Holy Orders

From The Box, Herald Sun, 20 March 2008.

Robed up and off to church, this is Catherine McClements as TV viewers have never seen her before.

Catherine McClements was less than two weeks out of the maternity ward when she began filming for the role of an Anglican minister. Luckily, the cast and crew were welcoming of her new son, who was supposed to be a month old by the time filming began for Australian telemovie Emerald Falls.

"It was a small concentrated piece to do, a large role would have been impossible,'' McClements explains. "He was actually two weeks overdue. But everyone really helped out on set and it all ran smoothly.''

She also recently played Martha in the stage play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in Sydney. "I was offered both when pregnant and couldn't turn either down, because they were such great opportunities,'' she says.

McClements plays minister Rosalie in the murder mystery Emerald Falls, which also stars Georgie Parker, Rhys Muldoon and Vince Colosimo. "She's (Rosalie) the Anglican minister that services the Falls district. She and Georgie's character, Joni, are close friends. At the same time she's been having an affair with the man who ends up being murdered. It's all about the `whodunit?' Each character has their own potential for being the murderer.''

The story follows kindergarten teacher and single mother Joni Ferguson (Parker), who decides to change her life by buying a run-down bed and breakfast in the Blue Mountains, against the advice of ex-husband Paul (Rhys Muldoon). Their 15-year-old son Zac (Tom Green) joins his mum, but six months later they run into financial trouble and further stress is added when local doctor and close friend Henry Forbes (Andrew McFarlane) is found dead.

With a huge list of film, TV and theatre to her name, McClements chose this piece because of the quality script and because she'd previously worked with the writer, producer and director. "I'd worked with Tim Pye (writer and producer) on Water Rats and also worked with director Peter Andrikidis on Water Rats and (director of photography) Lou (Irving), then there was this quirky character Rosalie I got to play. I spoke to an Anglican minister who works in the district and tried to understand where she was coming from. My character was isolated and so I worked mainly with Georgie and had beautifully written scenes. It was great to have that pool of talent around with the other actors,'' she says.

Need to know:

All-time favourite TV show? Bewitched. I used to watch a lot of TV when I was a kid.

Current fave show? ABC News. It used to be SBS, but now they've got ads.

Wouldn't watch if you paid me: Shows that tell you how to live. It makes me anxious.