We Hunt Together
Eve Myles on playing against type in a cat-and-mouse thriller
WE HUNT TOGETHER
NEW WED & THU / ALIBI / 10PM / EPS 1-2 of 6 / DRAMA
Eve Myles won an army of new fans with her portrayal of solicitor and mum Faith Howells in word-of-mouth hit Keeping Faith. But when TV Times met the always-lovely actor last October at a former pub in east London where she was busy filming Alibi’s new cat-and-mouse thriller We Hunt Together, it was clear her character, damaged cop DS Lola Franks, is a million miles away from Faith.
‘I have to challenge myself,’ says Eve, 41. ‘This is a completely different character to get my head around. It goes against my natural instincts. But that’s why we do it.’
The six-part series, which features former Eastender Nigel Harman and Kris Marshall (Death in Paradise, Sanditon) among its guest stars, sees prickly Lola battling her own demons as she and her new work partner, breezy DI Jackson Mendy (Dark Money’s Babou Ceesay) pursue a pair of disturbed murderers – manipulative Freddy Lane (The Halcyon’s Hermione Corfield) and former child solider Baba Lenga (Baghdad Central’s Dipo Ola).
Here, Eve tells us more…
How does Lola compare to Faith? Faith is warm, nurturing and funny – your everyday kind of woman. I relate to her easily. But Lola is the antithesis. She’s odd, socially inept and a lone wolf who’s very sad. Her life is her work and something happened on duty that changed her, so she’s in a dark place and she has a huge secret… It’s bizarre though, because I’ve got dark hair for playing Lola [Faith is blonde], so nobody recognises me now, which is divine. My kids [daughters Matilda, 10, and six-year-old Siena, with husband and Keeping Faith co-star Bradley Freegard] say, ‘Mum, keep your hair like that!’
Tell us about Lola’s relationship with Jackson…
Well, I’m in love with Jackson – I think he’s wonderful! But it takes some time for Lola to get there! She’s practical and she’s seen everything. But Jackson’s a ray of sunshine. He drives her potty, but he kills her with kindness and sticks by her. They work brilliantly together and they fix each other in a strange way.
Does this drama feel different because we follow the killers as much as the cops? I hope it’s got the same effect as something like [hit US crime drama] Breaking Bad, where you’re rooting for Freddy and Baba because you’re attached to them and yet they do the most heinous of crimes.
Have you whizzed through the scripts to see what happens next? At the audition, I said, ‘If I don’t get the part, send me the rest of the scripts – I won’t tell anybody, but I need to know what happens!’ But I have no idea how it ends yet. The only time I’ve had an experience like that is in Broadchurch.
I played my character [Claire Ripley] as Little Bo-peep but she ended up being Lady Macbeth!
Did you do much research ahead of playing a cop?
I’ve got two good friends who are detectives. We were on holiday together and, bless them, they didn’t get a holiday because I kept going, ‘Would this happen?’ I went through the psychological stuff of the job because it’s all-consuming. It’s about what these people see and what that does to you, because it’s stuff that nightmares are made of. Apparently, Lola’s particular predicament is very plausible.
We’re pleased a third and final series of Keeping Faith is on its way. You must be excited…
Well, even the second series was a joy and a bonus. So I’m very happy to dive back in! Also, different roles have come in since I’ve played Faith that I was never offered before, so it has opened more doors.