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Portsmouth Writer Looks Forward to Seeing Book Brought to Life for TV - Anna Howell Interviews Claire Voet

Claire Voet

Interview by Anna Howell 

With the success of Downton Abbey still causing shockwaves both sides of the pond, the path has been set for a new generation of period dramas, and the next one to watch out for is Whittington Manor.

Written and adapted to screenplay by Claire Voet, Whittington Manor tells the beautiful story of love and heartbreak during the Second World War.  The heart-warming yet dramatic story, tells of class division, corruption, deceit and betrayal, as it follows the life of 16 year old Sarah Whittington.

The only daughter of Lord and Lady Whittington, and residing at the famous Whittington Manor, this story is set in one of Britain's most historic, yet somewhat forgotten cities, Portsmouth.

Sarah finds love at the top of Portsmouth landmark, Portsdown Hill, with an unlikely suitor, Joe Lambert.  Divided by social class, and knowing their relationship could never be accepted, the pair meet in secret until war breaks out and Joe is sent to fight.

Sarah works at the local hospital, Queen Alexandra, and sets about making her contribution to the war efforts. However, overhearing a conversation between two soldiers sent back from Dunkirk, her life changes direction entirely, and a new path, filled with grief and suppression follows.

Whittington Manor was written by Claire Vote, a local Portsmouth lady, and focuses not just on the love story between Sarah and Joe, but embarks on key moments during the second world war, specifically significant to the naval town of Portsmouth, including the battle of Dunkirk, where from the wounded and dying were shipped to Britain's nearest port, Portsmouth.  

Anna Howell spoke with Claire, who has written a second novel, The Ghost of Bluebell cottage, and who is currently adapting her third, The Other Daddy, to screenplay for another television drama, to ask her about Whittington Manor.

How did the process from turning the book into screenplay come about?

"I actually wrote it myself as a screenplay, whenever I write a book I see it as a movie as I write it, and I had always seen Whittington Manor as a TV series.  Critics have likened Whittington Manor to current period dramas such as Downton Abbey & Upstairs, Downstairs, with regard to the social divide, between upper-class and lower-class, but I tried to stay clear of that with regards to it being condensed into one house, with the story not focusing on servants and residents. Although there are some storylines which involve the servants, the main focus is on the social classes of the Whittington's and the Lamberts, and the divide that falls between them."

"As well as the romance, there have been a lot of other notable things thrown in to do with the area and the history of the area, which had not previously been covered by any other drama. I thought, having completed the book, that this would be a great opportunity to turn it into screenplay.

"When developing the screenplay, there were a few changes that needed to be made, in particular for certain scenes that were less adaptable than the novel. With a book it is a lot easier to jump from scene to scene, but with the screenplay there needed to be more content added to connect these properly, and a few new characters were written in to help with this process, although each does have their own interesting thread of story-line too."

Was there a lot of sentiment basing Whittington Manor in Portsmouth, and did you have any strong conditions to some of the filming?

"Portsmouth has one of the largest dockyards in the country, and its navy played such a big part in both wars.  Knowing that Portsmouth suffered and contributed so greatly during both wars I have always been surprised that it has been left out of other period dramas and books.  It never seemed to mention when it played such a huge part and was so significant to the war effort, and I wanted Whittington Manor t to show the nation what it was like for Portsmouth during those times."

"For filming it is beautiful, there is so much history, with so much authenticity in its surroundings, with many buildings around at the tome Whittington Manor was set, still intact. I wanted to show these places and highlight them as relevant and iconic to the city.  Some of the scenes I have drafted, in particular of Edward Hamilton going off the rails, indulging in drink and women, have been set in specific streets and back alley's of Portsmouth town centre, as a way to show the contrast between the picturesque and historic settings and the seedy underworld of Portsmouth, showing the areas of high-class background, and that of the lower-class, all from the perspective of someone as very upper-class as Edward."

What Other Projects are you working on?

"My second book, The Ghost of Bluebell Cottage, is now completed and has been released on Kindle and is due for release in paperback by next month.  I am still considering whether to adapt it to screenplay, although I have created a synopsis and character bios, mainly for the producers of Whittington Manor, who are interested to see what I am doing next."

"My other project is a series I am currently writing called The Other Daddy. Although this is primarily a book, I am writing it as a screenplay at the same time. I am writing The Other Daddy, as a two part drama. It is not like anything else I have done, it is not a romance, or historical, but a mystery with some paranormal twists. The story is based between Cambridge and The Orkney Islands, and focuses on two girls who mysteriously disappear, and whilst I don't want to give too much a way, the key to the answer as to what has happened to those 2 Scottish girls, seems to lie very much in the hands of a little boy called Callum suffering from what his parents and doctors initially believe to be behavioral problems, but when inexplicable things begin to happen to him, it becomes a lot more intriguing by the minute!  Was the answer really born before the question? We shall have to wait and see!

How much research was put into the book, in particular in the area?

The hospital that features in the book is the Queen Alexandra, and whilst I was familiar with that particular hospital, I wasn't aware of how much it did during the war.  I did a lot of area research, as well as asking some reliable local sources, and found out that the main hospitals at the time would have been the Haslar War Memorial hospital in Gosprt, and St James Mental hospital in Southsea, which would have been the most active during the war period, St James in particular as a spill over, especially after Dunkirk.  Queen Alexandra was, at the time, a civilian hospital, but was used as an extra resource for those fit enough to travel, being the furthest away from the naval base.  Sarah worked at QA as a voluntary nurse, much to her parent's disapproval, as it was the nearest hospital to her, as her parents would not have allowed her to travel into the city for her safety."

How much, if any, input will you have on the production/filming side of the project?

"When it comes to the screenplay and its development, I will have plenty, but not on the production or filming side of things, although coming from the area I will always be available to offer advice and opinion on the geographical details."

Is much of the filming planned around the Portsmouth area?

"Yes, Whittington Manor is based in Portchester, near Fareham (top of Portsmouth), which is where I grew up. The book mentions Portsdown Hill, which is situated at the top of Portsmouth, looking down over the city, and is where Sarah and Joe first met and it becomes their secret meeting place. Also mentioned a lot is Portchester Castle, which is featured in the centre of one of the books biggest and most dramatic storylines, as well as the Dockyard. Portsmouth's famous Dockyard was actually instrumental in the battle of Dunkirk, which features in the book, as the main base to which the dead and injured soldiers were brought back to be treated, and there is going to be quite a lot of filming done around that area, as one of the characters also works there. The Portsmouth Guildhall is documented as being the place where all the city gathered to celebrate that the war was over, and so filming there will be done for authenticity, including the famous steps, although at the time, because of the war, the Guildhall itself was a burned out hole, so I am not entirely sure how they will reenact that!"

"I was very intent on the filming being made in Portsmouth, I think it is important for the nation to see Portsmouth from every angle and to be recognised for its contributions during the war, as it is hardly ever mentioned in other historical dramas or acknowledgements."

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