Killing Eve
Villanelle meets her estranged family when she returns home to Russia...
SUNDAY 17 May, 9.15pm BBC1 Drama Villanelle has arrived in Russia, where she’s truly stunned after coming face to face with her mother Tatiana, who she’d always believed was dead. It’s then revealed what really happened when Villanelle was a child and the story of her familyÉ
Little is known about how Villanelle became the ruthless assassin she is today. But, this week, details of her troubled childhood emerge. Villanelle has arrived in Russia to reunite with the family she’d always believed were dead.
‘Here we delve into Villanelle’s past and explore the loneliness she feels and what family actually means to her; up to now, Konstantin has been the closest thing she has to family,’ says Jodie Comer, who plays her. ‘This episode has a very different flavour to it; it’s a big one for Villanelle and quite magical.’
Placed in an orphanage as a child, Villanelle – real name
Oksana Astankova – is stunned when she finally comes face to face with her mother, Tatiana (Evgenia Dodina). Villanelle had presumed that all her family were dead after Tatiana failed to pick her up from the orphanage. However, Tatiana reveals she’d been told ‘Oksana’ had died in a fire at the orphanage… after she’d burnt it down!
Villanelle feels a sense of belonging as she reconnects with her mum and the rest of her Sir Elton John-obsessed clan. But will she outstay her welcome?
‘We certainly get a glimpse into a life Villanelle could possibly have led,’ adds Jodie. ‘There are definitely things that have shaped her – but it’s clear she’s like she is because she was born that way.’
Jodie enjoyed going back to Villanelle’s Russian roots in this episode. ‘It’s always been important for me to find new layers and new depths to Villanelle; I don’t want her to become predictable and a cliché,’ she admits. ‘We have to find new ways of moving both her and the story forward, and I definitely think we’ve done that this series.’
Episode 6 of Killing Eve will be available on iPlayer on Monday 18 May