Firth Impressions 

Submerged,but not forgotten,secrets resurface when the body of a woman is discovered at the bottom of 
a reservoir 10 years after she disappeared in BBC1's thriller A Likeness In Stone . 

Oxford student Helena Warner (Rebecca Palmer) went missing in 1990 after a raucous party at the home of her college pal Richard Kirschman ( Andrew Lincoln). 

And Bill Armstrong (Liam Cunningham),the policeman in charge of the investigation,was convinced her boyfriend Steve Gilmore (JF) was responsible.He also believed Kirschman and Helena's best friend,Joan Poole(Ruth Jones),colluded to protect him,but he could never prove it.Finding the body causes shockwaves in all their lives. 

'Steve can't get on with his life,'explains JF.'He was a carefree,bright and quite spoilt student with a path laid out for him.Now he's a broken man.There's a relief when the body is discovered,because he can'tgo on that way. It's a living death. Whatever happens,atleast he'll get out of the rut he's in..' 

But is he a murderer? 

'I'm not about to give the game away,'Firth laughs 'But I'll admit Steve's in the frame.He's a nice guy, but when he feels he's been betrayed or rejected he can react very aggressively,particularly with women.' 

Filming certainly brought back memories of Firth's own time as an undergraduate at London's Central School For Speech and Drama in the late eighties- alongside Graham Norton,Caroline Harker and Rufus Sewell. 

'It was fun reliving student days-putting those clothes on and hearing that music again,'smiles the younger brother of Pride & Prejudice star Colin Firth.'Being an irresponsible20-year-old was great-the chance to regress is always worthwhile in my opinion!' 

However,one thing Firth isn't in a hurry to experience a second time is appalling student accommodation. 

'I was in disgusting digs,'he grimaces.'I briefly shared a flat in my first year with Rufus and that was the worst.A classic cowboy job.There was a crappy cooker where only one ring worked,the oven didn't work at all and the grill was either maximum or nothing.There was no way of switching the hot water on without the heating,so if you wanted a bath in August...it was insane.And if it rained,slugs came in. It was pretty foul.

• A Likeness in Stone is on 11th & 12th on BBC1 according to TV & SatelliteWeekly