Marcella
ANNA FRIEL returns as the troubled cop
CRIME DRAMA ITV HD, 9pm/
ITV+1, 10pm Anna Friel’s troubled detective returns to investigate the death of a schoolboy whose body is found several years after he was abducted.
FROM OLIVIA COLMAN in Broadchurch to Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley, there’s been no shortage of memorable female investigators on our screens in recent years, yet the darkest performance of all must be Anna Friel’s as DS Marcella Backland.
The first series of the crime thriller saw the London detective on the trail of a serial killer, while questioning her own sanity following a string of violent memory blackouts – or ‘fugues’. Now Marcella is back with a new case that promises to be even more chilling.
SHADY CHARACTERS
In this week’s opening episode, the body of a nine-year-old boy, who has been missing for four years, is found in a wall. The grisly murder is just the start of an investigation that soon widens to include shady characters and tangled plotlines.
‘It’s a few months after the events of the first series and Marcella seems okay, considering her husband, Jason [Nicholas Pinnock], has run off with a woman half her age and her kids aren’t living with her!’ explains Friel, with a wry grin.
‘She hasn’t had any fugues for five months, but she suffers one in this week’s opening episode, which has serious consequences and completely throws her as she thought she was over them.
‘We find out a bit more about their origins in this series, which is interesting. You do have to put yourself into a dark space to play Marcella.’
The victim was a friend of Marcella’s son, Edward, which makes the case very raw for her. Meanwhile, the flat where the body is discovered belongs to an old rock star, Reg Reynolds (Nigel Planer), who’s in poor health and protests his innocence, but Marcella’s not so sure.
NO JACKET REQUIRED
The former Brookside and Pushing Daisies star says she was delighted to return to the role, even though Marcella’s trademark furry parka is missing.
‘This series is set during the summer, so it would have been ridiculous if she’d been wearing her big jacket – but maybe we’ll be seeing her faithful old parka before the end of the series,’ she laughs.
After working all over the world, the 41-year-old says it’s also a nice change that Marcella is filmed in London, close to her home in Windsor.
‘The drive from Windsor into
London can be hell at times, but it gives me time to learn my lines, and I love getting home in the evenings,’ she says.‘my daughter and
I have a dog share with another family – one week on, one week off – and I love taking the dog for walks.
‘I kept trying to get her in the show, but the producers said they didn’t think
Marcella would have a dog!’
‘You do have to put yourself into a dark space to play marcella’ ANNA FRIEL