James Peregrine Lester
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| James Peregrine Lester | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Episode One |
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Senior UK government official |
| Title | Sir |
| Relationships | Wife and three children (unnamed) |
| Portrayed by | Ben Miller |
Sir James Peregrine Lester is a fictional character in the ITV science fiction TV series Primeval.He is played by Ben Miller .
Lester works for the British government and is responsible for the team of scientists, lead by Nick Cutter, charged with investigating the appearance of time anomalies. A ruthless individual, he frequently comes into conflict with Cutter and the team.
[edit] Characterization
According to the official site he is without any real political allegiances although he believes that the ends justify the means and has no problems with torture. He is also hinted to be a British patriot with a distrust of the EU.[1]
While remaining, for the most part, stubborn, paranoid, slow to face facts and willfully ignorant, he has also displayed surprising bursts of astonishing foresight and knowledge as he guesses correctly that Claudia has personal reasons for wanting Cutter to remain close by[2] and also guesses that Helen Cutter is lying, "I think I'd trust her just about as far as I can throw a Stegosaurus", but is convinced otherwise by Claudia and Cutter, which proves to be a mistake on their part.[3]
However he has also shown a softer side when he promises to have the charges against a young girl dropped, when Claudia brings the matter to his attention, even though he can simply do nothing.[4]
He is a snappy dresser as he owns over 50 suits, all made to measure, all dark colours with colourful ties because someone once told him it was trendy. He also plays squash and tennis as a hobby.
[edit] Character history
Little of Lester's background has been revealed, other than he has a family.[5] While his exact role and position in the government is unclear, he has free run of Whitehall and command of intelligence and security forces. He has spent his entire career "planning for just about every crisis imaginable — up to and including alien invasion."[1] He describes himself as "a trouble shooter without portfolio in the PM's office" and agreed with Cutter's assessment that he is a "government hatchet man."
For most episodes he remains a sedentary leader and problem-solver: everyone has to go to him at Whitehall, and he operates through agents like Claudia Brown and Captain Ryan. He has once met up with the team[4] in order to confront Cutter personally and ensure the capture of Helen Cutter. During her later interrogation he is quite happy to threaten torture to gain information.
While having an intense dislike of Cutter, and believing his team members (Connor in particular) to be annoying,[4] he remains professional except for regular sarcastic comments. Later in the series his relationship with Cutter reaches breaking point: he questions Cutter's role in his wife's escape and the reason for his pursuit[3] and claims he causes more problems than he solves.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Episode One". Primeval. ITV. ITV One. 2007-02-10. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ "Episode Two". Primeval. ITV. ITV One. 2007-02-10. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ a b "Episode Four". Primeval. ITV. ITV One. 2007-03-03. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ a b c "Episode Three". Primeval. ITV. ITV One. 2007-03-03. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ Character profile on Official Primeval website
| Primeval |
|---|
| Primeval main pages |
| Impossible Pictures Productions | Time anomaly |
| Main characters |
| Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) | Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) | Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt) Stephen Hart (James Murray) | Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown) | James Lester (Ben Miller) | Tom Ryan (Mark Wakeling) |
| Primeval lists |
| Episodes | Creatures | Minor characters |
