Shane Ward and Catherine Tyldesley played Aidan Connor and Eva Price. This time they have swapped the Cobbles for the Mediterranean as Shayne and Catherine are reunited as former detective Jack Grayling and First Officer Kate Woods in Channel 5’s The Good Ship Murder.
Shayne Ward lives with his fiancée, the actress Sophie Austin and their two children Willow and Reign, in Cheshire East. Catherine (Cath) Tyldesley and her husband, photographer Tom Pitfield, live in Greater Manchester with children Alfie and Iris.
I have had the pleasure of knowing these two glorious individuals for a number of years and I couldn’t be more excited for them and to watch how the relationship of Jack and Kate unfolds. It’s not going to be all plain sailing as this new murder mystery series will reveal.
Shayne and Cath, as Peaches and Herb famously sang: Reunited... and it feels so good?
Shayne: Definitely. To work alongside my good friend Catherine again has been magical, and all while cruising around the Mediterranean.
Cath: Being reunited with Shayne has been so much fun and this series has been a joy to make.
Tell us about The Good Ship Murder
Shayne: It’s set aboard a luxury cruise liner touring the Med and I play ex-detective Jack Grayling, a man with a mysterious past, who is the new onboard cabaret singer.
Cath: And I play the very ambitious First Officer, Kate Woods, who spends her downtime listening to true crime podcasts, so when murders start happening on board and she discovers Jack was a policeman, she enlists his help to work together to try and solve the case.
Unlike most dramas once you walk off the set you can relax and go home whereas on a working cruise ship with 6,000 passengers, there’s nowhere to go, other than overboard. What was that like?
Shayne: It was a very busy ship but we had to focus on doing our job and when most passengers got off at the various ports of call, Cath and I could crack on with filming in areas that would usually be too crowded to work in.
Cath: It really helped with the tension for the drama having lots of passengers onboard. Everybody was lovely. And they got a free Shayne Ward concert – and who doesn’t want that?
Shayne: The passengers were great. No one recognised me at first, they only recognised Cath. When we first got on board, people were coming up to her to say they loved her in Corrie and enjoyed the storyline between my character, Aidan and hers, Eva. I’d be standing right next to her and they wouldn’t realise it was me, because I’ve got hair. Honestly, you wouldn’t believe how much this hair makes a difference, it’s a proper disguise, because I usually have a shaved head. After a while, word did get round but it made me laugh at first. I was incognito.
You both have young families. It must have been difficult being away from them while filming
Shayne: It was tough but Sophie brought my two little ones, Willow and Reign out to see me and it was a great experience. When I got the job to play the lead role of Jack I was ecstatic, but I also felt so guilty leaving as Sophie had only given birth to Reign six weeks before. She became a superhero, as always, and held the fort and championed me 100 per cent. It was lovely having them there and they got to explore and have a few days off the ship while I was working. Cath's family came too so we could all hang out.
Cath: Iris was three months old when I started this job and I’m not going to lie, it was difficult – there was a lot of coffee, put it that way. My husband, Tom, is incredible. When my agent phoned me and said, ‘you've got the job, can you go out to Malta?’ it was Tom who said, ‘get on the plane, we’ll sort it.' My hormones were still all over the place though, so there’s no denying it was hard but we are so lucky to have Tom. People kept messaging me saying,’ I’m living for your husband's Instagram' because they could see it all. He weaned Iris by himself. He’s a super dad.'
Have you both been on a cruise before as a passenger?
Shayne: I took my mum on one years ago.
Cath: No, I’ve never been on one before so this was a really eye-opener. Getting used to the various time zones was fun as we were sailing. I would be messaging Shayne saying, 'is this 8am or 9am, to be on set for our call time?
You first met on Coronation Street when Cath was playing Eva and Shayne was cast as her love interest, Aidan. Was there instant chemistry there?
Cath: When I found out Shayne was coming into Corrie playing my boyfriend, my immediate thought was, ‘imagine if I get to duet with him.’ I used to vote for him when he was on X Factor. He has got the most beautiful voice that never fails to make me cry. Although for our first scene together we had to snog each other’s face off for about four hours and it was all kinds of awkward.
Shayne: I’d watched Cath on the TV and we instantly connected; I felt as if I’d known her for years. I think that first scene together was in the bistro. We had been kissing for ages but then stopped and said, 'should we carry on? because nobody had said cut. That was our introduction to each other.
Shayne, it’s 18 years since you won X Factor. How has your voice changed and developed?
Shayne: I was 21 then. As you get older your voice does change and you discover different qualities, especially for guys like me who use falsetto. Over time, it’s not as high as it once was. I’ve got two uncles who have fantastic voices and they sing Teddy Pendergrass, Smokey Robinson, The Righteous Brothers, The Stylistics... As I get older I hear elements of my voice sounding a little bit like theirs, so it’s a fun thing for me to observe and see how it’s evolving. I’m 39 now and I think I’m at my prime with my voice and how it’s sounding.
Cath: He’s a walking jukebox.
Shayne do you have a favourite genre of music?
Too many. I grew up a large Irish family, as one of seven children, so everything got played. It was like a competition between bedrooms: one was singing one song while another was singing a different song. I was a bit like The Voice, with siblings battling it out.
Can we expect new music soon?
Shayne: I’ve been writing solidly for more than three years now and have been working with the music producers Chris Hague and Steve White, who I met on the Good Ship Murder too. I'm at a stage where I don’t want to release an album but will probably release songs here and there. I just want to have fun.
You certainly seem to be having fun at the end of each episode of Good Ship Murder, as you perform a song
Shayne: It was great for me. It’s the perfect role as I get to play a detective but then I get to perform a song that mirrors what’s just happened in that particular episode. Jack is the entertainment on the ship, with the wonderful Claire Sweeney, playing the entertainment director, joining me on one of the songs too. The show is a classic murder mystery with a lovely sing song at the end.
Cath: The songs he sings are amazing. You’re going to love them.
Cath, you’ve got a stunning voice too. Did your character get to sing?
Cath: No. Kate is far too strait-laced for that. She’s very much about her career. Even though she works on a floating fun palace, this woman does not know how to have fun. In fact, her evolving friendship with Jack scares her as he encourages her to let her hair down. As an actress it was great for me to see my character's journey and how she changes and loosens up a little.
You’ve got some great cameos in the show
Cath: As Shayne mentioned, Claire Sweeney plays Bev the entertainment director. Kate Robbins is brilliant too. There are lots of faces that you’ll recognise.
Congratulations Cath on your role in the 2024 tour of Bonnie & Clyde the Musical. Tell us about it.
Cath: I play Blanche Barrow who was one of Bonnie and Clyde’s gang and is the show's moral compass, but also has some comedy bones. She was the only surviving member of the gang and I’ve been reading the diaries she wrote from when she was in prison. I’m loving doing the research ahead of rehearsals, which start in January. Blanche has some beautiful songs and the show is historically accurate yet has good entertainment core to it. I’ve been approached over the years to do quite a few musicals but it would have to be something special for me to be away from my family. Tom and I both listened to the first Bonnie and Clyde song that was sent to me, and he turned to me and said, ‘you have to do this’. I had tears in my eyes – the songs are amazing and the script is brilliant too. I’m really excited about the tour.
When you are back home where are your favourite places in Cheshire?
Shayne: Costa, Carrs Park and Hickory’s Smokehouse, all in Wilmslow
Cath: the Edge in Alderley, One Aesthetics in Alderley Edge, as they do the best facials and Hale Country Club
What are you going to be doing for Christmas?
Shayne: We are still working it out. Sophie’s family are all down south, while my mum has 17 grandchildren, so we just need to sort the logistics.
Cath: It’s always family based... but perhaps a little get away too.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Cath: Don’t be worried about other people's opinions and always go with your gut instinct. If what you do makes you glow inside, go for it.
Shayne: Don’t be afraid to get a ‘no’. Never lose your passion for what you love. Even if you get rejected from an audition or casting, you will still walk out of the room with your talent.
The Good Ship Murder, Fridays at 9pm, Channel 5
Bonnie and Clyde the Musical: Opera House Manchester, May 7-11 2024. Full tour details at bonnieandclydemusical.com
