Eyes wide open!
Vicky Mcclure plays a lawyer struck down by insomnia in an unsettling drama…
Insomnia
Available: Thu 23 May Genre: Drama Season: 1 Eps: 6 (first two episodes from Thu 23 May, then weekly)
Vicky Mcclure is having a break from cutting bomb wires in Trigger Point and arresting wrong’uns in Line of Duty to take on a very different role in chilling drama Insomnia.
She plays Emma, a successful lawyer and happily married mum-of-two. She seems to have it all, but as her 40th birthday approaches, Emma suddenly struggles to get a good night’s sleep. It’s a horrible reminder of what happened to her mum, Patricia (Corinna Marlowe), who became an insomniac when Emma was a child before struggling with severe mental illness.
As her sister, Phoebe (Leanne Best), comes back into her orbit, difficult memories are dredged up, and Emma starts to feel like her perfect life is unravelling.
‘Before Phoebe turned up, Emma was in a good place. Then it falls apart,’ explains Vicky. ‘There’s a massive underbelly of trauma from the past that tore Emma and Phoebe apart as kids, so when Emma stops sleeping, it’s very disconcerting for her.’
Freaky edge
Emma’s supportive husband, Robert (Tom Cullen), puts her struggles down to her angst about the big 4-0, but Emma fears there’s something more sinister going on.
‘It all reminds her of the past with her mother,’ says Vicky. ‘But some of what happens is quite supernatural, too – the story has a freaky edge, but still feels rooted in real life. I know people always talk about dramas having twists and turns, but my goodness, a lot goes on – I love it!’