NOT WAVING BUT DROWNING
MEETS THE STARS OF THE BAY, LANCASHIRE’S ANSWER TO SCANDI-NOIR
TO A haunting soundtrack, the camera sweeps dramatically across Morecambe Bay. Meanwhile, a young boy stares wistfully into the distance, blissfully unaware of the trauma he’s about to encounter.
If his first lines were in Danish with English subtitles, it would hardly be a surprise. The Bay is back and, led again by Morven Christie, revisiting her role as family liaison officer DS Lisa Armstrong, it has all the multifaceted hallmarks of The Bridge or The Killing, an intoxicating mix of atmospheric Lancashire location, brutal crime drama and imperfect characters.
To restart the momentum after Covid delays (more than seven million people watched the first series in March 2019) there’s a Spooks-style shock murder of a big character within the first five minutes of series two.
But what else can we expect? Joe Absolom, who joins the cast as Andy Warren, the father of Lisa’s children, explains.
At the end of tonight’s opening episode, you turn up as the father of DS Lisa’s kids, suddenly back after ten years’ absence – you’re the cuckoo in the nest!
My first scene is watching our daughter leaving her school from my van. It’s pretty dark!
You must be pleased to have been dropped into such a well-regarded show in such a lovely spot.
Morecambe is stunning, isn’t it? We were filming when the tide changed the view from amazing into something really eerie and that’s a good metaphor for The Bay. The first series was so intriguing and Morven just carried scenes with the smallest of gestures, which gave the show a real honesty.
Playing an EastEnder and a Jack the Lad in Doc Martin doesn’t make you the most obvious choice for Andy, a shifty Morecambe roofer with a hidden agenda…
To get the accent I watched loads of interviews with [greatest living Isle of Man TT motorbike champion] John McGuinness, the Morecambe Missile! Actually, I think I got the part because I had to do the audition two days after my wedding. I was knackered and hungover and I probably looked like I was going to be trouble. Perfect for Andy!
What do you say to those who lazily characterise The Bay as a ‘Northern Broadchurch’?
It feels like one of those scripts when you turn the page or you get to the next episode and you don’t know what is going to happen or if you’re going to make it. So it’s a bit like Game Of Thrones… in Morecambe!
The Bay is on ITV tonight at 9pm. Catch up on ITV Hub