New Peak Practice star Jamie Bamber has gone from one extreme to the other. He’s swapped the battlefields of BBC two’s war epic Band of Brothers for the peaceful surroundings of Cardale. After playing platoon commander, Lieutenant Foley in Band of Brothers, Jamie was looking forward to a tranquil time as new medic recruit Matt Kendall in Peak Practice, which he joins this week. But he discovers that life as a GP with The Beeches, has more than its fair share of thrills.
On his first day he makes a routine routine call to pensioner Alice North’s house and discovers more than he bargained for. ‘Unfortunately Matt’s first case goes badly wrong when he makes a big mistake,’ says Jamie 28. ‘He’s distraught because he has a lot to prove and is keen to make a good impression. Although Matt is a qualified doctor, he failed his first year as a registrar so has come to Cardale to retake the year. The reason he failed will become apparent later in the series.’
Jamie, who also played for, Lieutenant Archie Kennedy in Hornblower, is enjoying the new challenges of appearing in a long running drama series. ‘I’m always learning a new skill. In Band of Brothers, it was how to shoot a rifle, in Peak Practice the first thing I learned was how to ride a motorbike. I’d never ridden one before and it was exciting but terrifying.’
Jamie was thrilled to be contacted by the real life soldier he portrays in Band of Brothers. War hero Lieutenant Foley sent him an email to say he had been enjoying the show on TV in America. ‘He’s an amazing man. He has enough stories to make a series all on its own,’ says Jamie.
Jamie’s only reservation about joining the cost of Peak Practice is that the Derbyshire location means he will see less of his girlfriend Kerry Norton, who plays Maxine Purvis in Bad Girls. ‘She’s busy in London making a new series. Kerry plays a nasty piece of work in the show. Luckily I hadn’t seen Bad Girls before we met, or I might have not given her a chance. But I’m happy to say that Kerry is nothing like her character in real life.’