Inside Soap

POLITICAL INTRIGUE!

STRIKE: LETHAL WHITE | BBC1 SUN & MON AS CORMORAN STRIKE CRACKS OPEN HIS LATEST CASE, TOM BURKE AND HOLLIDAY GRAINGER DISCUSS THE RETURN OF THE INTREPID PRIVATE DETECTIVE…

- Allison Jones

STRIKE AND ROBIN ARE GREAT AT WORKING THINGS OUT”

TOM

This fourth adaption of JK Rowling’s bestsellin­g novels – written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith – reunites private detective Strike (Tom Burke) and his partner Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger). The four-part series – which also stars Robert Glenister, Sophie Winkleman, and former Coronation Street star Natalie Gumede (Kirsty Soames) as Strike’s girlfriend, Lorelei – follows Strike’s investigat­ion of two families. And it even finds Robin working undercover at the House of Commons. Tom and Holliday tell us more…

Welcome back both! How would you introduce Strike’s latest case?

Holliday Strike and Robin are investigat­ing blackmail attempts made against an MP, but – spoiler alert! – that soon turns into a murder investigat­ion… Tom …Although it was never a case – a murder is alleged to have happened, and Strike and Robin are trying to get to the bottom of it. Two different cases overlap, and there’s an awful lot of other stuff going on.

How is Robin set to get on working undercover?

Holliday She poses as the goddaughte­r of an MP in the House of Commons and she relishes it. She wears a pair of brown contact lenses as a disguise, which I wasn’t convinced could change a person’s appearance that much, but I was wrong! They transform your whole face, and it’s fascinatin­g the effect that has on your personalit­y, too.

How do you reckon Strike stands out from other detective shows?

Tom Robin and Strike’s relationsh­ip seems to me to be at the heart of it. They’re great at working it out, together. Holliday Their relationsh­ip has captured so many hearts and minds – mine included! I also think its success lies in the way each new case leads us into a new world.

And how are things between Strike and Robin on a personal level, with Robin marrying her longterm boyfriend Matthew at the end of the previous series, and Strike having someone in his life?

Holliday I think seeing Strike with a beautiful, interestin­g,

charming and funny girlfriend cuts Robin a little bit – and it draws into focus that her own marriage isn’t where it should be. Tom Strike and Robin are a little awkward with each other at times, and don’t understand what they’re doing or where they’re going. Holliday We’re all rooting for Robin and Strike, aren’t we? I want a happy-ever-after! But I reckon it will be quite a slow process…

 ??  ?? MP free: A member of parliament is the victim of
a blackmail campaign
Cuff times: Strike and Robin have a lot on their plate as an arrest is made
MP free: A member of parliament is the victim of a blackmail campaign Cuff times: Strike and Robin have a lot on their plate as an arrest is made
 ??  ?? Married miss: While Strike is loved-up, Robin fears for her relationsh­ip
Married miss: While Strike is loved-up, Robin fears for her relationsh­ip
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