Ruth Wilson on playing her grandmother
on playing her dad’s mother in a new drama about espionage, bigamy and betrayal…
Given she made her name as serial killer Alice Morgan in Luther and adulterous Alison Bailey in The Affair, Ruth Wilson knows a fair bit about secrets and lies. But she was stunned when she learned about the real-life skeletons in her own family’s closet…
In 1963, when Ruth’s grandfather Alec, a one-time author of spy novels, passed away, his wife Alison was devastated to learn that he was also married to another woman, Gladys.
This week, 55 years later, Ruth is bringing her grandmother’s story to the small screen as she plays Alison in new BBC1 drama Mrs Wilson.
The plot follows Alison as she uncovers more startling revelations about Alec’s personal life. The threeparter also stars Iain Glen (Game of Thrones) as Alec and Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard) as Dorothy, another woman from Alec’s past.
TV Times chatted to Ruth, 36, on set in West London during a break in filming to find out more about this very personal project…
Why did you want to turn your grandparents’ story into a drama? I was amazed that this story existed in our very ordinary family. My granny wrote a memoir and let us read the first part about 20 years ago. That covered her falling in love with Alec and finding out about his betrayal. It’s beautifully written. When I told people about it they’d say, ‘Wow, you should make that into a drama,’ and my family wanted me to do it, too. So seeing the clapperboard on set with ‘Mrs Wilson’ written on it and thinking, ‘We’re making this now,’ is amazing.
Is it strange playing your own grandmother in this drama?
I had to get the big Queen-like hair right – she had the same hairstyle from the 1960s until the 2000s!
It’s the toughest role I’ve done and giving birth to my own dad was weird! Sometimes I wish someone else had played her – probably Claire Foy – so they’d have distance from it. But it has been an extraordinary experience. I felt like she passed through me. What reaction does Alison have to her discovery of Alec’s bigamy?
It’s horrific. She’s broken because everything she thinks about her life is a lie. But she was always on shifting sands about whether what Alec was saying was true. So when she found out he was married to someone else, everything she’d doubted came to the fore.
We also see Alison delve into Alec’s work as a British spy – were you intrigued by that?
Yes, what his role was in the secret service is still up for grabs because, even after 70 years, the files are case-sensitive and can’t be released. So we don’t know what he got up to and if these marriages were for work or for love. He remains a man of mystery; we still don’t know the truth. I wouldn’t be surprised if more relatives appear after the show!
How do you feel about your grandfather now?
I never knew him so it’s hard to judge. Before filming, I found him fascinating and thought, ‘Great, our family isn’t boring!’ Now I’ve been inside my granny’s skin I think, ‘How could you do that?’ But nothing’s black and white. He was complicated. His children have amazing memories of him; he was an incredible dad. Certainly my acting comes from him because he set up acting troupes. I’d just love to have dinner with him and ask,
‘What were you up to?!’
What reaction has your family had to the drama?
It’s scary exposing the family but I sent them the scripts and they’ve been supportive and trusted me and were moved when they saw it. It’s incredible how rationally everyone has dealt with what has happened.
Through all this betrayal, hurt, lies and secrets, it has become an amazing unification. A lot of them felt they’d never had a proper family and now they’ve even got the Wilson family tartan!
How do you think your granny would have felt about the drama? We were close, but Granny wasn’t a warm, cuddly woman; she was reserved and not emotionally open and now I understand why. A lot had gone wrong in her life but she had this huge burning story inside her, so I hope she’d be proud and happy. She wanted it to be told.
A very personal role for Ruth Wilson in a riveting three-parter
Drama / 9pm / BBC1
Ruth Wilson is no stranger to an emotional role, but portraying the marital turmoil of her own grandmother takes some beating. The luther star puts in a powerhouse performance as Alison who, in the 1960s, is left reeling when she discovers that her recently deceased husband Alec had still been married to another woman. As Alison tries to find out whether her whole life has been a lie, she looks back over her early days with the charming Alec. As the twists and shocking revelations keep on coming, you’ll have to remind yourself that this really happened. Look out for glimpes of Keeley Hawes as another mysterious figure in Alec’s life…