The air traffic controller

Joanne Griffiths had to master complicated technical jargon yet appear utterly authentic for her role in the film. She also had to draw on her improvisational skills.

Here she explains how she prepared for the role.

I did lots of research for this role to learn all the technical jargon and to understand what it is like mentally to be responsible for landing aircraft packed full of people.

I looked on lots of websites, read books and visited a live operations room.

The controllers I met were very welcoming and helpful. It was very daunting for me walking into a room full of radar screens and people appearing to talk gibberish, but they always explained things to me when they had five minutes.

All this research let me get inside Nicola's head...I wanted her character to seem truthful and real

Joanne Griffiths, actress

They have a very stressful job but they seem to cope with it brilliantly. They have to pass a hard training course to get the job because it is so tough.

Pressure

As a result they are quite forthright people because they are making important decisions all the time.

They told me that they can't think that the planes they are controlling are carrying 400 people or they would have to pack up and leave. They have to be completely unemotional about the job - to do it almost in auto pilot.

Joanne was filmed an Air Traffic Control centre for the film

The air traffic control centres I visited were smaller than the London Area Air Traffic Control Centre (West Drayton) and not usually under as much pressure. I was told that the atmosphere at West Drayton was often very intense. Most of the controllers I spoke to said they would not want to work there.

My cousin is a retired Air Traffic Area Controller who worked at West Drayton and he gave me a valuable insight into the mind of a controller. He told me about the vibe or atmosphere in the control room and about the hectic social scene they have after work. A lot of the controllers end up marrying each other!

Improvisation

All this research let me get inside Nicola's head and try to understand what it must have been like for her after the plane crash. I wanted her character to seem truthful and real.

The hardest part of the role was that the interview sequences were improvised, but around a very tight scenario. I had seen a script so I knew what my objective was, but I had to work out how to get there!

The freedom is fantastic and I've always loved improvisation, but I did get quite stressed about it.

Like Nicola I have always been fascinated by flying and making the programme has not changed my enthusiasm. After all, I had to travel abroad for part of the actual research for the programme.

But I would not like to be an air traffic controller - it seems far too stressful.

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The Day Britain Stopped was broadcast on BBC Two on Tuesday, 13 May, 2003 at 2100 BST.

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