No home comforts in dark thriller
Line of Duty’s Martin Compston stars in gripping new drama Our House. TRICIA MARTIN finds out more
WE ALL know the term “having it all”. But in this week’s edge-of-yourseat thriller on ITV, a mum watches her perfect life disappear before her eyes.
Fi (Tuppence Middleton) is a beautiful woman with a charismatic husband Bram (Martin Compston), two lovely children, a great job and a fabulous London house. Then one day she comes home to find removal men carrying furniture through the door.
There’s a new couple inside with proof they’ve bought the house, while Bram and the children have completely disappeared.
But Fi’s search for answers is only half the story, as the drama also shows in flashbacks how events have wrecked Fi and Bram’s marriage.
Line Of Duty star
Martin says he was thrilled to land his role, saying: “Bram is a joy to play. He has so many contradictions.”
But the star admits filming the drama, based on a bestseller by Louise Candlish, wasn’t fun from start to finish, and he had to work hard not to carry Bram’s troubles into his personal life.
“There are some huge, heavy emotional scenes. You have to be careful that life doesn’t imitate art.
“But I did still take it home with me a bit. When you’re crying all day, it can seep into you.
“You need people to pull you out of it. That’s why it’s important to have a strong family around you.”
Tuppence, whose TV credits include Dickensian and Downton Abbey, was delighted by the casting of her on-screen husband.
“I love Martin,” she says. “I’ve always been a huge fan of his work.
“Bram can seem very unlikable, and the genius thing about casting Martin is that he is so relatable and so lovable. He manages to inject a sympathetic side into Bram.
“He’s brilliant, and that means you have to bring your level up to his.”
As she eventually attempts to move on with her life, Fi meets the enigmatic and handsome Toby (Rupert Penry-Jones).
But is there more to Toby than meets the eye?
Meanwhile, Fi’s friend and neighbour Merle (Weruche Opia) tries to support Fi, but can Fi really trust her given their history?
“Good friends don’t always do the best things,” says Weruche, best known for I May Destroy You.
“We are all human, and we don’t always make the right decisions.
“But it’s about how we come back from our mistakes and what your intentions are. It’s about how we move on from the fallout and find redemption.”
As a huge fan of thrillers, Rupert was immediately drawn in by the style of the series.
“They work so well on TV because people really relate to them,” says the Spooks actor.
“They want to see themselves represented on screen. In these dramas, you can put ordinary people into extraordinary situations. That’s the beauty of a thriller, and it’s why Our House works so brilliantly.”
Our House starts tomorrow on ITV at 9pm and is on consecutive