Photo:Alfred Enoch as Pete, Eleanor Tomlinson as Evie, Jessica De Gouw as Becka and Sam Heughan as Danny
“What we have is a very addictive, sexy, enticing show,” says 31-year-old Tomlinson. “It draws you in and leaves you wanting more.The opening sequence for a start begins with a gunshot and running through woods in incredible distress. And then the next shot is this peaceful, calm suburbia. How on earth does it end up there? “The four of us together has worked really well. I’m very proud of that dynamic in the show and I think it’s really paid off. It is very different to other stuff that’s out there. Even in terms of the more intimate scenes, they’re shot in a way that’s interesting and hasn’t necessarily been seen or isn’t what you would expect it to be.”
The Couple Next Door: ‘A very addictive, sexy, enticing show’ By Jessica Rawnsley, PA Evie is racing through the forest in a white nightdress,her red hair tangled, brambles ripping at her hem, frantically glancing over her shoulder every so often at an unknown pursuer. Lurching snapshots depict Danny and Becka cowering on the ground. Pete bursting on to the scene. A struggle for a gun. Shots ring out. Cut to the most suburban of streets. Manicured lawns? Check. Rows of identical houses? Check. Glossy ponytails and cheerful children playing in the street? Check. Check. Channel 4’s dark psychological drama, The Couple Next Door, follows the arrival of new couple Evie and Pete on the block, setting in motion a chain of events that soon escalate and leave no party unscathed.The narrative centres on the increasingly tangled relationship between the couple and their next door neighbours, Danny and Becka. The quartet sees Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson as Evie and Harry Potter’s Alfred Enoch as Pete, her partner. Outlander’s Sam Heughan plays Danny and The Secrets She Keeps’ Jessica De Gouw is his wife, Becka.
“The situation quite quickly deteriorates from this perfect- looking suburbia. It all implodes,” continues Heughan.
Heughan, 43, predicts many “water-cooler moments” as the series progresses. “The audience is probably going to take sides with each character,” he says. “And I think there’ll be many arguments about who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong. And allegiances will change throughout the show as well because I think each character is flawed, and each character is partly to blame for the circumstances that arise.” How cryptic. As with other psychological dramas set in suburbia – Desperate Housewives and The Stepford Wives are classic examples – beneath the veneer of polished wives and manicured lawns lurk things of a darker nature.
82 | mccarthyholden.co.uk
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