Family lies put a strain on relationships

As a former EastEnders actor, Matt Di Angelo should know that families can be complicated - his Walford character Dean Wicks found out that not only had his mum Shirley lied to him about his paternity, but that his Uncle Mick was actually his big brother.

However, his character in OrdinaryLies( Tuesday, BBC1, 9pm) , warehouse picker Fletch, is going to have to learn that the hard way this week as his wife and childhood sweetheart Caz (Elen Rhys) accidentally opens up a very big can of worms.

As Matt explains, when the episode opens, the couple seem content, even if their life lacks excitement: “Fletch is an ordinary guy who has a very normal job in a warehouse - there’s a monotonous routine to his life... He got married very young and sticking to his routine of life has brought him into a rut.”

The situation changes when his mum is taken critically ill and ends up in hospital. In a moment of desperation, Caz decides to contact Fletch’s estranged dad Patrick ( Griff Rhys Jones). She’s expecting an emotional father-son reunion, but it turns out that her mother-in-law hasn’t been entirely honest about the nature of her relationship with Patrick.

Matt can understand why Fletch’s mother misled him: “I think she did do the right thing in retrospect be- cause he was conceived during a one-off quickie. I think she was just trying to protect him from the brutal reality of that. Unfortunately, this backfires in Fletch’s story when he finds out the truth .”

Meanwhile, Patrick, who has another family of his own, is also unprepared to be reunited with his son. As both men start to see their lives unravel, Fletch feels resentful towards Caz for putting him such a difficult position, and begins to ques- tion the foundations of their relationship.

Matt says: “I think it’s the realisation that he doesn’t really know who he is and he’s rushed into marriage from a young age. His wife Caz is the one person he felt he could trust and something happens which makes him question that when she goes behind his back and gets involved with something she shouldn’t.”

But while the family reunion may be awkward for Fletch, at least Matt enjoyed acting alongside his on-screen dad, Griff Rhys Jones - and it seems the feeling was mutual.

Griff says: “There is an enormous scene with Matt and I which took a long time to do; we did it over a week to stretch it out. Everybody was great and I made good friends .”

Away from the drama involving Fletch and Patrick, Ally (Jennifer Nicholas) and Kim (Rachel Isaac) are at the hospital to reassure Ash (Luke Bailey) that he’s in the right place to get the treatment he needs. However, that’s not enough to stop him taking his anger out on the people who care for him.