I’ve had some funny feedback on The Split. I was shouted at while at the checkout
MODERN RELATIONSHIPS AND DIVORCE ARE PILING ON THE DRAMA IN THE NEW SERIES OF THE SPLIT. MARION McMULLEN TALKS TO ITS STAR NICOLA WALKER
CHEATING spouses and affairs of the heart are at the heart of BBC1’s The Split.
Nicola Walker is back as top divorce lawyer Hannah Stern and is facing more relationship problems of her own.
Her rock-solid marriage was beginning to crack following the devastating revelation of Nathan’s (Stephen Mangan) affair in the last series and she cannot forgive her husband’s cheating.
Instead she is continuing her own relationship with family lawyer Christie (Barry Atsma) in secret.
Here, Nicola, 49, tells us what’s in store for her character.
Has working on The Split changed your own view of marriage and divorce?
IT’S changed my view of Hannah Stern’s marriage. I’m trying to keep it separate just for the sake of sanity!
It certainly changed the way I thought I understood where Hannah and Nathan’s marriage was.
Turns out I didn’t understand it at all. It’s like Hannah was an observer in her own life. She was outside of her own life looking in and in the second series, she gets inside.
She’s actually inside looking out for the first time.
Have I done that in my own life? No, not yet!
What has been the public feedback to The Split?
I’VE had some really brilliant and sometimes very funny feedback on The Split, which I know that Stephen has as well.
I’ve had people saying when I’m out shopping ‘I can’t believe Stephen Mangan did that to you! I really liked him, I can’t believe he did that!’ Like, people are really angry with him!
And then quite a lot of women saying ‘Ooh, that Christie, I can’t blame you!’
People seem very comfortable to be very vocal about the relationships in Hannah’s life and I’ve never had that before, it’s very funny! I’ve had ‘I’m team Christie!’ shouted at me at the checkout.
Hannah was a happily married mother-of-three in the first series and viewers felt her pain when she learned of her husband’s affair. How is she coping with the decision to have her own affair?
IT DOESN’T sit well with her! She’s not naturally duplicitous. She’s an equal opportunities writer is Abi Morgan!
That disappointment you feel for the men and the women it’s equally apportioned, that’s why she’s brilliant. Hannah prides herself on being a good person and I think that’s really interesting when life offers you something that means you question your basic concept of yourself.
She’d never do anything that might hurt her family, so she’s not coping very well at all!
How do you think viewers will react to the affair?
I HOPE they’ll find it as interesting to see a woman doing that as they do when we see a man doing that. We see it far more from the male perspective, so I hope it will be interesting to see it from the female perspective. Abi is always pushing little things that make you see it from another angle, so it is just more complicated than simply coming down on sides.
What has it been like literally stepping back into Hannah’s shoes?
THE clothes are important in that they are part of the job. It’s important for her to dress in a way that is equivalent to her status, but they have a purpose.
What is it about Abi Morgan’s writing that keeps everyone hooked?
PSYCHOLOGICALLY in the way she writes, she’s really, really clever and that makes great drama.
What Abi has created is this woman who, if you could imagine for example, seeing a profile of Hannah Stern in a legal magazine or something, her life would look brilliant.
She would look totally in control, hugely successful, edging on perfection to someone leafing through a magazine.
And then Abi just peels that back.
Were you surprised at Hannah’s story in this series?
I WAS. Abi is the sort of writer that has already imagined these women’s lives.
From my first meeting, she talked to me about where this family’s story goes emotionally. I knew a tiny bit of what she was looking to explore, but I didn’t know the details.
Not many people are brave enough to blow up their whole life and, of course, Hannah’s trying to do the impossible, which is more interesting.
She is just trying to get away with it and justifying it to herself and trying to buy herself time to make a decision. I think that is so real!
A really common way that we try to deal with the emotional problems in our lives is just trying to buy a bit of time, hoping somehow the answer to what she should do is going to either be forced, or it’s going to come to her.
How does Hannah’s professional life fare as her personal life goes into meltdown?
TO be honest, I think she seems to cope with that very well. She’s very, very good at her job so work, she can handle.
It becomes interesting with one of the cases, especially as she completely loses patience with a couple about the adoption of a child, and it’s the first time you really see a little bit of the personal life coming into that office situation.
Her patience runs out because of where she is personally at the moment.
Do you have a favourite scene?
THERE isn’t a wasted scene in Abi’s work, they’re all corkers, but I did love this scene where Nathan and I have a row and in the edit you don’t hear what we’re saying.
You see sort of flashbacks and you get the impression it is the monumental row.
It’s the row of your nightmare, where you and your partner are not only raging, weeping, screaming, you’re being really truthful. It felt like you were a fly on the wall of your best friends’ kitchen when they are fighting.
■ The Split continues on BBC1 on Tuesdays at 9pm.