EQUALITY STREET
ELIZABETH BANKS joins the fight for women’s rights in Mrs America
SO FAR, IT’S been possible to view the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in BBC2’S 1970s drama Mrs America along well-defined lines – with liberals in favour, and conservatives opposing.
However, the story is not that clear-cut, and in the second episode of this week’s double bill, the focus shifts to Jill Ruckelshaus, played by Pitch Perfect star Elizabeth Banks.
Ruckelshaus is a Republican who supports the legislation designed to give women equality.
DETERMINED
‘I didn’t know anything about her,’ says Banks of her real-life character. ‘So it was fascinating to learn about the movement through her eyes. She was a very prominent Republican, and very much a feminist who believed in women’s equality. She fought for the Equal Rights Amendment alongside a lot of Democratic women.’
As the campaign to stop the ERA continues to win support from
HIT AUSTRALIAN THRILLER The Secrets
She Keeps goes out with a bang (literally) as the series concludes with two heart-stopping episodes.
Last week saw hospital kidnapper Agatha Fyfle (Laura Carmichael) push her ex-husband Nicky under a train after he became suspicious that baby Rory wasn’t hers.
Now things unravel further for troubled Agatha as her boyfriend Hayden (Michael Sheasby) figures out the truth, and little Rory becomes ill with meningitis, forcing Agatha to blow her cover by taking him to the GP, who promptly calls the cops.
‘With Agatha I think there are points where you sympathise with her and you want her to be happy,’ says Downton Abbey star Carmichael. ‘There are moments where it feels like it could all go her way and it leads you to will her to win. Obviously what Agatha has done is very selfish, but her story is so sad and I think you understand her trauma and what has led her to doing what she has.’
However, with Agatha now on the run and the police closing in, Meghan Shaughnessy (Jessica De Gouw) remains utterly shattered by the loss of her newborn baby, Ben, who Agatha has renamed Rory.
The pressure continues to mount on her as her ex-lover Simon (Ryan Corr) refuses to back off, while her husband Jack’s affair with estate agent Rhea is exposed in the press.
‘Meghan’s drowning – there’s so much pressure from every direction,’ says De Gouw, 32. ‘She’s made mistakes but she ultimately loves her children and will go to any lengths for her family. She’s this fierce warrior mama bear who’ll do anything to keep her children safe.’ Carmichael and De Gouw won’t reveal the explosive ending, but confirm there are yet more exposed secrets that result in a showdown between Meghan and an increasingly unhinged Agatha.
‘From the outset there’s been this undercurrent of unease,’ says De Gouw. ‘All these characters are going through something very intense and then that escalates really quickly.
‘It was great because Laura and I have been friends for years and we got to do great stuff together. There’s a tense energy, but it was exhausting as there was a lot of crying.’
LOOSE ENDS
‘I think Agatha’s kind of convinced herself that Meghan has two other children and a great husband and that she’ll be fine without her baby,’ adds Carmichael, 34. ‘She’s quite extreme and can turn and manipulate people in an instant and that was really fun to play.’
However, not everything is neatly tied up and some dark secrets look set to remain hidden. So is it possible that there could be a second season in the offing?
‘It depends on whether the audience wants to see these characters again and where they might go next,’ says De Gouw. ‘But I’d happily do it again in a heartbeat.’