That feeling of constant menace is something we can all understand now

Actress Lindsey Campbell has spoken of how playing a stalking victim echoed some of the fear and uncertainty of life under Covid.

Her character in River City, Poppy Patterson, has been involved in a long-running stalking storyline, which takes a major turn this week when the identity of her stalker is revealed.

She said: “It’s lasted a long time and I feel really lucky to be able to grapple with an issue that is complicated and can have different effects on different people.

“I’ve found it interesting, the way the writers have shown how it has indirectly affected every part of Poppy’s life – her work, her friendships, her relationships.

“We’ll see as the story goes on how it’s shaken her. She’s driven by logic, morality, justice and clarity, and it knocks her off her path of who she thinks she is and who she believes in. “Some of the places the story goes are really creepy and dark. I looked into the psychological effects, how people sometimes find it hard to acknowledge themselves as a victim of abuse. It can skew their judgment of who to turn to or who they can rely on, because there is this constant threat, this low-level anxiety that is always there, which I felt was similar in a way to what we’re all going through with coronavirus.

“We’re all on tenterhooks, never sure what’s coming tomorrow, next week or next month. Tuning into that sort of vibe we’re all dealing with and struggling with just now was also helpful.” Lindsey points to recent high-profile social media stalking cases that affected TV presenters Emily Maitlis and Storm Huntley. “With social media, someone can just pop up on your phone and you don’t know who they are or where they’ve come from, and it raises a wider discussion of how much of ourselves we

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Actress Lindsey Campbell

want to put online, whether you’re on television or not.” As well as coping with social distancing measures when filming resumed after lockdown, Lindsey also had to hide her baby bump from viewers. The actress has been pregnant since spring and by the time the cast of the soap could return to work, Lindsey was showing.

“It’s been a lovely journey to embark upon, even if it is during this strange time,” said Lindsey. “It meant for the first couple of months I could just be lying on the sofa. It’s been a little bit of

Lindsey with actor husband Dyfan Dwyfor

personal joy, to share with family and friends.

“At work, we have a fantastic costume designer, Fiona, who along with all the rest of the situations she had to abide by, had to take into consideration this ever-growing bump.

“But she did fantastically well and got me lots of nice maternity jeans and trousers, which meant I was very comfortable and warm. You might see Poppy wearing a few big jackets and coats over the next wee while! I’m on maternity leave now, but we had to film some scenes just before I went off that involved quite a lot of physicality. I had to apologise and take an extra minute, because I have this bowling ball here where I would usually be able to bend, and now I can’t.” Lindsey, who is married to Welsh actor Dyfan Dwyfor, joined River City nearly three years ago after spending time in London. “I was looking to move back home and River City was a fantastic reason to do that – it’s been a great part of my life,” she said. “The situations in a continuing drama are quite often high stakes, they have been for me, and that’s a great task to be given and to throw myself into. And I feel very fortunate to have been in work during this year.”

Lindsey’s last episodes before her break will be shown in March, by which point she will have had her baby, which is due early in the New Year. In the meantime, she is looking forward to hopefully being able to celebrate Christmas with family.

“I’m a real family person at Christmas, but last year we were on our honeymoon to Costa Rica and, although it was fantastic, it was my first time being away from my family for Christmas and it just didn’t feel right,” she added. “So I hope this Christmas we are able to be together and see each other.”

River City, BBC Scotland, tomorrow, 10pm, and BBC1 Scotland, Tuesday, 8pm