Rocky ROAD!

BRYAN BROWN and GRETA SCACCHI on their adventures in the Australian outback

Bryan Brown and Greta Scacchi have worked with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood during their respective careers, both spanning over 40 years. So TV Times is excited about joining the actors for an exclusive video interview as they team up to play a sparky crimesolving duo in Acorn TV’s new mystery drama Darby and Joan.

Filmed and set in Australia, the eight-part series – which will air in double bills starting this Monday – sees Greta (Presumed

Innocent, Brideshead Revisited) star as Joan Kirkhope, a brash English nurse on a reluctant mission across the outback to discover how her husband, Ian, died. Meanwhile, Bryan (Cocktail) is Jack Darby, a gruff ex-cop who’s running from regret.

Both travelling on the same isolated but spectacular road, the chalk-and-cheese pair soon find their worlds colliding and together embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

Here, Greta, 62, chatting to us from her sunny garden in Sussex, and Bryan, 75, calling at night from a rainy Sydney, explain why these roles have been such a dream...

What appealed to you about portraying Joan and Jack?

GRETA They’re both fiercely independent, but it’s better when the other one is there. I’ve found some scripts aren’t interested in conveying the spirit of people as they get older. And my feeling is, your spirit doesn’t necessarily change as you get older. You might not have so much energy, but you’ve accumulated layers and layers of life experience.

You see these characters react to challenges that are closer to their youthful selves than people might imagine. It’s very liberating to play.