Cartwright
Cartwright has one true belief -颅 as long as there are drugs, there鈥檒l be criminal activity around them and he believes the law as it stands makes targeting the entity a more viable proposition that targeting individuals in order to make a serious dent in the drugs business.
He knows it’s virtually impossible to get the big hitters at the top but Cartwright envisages another kind of justice – the law of the jungle. If they can identify a network, hit it and keep hitting it, taking down product and the money that circulates it, then the process of natural selection that dictates the underworld will kick in – an organisation that loses its money and product will wither and die.
The UNIT can make their lives tough, unbearable even, and keep doing it... But this strategy is contentious and it’s not one he necessarily shares with his team. But his focus means that he’s not above using people others might see as victims in order to further his aims and that’s one area where conflicts can arise.
This apparently ruthless streak is a symptom of battles fought and lost over the years. One in particular is still echoing which saw him lock horns with senior Met officer Alistair Stannard. The recriminations between the two men have very much informed Cartwright’s view that certain elements of law enforcement are actually a hindrance to getting the right thing done.
The establishment of the UNIT is also part of that philosophy but Cartwright had used up all his leverage to set it up. If it goes down, and Stannard for one would love to see that happen, then Cartwright goes down with it. And he’s proud enough to be wary of battles he doesn’t think he can win.
What Cartwright didn’t bargain for are the unexpected consequences of the UNIT’s work – listening in to people draws you into their lives and sometimes those lives, those problems and dangers, can’t be so easily ignored.
Gradually Cartwright realises that the little victories can feel pretty big too...
Ewan Stewart
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Ewan’s first major TV appearance was in the 1979 Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning TV Film All Quiet on the Western Front alongside Richard Thomas (John-Boy of the Walton’s) and Ian Holm.
His film credits include: Rob Roy, Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover alongside Michael Gambon and Helen Mirren, First Officer William Murdoch in the multi Oscar winning Titanic
amongst many others.
Television credits include , Only Fools and Horses, Rebus, Taggart, , and Walter’s War alongside his The Interceptor co-star O.T. Fagbenle.
