KEEPING MUM
FRANCESCA ANNIS STARS IN A NEW FAMILY DRAMA WITH A DARK TWIST…
MARY IS IN DANGER OF LETTING HER IMAGINATION GO WEIRD”
IMELDA
When recently widowed Vivien – who’s approaching her 70th birthday – announces to her three grown-up children that she’s met a new man, her kids react with suspicion.
Is retired GP Mark a man with honourable intentions? Or does he have designs on Vivien for another reason?
And will their suspicions end up driving a wedge between Vivien and her children? “I think she’s far too busy having a good time to be disappointed in their reaction,” chuckles Francesca Annis, who plays Vivien. “She and Mark are in the honeymoon stage of their relationship, and you can traverse most things when you feel like your feet aren’t touching the ground! But she’s a very bright woman, and she knows her children, like all kids, have their issues. She’s not party to them, but is aware that there’s something going on with each one of them.”
For eldest daughter Helen, the big concern is that Mark might be after her mother’s money – but Claudie Blakley, who plays her, thinks this could be clouding Helen’s judgement.
“They’ve just lost their dad, and their mum has been left with a nice amount of money in the bank, so initially Helen’s reaction is to protect her mother financially,” points out Claudie. “But she sort of forgets about her mum’s happiness.”
Son Jake, played by Russell Tovey, was extremely close to his father, and sees himself as the man of the family since his dad passed away. And naturally, he’s suspicious of another male encroaching on his territory.
“This man coming into his mum’s life is decent and doing well,” muses Russell. “Now he’s providing for Jake’s mum, too, and that’s a role he should have taken when his dad died. It’s like holding a mirror up to him, as if to say ‘you’ve failed’.”
Younger daughter Natalie is supportive of her mum’s new romance, but her own love life is a mess. She’s in a long-term affair with a married man and is waiting for him to leave his wife.
“I think Natalie is a romantic – despite the relationship she’s having with her boss!” notes Lydia Leonard, who plays her. “The romance she sees in her mum’s relationship highlights the lack of it in her own – but it’s endearing that she’s behind it, in spite of her own choices.”
The series teases a dark turn of events with scenes of one
character suffering a terrible fate – although we don’t know who. And the whole situation is irresistible to the family’s over-invested neighbour Mary, played by Imelda Staunton, whose statement to the police is gradually revealed during the first episode…
“She’s lonely, and has never been the centre of anything,” reveals Imelda. “She’s been involved with that family for years, but hasn’t been in the middle of it, so I think when someone who lives on their own finds people actually asking them about what’s happening, it’s rather invigorating.
“She’s been a very good friend to Vivien,” adds Imelda. “But she’s in danger of letting her imagination go in a very weird direction…”