Desperate couple are in for bumpy ride
Martin Compston and Sophie Rundle play Dan and Emily, who resort to paying ex-con to carry their longed-for baby
There’s a lot of mystery around Kaya. She’s smart, driven and determined to make a good life for herself.
Mirren Mack
With a dream home overlooking a loch and a Bentley parked in the driveway, Dan and Emily appear to have it all. But there’s one thing missing – and it could be their ultimate undoing.
The couple, played by Line of Duty’s Martin Compston and Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders), are desperate to start a family in Glasgow, but all of their attempts to conceive naturally have ended in failure.
Sophie said: “They’ve got all this wealth but can’t seem to have a child.
“It’s hugely emotional because they’ve endured years of agony trying for a baby.” Surrogacy appears to be their next logical step, with Emily’s sister offering to carry their child. Tragically, just a few weeks into her pregnancy, she miscarries and the couple are distraught once more. “We’re down to our last embryo – our last throw of the dice,” says a forlorn Dan during a scene in the first episode of the five-part series. The couple’s prayers seem to be answered when Emily has a chance encounter with 18-year-old Kaya, played by rising Scots star Mirren Mack. Learning of their plight, she puts herself forward as a surrogate – in return for £50,000. Emily is delighted, but no-nonsense property magnate Dan is sceptical. Kaya is a tough ex-convict who lives in a dilapidated estate on the wrong side of the city. Something is a little ‘off’ about her – what’s her agenda?
The stage is set for an addictive and unpredictable thriller, which poses real moral conundrums.
Are Dan and Emily using their elevated status to take advantage of a naive young girl? Or is Kaya actually the one pulling the strings and manipulating them?
Stirling-born Mirren, who appeared in the most recent series of hit Netflix comedy Sex Education, said: “There’s a lot of mystery around Kaya. She’s smart, driven and determined to make a good life for herself.”
The drama has been created by Glaswegian writer Nicole Taylor, who enjoyed huge success last year with country music drama Wild Rose, which won several honours at the BAFTA Scotland Awards.
The star-studded cast of The Nest, which was filmed in and around Glasgow for four months last year, also includes Shirley Henderson, Katie Leung, David Hayman, James Harkness, Kate Dickie and Paul Brannigan.