ON SET WITH...

Laura Fraser

Laura, 40, recently seen as military police officer Eve Stone in The Missing, plays DS Annie Redford in ITV’s new whodunnit The Loch. Here she takes us behind the scenes on the show, which was filmed primarily on location in the Scottish Highlands…

4 MONDAY

My character Annie and her colleagues in Lochanfoy on the shores of Loch Ness are on the trail of a serial killer who may strike again at any moment. Today we’re filming a crucial but tricky scene where we have to wade in to Loch Ness itself. Even though we’re filming in summer it’s still chilly in the water, despite the wetsuits we’ve been given, and it gets even colder as the day draws to a close. Thankfully there’s no sign of the monster lurking in the shallows, but who knows what lurks in the depths…

5 TUESDAY

We’re filming a scene today that requires Annie to be angry, but I don’t find it hard to summon up rage. I can get irritated by all sorts of things – for example, I’m annoyed that the cast has only just found out the killer’s identity. I prefer to know exactly what’s going on when I’m filming and not knowing makes me irritable. I’m from Glasgow, but today I also make the error of pronouncing the word ‘loch’ the English way, like ‘lock’, rather than the softer, Scottish ‘loch’. The Scottish director is horrified!

6 WEDNESDAY

DCI Lauren Quigley, played by Siobhan Finneran, has been brought in to oversee the investigation. We have a lot of scenes together, such as today’s [right], but we find it hard not to laugh at inappropriate moments. The footage will need skilful editing...

7 THURSDAY

Annie is troubled by the thought of her teenage daughter going off to Australia, but I don’t have that to worry about, at least not yet. My daughter Lila is only 11 years old and she’s proving very useful to me here. If I’m struggling with a scene I’ll ask her to perform it with me because she’s so instinctive. Today I have to get out of a car and handcuff a suspect, but I don’t know how to grab the suspect and I’m not sure whether I should shout or be contained. Lila plays it out in front of me brilliantly. Where would I be without her?

8 FRIDAY

Today we’re at studios in Kilmarnock where the interior of Lochanfoy police station has been created. I have to walk from the entrance to my desk, completing a scene we started in the Highlands where the exterior of the police station is located. Annie’s a perfectly competent police officer, even if this is her first murder inquiry and the most significant crime she’s had to deal with since a previous case of domestic abuse. I’d be a terrible detective, though. I always get it wrong when I watch a whodunnit on TV and I certainly didn’t guess who the killer was in The Loch.

The Loch, tomorrow, 9.30pm, ITV.