My double life!
Stephen Mangan plays a man torn between two partners…
Bliss
Wednesday, 10.00pm Sky One Comedy drama
On the surface, travel writer Andrew Marsden seems like any ordinary husband and father going away on a business trip. In fact, Andrew is living between two families – and he’s desperate to keep his double life a secret in Sky One’s comedy drama Bliss.
As the six-parter begins this week, Andrew has told wife Kim (Austin Powers star Heather Graham) and daughter Christina he’s attending the ‘world’s third-oldest chorizo festival’ in Bilbao, Spain. But he has no intention of getting on a plane.
He’s travelling to the other side of Bristol to spend some time with his other family: partner Denise
(This is England’s Jo Hartley) and son Kris.
As Andrew darts from one family to the other, he goes to extreme lengths to ensure that Kim never finds out about Denise – and vice versa.
Avoidance
‘Andrew’s putting off the day of reckoning,’ says Episodes actor Stephen Mangan, who plays him. ‘It’s like that pile of letters you need to open or paying your tax bill – you know one day you’re going to have to deal with it.’
Researching for the role, Stephen was surprised to learn that Andrew’s story is not that unusual…
‘I discovered it’s more common than you’d imagine,’ he reveals. ‘Almost everyone I spoke to knew of someone or had a close friend who had a secret family elsewhere. It’s such a stressful existence, though. I’ve got a family and it’s nearly killing me just having one!’