No such thing as the perfect family
Anna Maxwell Martin and Rachael Stirling play chalk-andcheese sisters in tense thriller
When it comes to families, things are never quite as they appear from the outside, as ITV’s new drama Hollington Drive shows.
The four-part thriller opens as the chaotic Theresa, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, and her older, more sensible headteacher sister Helen (Wild Bill star Rachael Stirling) are enjoying a barbecue in the garden with their partners and children.
A perfect summer evening for an idyllic family set-up. Or so it appears.
But when her 10-year-old son Ben asks if he and his cousin Eva can go to play in the park, Theresa’s intuition tells her that this won’t end well.
Predictably, Ben and Eva fail to return at the agreed time, leaving the panicking mum to search for them.
When she discovers the pair fighting at the entrance to a woodland area, she begins to suspect the worst. And soon, her darkest fears seem to have been realised when neighbour Jean (Jodie McNee) arrives to say her little boy,
Alex, also 10, has gone missing. What has happened to him – and could Ben or Eva be responsible?
As the two sisters attempt to navigate the unnavigable, tensions rise and the cracks start to appear in their close relationship.
“Something I really want to stress is that on paper this looks like another drama about a kiddie going missing, but it’s not that,” said Line Of Duty and Motherland actress Anna. “This series is really not about the missing child. That’s just a catalyst to make people turn in on themselves. “The centrifugal force of the drama is this hideously codependent relationship between Theresa and Helen. It’s very complex and you just can’t really work out what’s going on between them.” Discussing the sisters’ complicated dynamic, and what’s in store over the coming weeks, Rachael added: “Theresa isn’t
entirely confident in her own skin and very much depends upon Helen, who is organised and controlled.
“Theresa looks up to her, and then this appalling thing happens. A child goes missing and Theresa is absolutely convinced that her son has something to do with it. The show is about these two sisters coming together to protect their children and, in the end, it’s about the fact that there’s no length to which a mother won’t go to defend her child.”
Meanwhile, the sisters’ relationships with their other halves – Fraser, played by Rhashan Stone of Finding Alice fame, and David, Dublin Murders’ Peter McDonald – are also edging close to breaking point as the perfect family portrait they’ve all worked so hard to build begins to fall apart.
Jonas Armstrong plays Jean’s husband, Gareth, Tia May Watts is his daughter, Georgina, while Killing Eve’s Ken Nwosu is his brother, Eddie, who is increasingly unwelcome in the house.
Rachael said: “It’s twisty-turny telly – exactly the kind I like watching. You don’t see any of the twists coming. Dare you examine how far you’d go to protect your child if you thought they committed a crime? It’s a helter-skelter, speed-thriller ride from the off.”
It’s twistyturny telly. Dare you examine how far you’d go to protect your child if you thought they committed a crime? Rachael Stirling