITV1 tonight at 7.45pm.

Star’s dad fights his own battle

During filming Andrew and his family were delivered the news that his dad Alan, 57, had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer.

Andrew says: “I owe my Dad a huge amount. I owe all my comic timing to him and some of my favourite character traits which I have put into Connor are straight from him.”

Alan, 57, of Wibsey, although admitting to "going to some dark places" since his illness came on, remains remarkably positive and has paid tribute to his wife Susan as well as Andrew and daughter Sarah-Jane, also an actress.

His cancer, an aggressive form of the disease which attacks the chest area and can spread quickly, called Thymic Carcinoma, was diagnosed in May last year.

He said Sarah Jane has relocated with her family back to Bradford to be near him, and told how the news broke while Andrew was in the midst of filming the most high-pressure series of Primeval yet, causing the star to break off from the set and travel up to his father's bedside.

Alan said: "He got special dispensation from the film company in case he had to come up at a moment's notice. The entire family has been superb."

"I made a conscious decision that I wasn't going to go to the worst places, and if I do have those feelings I just lock them up in a box and put them away. With this thing, you can either let it do horrible things to you or be as positive as you can."

Alan says he marks major occasions as achievements: "Things like the children's birthdays are major milestones, as was Christmas. Then I was focusing on Easter, and Andrew's new series starting on TV. My family is the source of my strength. The people around me take their cues from how I'm feeling, and I've adapted to that. That's why I have to stay positive."