| Captain James | |
|---|---|
| Our Girl character | |
| First appearance |
|
| Last appearance |
|
| Created by | Tony Grounds |
| Portrayed by | Ben Aldridge |
Captain Charles James is a fictional character from the BBC military drama Our Girl, played by Ben Aldridge. Captain James first appeared in the premiere of the first series, originally broadcast on 21 September 2014.
Storylines
Captain James is introduced as the commanding officer of 2-Section on a tour in Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. He initially doubts the capabilities of the team's new medic, Molly Dawes (Lacey Turner), but learns to respect her after saving the life of fellow soldier Smurf (Iwan Rheon) in an act of bravery. Despite Captain James telling her not to, Molly befriends a local girl named Bashira (Becky Eggersglusz), who warns her not to let 2-Section go to a mountain checkpoint, proving to be vital information which impresses him. After Molly returns from her rest and recuperation leave, she confesses her love for him, feelings which he reciprocates, despite having an estranged wife, Rebecca (Alice Patten), and a son. Upon finding out about this, Molly is initially furious but forgives him. Captain James is injured in battle and narrowly survives. Once the tour finishes, he goes on a date with Molly in his hometown of Bath, England. He decides to maintain his relationship with her while remaining in the army after divorcing Rebecca.
Development
"Our Girl – Captain James". BBC One. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
Ben Aldridge explains the leader Captain James - Our Girl: Series 2 - BBC One (Interview). BBC. 13 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024 – via YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6NcMmLpzyQ
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p028kv1y
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/ourgirl
After Grounds and actor Ben Aldridge teased a return of Captain James,[3] which was eventually confirmed in March 2016.[4]
A charismatic leader and a brilliant officer, captain James is an army man to the core. He is totally committed to his work, a consummate professional; he has the respect of everyone he works with. A bit of a renaissance man, James is loved by all the men who fight alongside him. He always maintains clear boundaries between fun and work; that is until he met and fell in love with army medic, Molly Dawes while on tour in Afghanistan. She taught him more than he ever imagined. But after recovering from his injuries back home in Bath, James is back taking charge of a platoon in Kenya.[2]
Why does Captain James choose Georgie to join 2-Section in Kenya? Captain James needs an experienced and trustworthy medic, not only for the benefit of his beloved 2-Section but also one who can utilise their medical knowledge to support and educate aid workers at the NGO. The refugee camp is a tough and testing environment and he knows Georgie Lane is more than capable; in Captain James' words she's "top notch, fully loaded' and has proven herself on several demanding tours. He needs someone solid and resilient. He knows Georgie can handle herself and he already has huge respect for her. This said, she still manages to impress and surprise him, further proving her capabilities as a ‘full-battle’ medic.[5]
How does Captain James know Georgie? What is their relationship like? Captain James and Georgie are already familiar; she's one of Molly's close friends. On the surface these two have a very professional relationship, but actually it runs pretty deep. I think a lot remains unsaid because neither of them are particularly good at expressing themselves... they understand each other and there is tremendous respect between them. Captain James 100% rates and trusts Georgie as a medic even if she is sometimes more empathetic and compassionate than he thinks the job requires. He is extremely focused and can compartmentalise to get the job done but Georgie is ruled more by her heart and passion for helping. Although he's higher ranking as ‘boss-man’ Georgie has no problem in speaking her mind to him, whether he likes it or not.[5]
How does Captain James know Elvis? What is their relationship like? They are best mates, go way back and have been on tour together more than once. I think they used to be absolute rascals together back in the day. They're both pretty cocky, but it's because they're bloody good soldiers. I think nowadays Captain James has grown up a bit, he's a bit more settled than Elvis and he wants him to start making some good decisions and stop messing about in his life, so their relationship is changing. Captain James thinks he knows better and is constantly trying to impart advice to Elvis, but he doesn't take him too seriously given that Captain James has made so many mistakes himself. Their friendship is put to the test on this mission…[5]
"Has he changed at all? Yeah I think he has! I think a lot has happened to him. I think the difference is that he's doing something he absolutely loves, he loves being a soldier and a captain, but I think this series he's slightly more war-weary. This is his fifth tour, maybe hi sixth, and it's getting to a stage where he's starting to question what he's doing. Molly started him on this ethical debate with himself about why we were in Afghanistan, he's probably still thinking those things, and even though in series 2 we're not going to war as such, we end up in a similar situation, but I think that's how he's changed, he's matured quite a bit."[6]
"He encounters his very very good friend Elvis, his best mate, on this op, and I think he's a reminder of James's past, his wilder days. They were absolute rascals together back in the day so I think you see who James used to be in Elvis, and now you see the more mature version."[6]
Boot camp "I don't feel that I'd be able to play Captain James without the boot camp, it makes you feel like you've earned the right to play a soldier."[6]
Finally, someone we recognise from the first series. Captain James met and fell for army medic Molly Dawes while on tour in Afghanistan but found himself in a love triangle with Iwan Rheon's Smurf. James suffered some nasty injuries in a mission gone wrong but he won the girl – only for series one to leave us in tears as poor Smurf suffered a brain bleed and died. Now James is back leading a platoon – that includes Georgie – in Kenya. Committed to his profession, he has the love and respect of everyone he works with.[7]
Reception
References
- ^ "Interview with Ben Aldridge, who plays Captain James in BBC One drama Our Girl". BBC Media Centre. 12 August 2014. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Our Girl". BBC Media Centre. 28 August 2016. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "Everything we know so far about Season 2 of 'Our Girl'". Cultbox. 28 December 2015. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ Hegarty, Tasha (18 March 2016). "First look at Michelle Keegan as Corporal Georgie Lane in Our Girl series two". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ a b c "Ben Aldridge (Captain James)". BBC Media Centre. 28 August 2016. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Our Girl's Ben Aldridge: 'We all worked on our army banter at boot camp!' (Interview). What's On TV?. 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Radio Times Staff (5 October 2016). "Meet the cast of Our Girl series two". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
Category:Our Girl Category:English male characters in television Category:Television characters introduced in 2014 Category:Fictional British Army officers Category:Fictional British Army personnel