Shetland: Tosh emotionally says goodbye to Jimmy

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Shetland star Lewis Gribben played the character of Fraser Craggen in the BBC series last year and recently starred in Channel 4’s latest dark series. Somewhere Boy follows the story of 18-year-old Danny (played by Lewis) who has lived his life sheltered away from the outside world by his father Steve (Rory Keenan). However, when his father takes his own life, Danny moves in with his auntie Sue (Lisa McGillis) and cousin Aaron (Samuel Bottomley) who begin to teach him what life really means.

When discussing what it was like to play the character, Lewis admitted that Danny is very much an awkward introvert who doesn’t quite understand the social cues of life.

Danny has been locked up his whole life, with the only social interaction being with his father who made him believe there were “monsters” waiting for him on the other side.

Lewis recently opened up about taking on the role of Danny and admitted that he knows what it feels like to be an outsider.

“A lot of it came from a really emotional place from my own life really, I have kind of been an outsider myself in my own life,” he told Express.co.uk and other press.

“I kind of connected to the whole idea and the way you just feel like you don’t really fit in or belong, just from my own life so that was really the way in.

“I understood the idea of being an outsider. I didn’t go to the school where I lived and I went to a different school that had a special unit for kids with autism.”

Praising his own performance and how he felt he portrayed Danny, Lewis said: “I think an actor who hasn’t had that could have done a good job.

“But really, the ability and my feeling of being an outsider just helped so, I feel like I connected to that.

“The emotions that he goes through as well, looking at how teenagers like Aaron are living their life. Very few people could play Danny authentically and make it believable.

“They’d end up heightening the weird man-child aspect. Whereas I could, with great direction, bring an authenticity to him.”

Lewis recently opened up about his struggles with dyspraxia and dyslexia, leading to him feeling that a lot of the time he didn’t fit in.

He told The Independent: “I couldn’t socialise with my other classmates because I had a scribe. When I discovered drama, it was the one department where it’s not much writing, so I got to proper be myself around people, and feel like I belonged somewhere.

“All of that really helped with Danny. I could bring myself to the part, and bring all that pain.”

Up-and-coming writer Pete Jackson also had a close link to the show after he admitted that he used his own mental health struggles as inspiration.

He also told Express.co.uk: “I have suffered with mental health problems myself in the past, as a recovering alcoholic, 13 years sober it is something that is very very close to my heart.

“I think it feeds into everything that I do, I did struggle but yeah I don’t think there is enough support.

“We spoke to social workers in the development of this and it is just through, a lack of support, it’s not through lack of willingness or desire.

“It’s just lack of funds, so I think men struggle a lot and when people aren’t against it the support comes quick enough.”

On the potential for a new series, Pete teased: “We have certainly got a lot of ideas, some great ideas but it is up to Channel 4 really.

“I would absolutely love a second series, at the end of this one we see their journey begin.”

Somewhere Boy airs Sunday from 9pm on Channel 4.

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