Anna Maxwell Martin and Rachael Stirling play sisters in a new four-part thriller for ITV, Hollington Drive, from acclaimed screenwriter Sophie Petzal.
Theresa, (Anna Maxwell Martin, Motherland) and her older headteacher sibling, Helen (Rachael Stirling, Wild Bill) are close and their partners Fraser, (Rhashan Stone, Finding Alice) and Helen’s partner, David (Peter McDonald, Dublin Murders) and children enjoy spending time together. We open on a warm, balmy evening, barbecue sizzling on the patio, the perfect family setting.
The atmosphere is chilled, as they lounge in Theresa and Fraser’s perfectly manicured garden. Apart from Fraser’s brother Eddie (Ken Nwosu, Sticks and Stones) winding everyone up, there’s hardly a hint of tension, but this is the calm before the storm. When Theresa’s ten-year-old son, Ben (Fraser Holmes) asks to play in the nearby park with his cousin Eva (Amelie Bea Smith, The Haunting of Bly Manor), the adults begin to niggle.
Fraser is relaxed and is fine for them to go, but this doesn’t help Theresa’s fears of foreboding and growing feelings of anxiety.