As Hidden Assets returns to RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player, John Byrne talks to Cathy Belton about reprising her role in the international drama where Irish and Belgian cops combine to fight crime.
"Basically, we have a new boss this year."
Cathy Belton's on the blower to chat about the new run of crime drama Hidden Assets, where she plays forensic accountant Norah Dillon. But my initial query relates to someone who isn’t returning for the show’s second season.
Hidden Assets is now an Angeline Ball-free zone.
In season one, the former star of The Commitments, Acceptable Risk and Deadly Cuts played Emer Berry, a detective in the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). But she’s nowhere to be seen this time around, with Galway actress Nora-Jane Noone joining the cast as Claire Wallace, the new lead detective in charge at the CAB.
It’s a bit like Line of Duty, where characters disappeared, got bumped-off, or returned later to be either really bad or really badly treated. DI Lindsay Denton springs immediately to mind.
But back to Hidden Assets. And Cathy Belton.
"Angeline was amazing in series one, and there are big shoes to fill," says Cathy, who’s understandably excited about the show’s return to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. "But I have no doubt, after working with Nora-Jane, she’s going to fill them brilliantly."
It’s clear from the opening "Hello" that Cathy Belton is a glass half-full type of person. She even talks in the key of C. There’s a brightness in her voice that oozes empathy. And yet she’s so far removed from her Norah Dillon character it’s ridiculous. That’s acting, eh?
Last time on Hidden Assets there was much ado about diamonds. Taking place a year after the events in season one, this run is set to bounce between Limerick and Antwerp.
Faced with a coordinated cyber-attack targeting CAB and the Belgian Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU), Claire joins forces with Belgian police commissioner Christian De Jong (Wouter Hendrickx, reprising his season one role) in a proverbial race against time.
Also returning for season two are Simone Kirby as Bibi Melnick and Aaron Monaghan as Sean Prendergast. Cathy Belton couldn’t be happier.
"It’s great to be back John, and again - the writing is as good, if not even better in season two," she says. "And I got really excited when I saw the scripts for season two and the CAB team. They just hit the ground running.
"I don’t think I’m giving any spoiler alerts when I say that in the first scene the CAB suffers a cyber attack. And it’s just brilliant, to see the team under such pressure, and what comes out of that. And the anonymity of the CAB staff is threatened and all of that.
"It’s a crunchier, more dangerous series," she adds.
Like when a band works on its second album, a huge test for a TV show is its second season. The first is the one that lays a marker, sets scenes, introduces characters and basically sets up its stall.
Season two is when you have to come up with the 'what happens next’ scenario. It’s a tricky one. And it’s one where many shows begin to crumble as the original ideas that set it on its way may ultimately provide a creative stumbling block.
Cathy’s confident that two can become three.
"It feels like a giant ensemble this year," she explains. "I think when you get to do a series and then you come back, you get to know people more. You get a chance to explore the character more. And the writers start writing more for you and put more challenges in your way.
"And we have great new writers on board this season, Mary Fox and Marty Thornton - young writers who are just phenomenal.
"And for me, it always starts with the writers. If you don’t have the writing thing right, you have to work really hard. When it’s well-written it’s so much easier."
And Cathy Belton has a developed something of a synched sense when it comes to sussing out a project that’s rewarding on a creative as well as commercial level. Indeed, she has such an impressive CV, it could be called an A-Z of Irish acting.
If there was such a thing as a thespian passport, Cathy Belton’s would be one of the bulky ones with extra pages. Her real passport’s been getting a lot of usage too, thanks to Hidden Assets and other shows.
"The other great thing about season two is that this time we get to Belgium," she says. "Because the first season was all filmed during covid, they couldn't being anybody over. It was a real joy to get over to Antwerp and work with the Belgian cast as well. Which was extraordinary.
"It was lovely to see an Irish drama in Europe," she adds. "It’s very European, and that’s what separates it from other dramas. I hope people will enjoy that, it was certainly really enjoyable to film."
And as for Antwerp itself - let’s just say that Cathy Belton’s future could lie in being am ambassador for Belgian tourism, or at the very least least its diamond capital.
"Oh my God, it’s beautiful," she insists. "I’d never been there before and I was blown away by the people and the city itself. Really beautiful. I couldn’t recommend it enough as a go-to destination for a weekend break.
"And we’d an amazing crew and cast as well over there. Very impressive."
And as for Cathy’s own character, forensic accountant Norah Dillon looks to be playing a prominent role in season two’s story arc. Good news for Cathy, obviously, who’s clearly got under her character’s skin and likes the fit.
"Norah hits the ground running with the cyber attack," she explains. "I think it’s really interesting to see her in new surroundings - we’ve all been upgraded - and we know from series one that Norah doesn’t like the hi-tech. It was really fun to explore that, Norah struggling with the new technology.
"And as well, we get to see Norah with a new boss, Claire Wallace. There’s a whole new personnel dynamic in the team and it’s been really interesting to see what the new Detective Sergeant coming in did for the team.
"I think Norah, as a person, was always very reserved, keeping her cards close to her chest. But the minute she sees her, she’s kind of going ‘Oh this Detective Sergeant isn’t going to stay long.'
"I think Norah’s a wise old owl as well, and holds back until she gets to know somebody. I think that’s just the way she is. She’s forensic in work, and also in her relationships.
"What I loved with what Peter McKenna did when he created the character as this grafter, with such a big brain, who never, ever gave up. Her world is forensic accounting. And it’s really interesting to try and go there. She almost gets off on her investigations and going through figures."
It’s been a busy year or two for Cathy, who has managed to keep a few thespian-related plates spinning to keep herself both busy and engrossed in her craft. She even managed to perform in front of an audience again.
Although she’s featured in many small and big screen productions - ranging from Sister Claire in Philomena to Patricia Hennessy in Red Rock - she’s got a great affinity for the immediacy of the stage. The roar of the greasepaint! The smell of the crowd! The genius of Henrik Ibsen!
"It was lovely to go back to theatre for a while,’ she says. "I hadn’t been on stage in a few years and it was lovely to exercise that muscle again. Mark O’Rowe adapted Ibsen’s Ghosts for me in The Abbey. So it was lovely to go back and do that.
"And then I was in Serbia for quite a while with Miss Scarlet and the Duke, a CBS TV series that I’ve been doing. So it has been busy. But that’s the nature of it - you’re busy and then you wonder where the next one’s going to come from, and you hold tight until it comes."
That’s life you chose Cathy!
"And I love it with all my heart!"
Hidden Assets, Sundays at 9.30pm, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
