Theirs is a suburbia of neighbourly surveillance and ever- watchful eyes, paired with the secrets that slowly unravel each character and the existences they have built around themselves. “It’s a series that has many, many twists and turns,” says Tomlinson.“It’s very layered.There’s so much going on with each individual character and you see that fall apart and then rebuild itself in this slightly warped shape. And it suddenly becomes quite dangerous at one point.” “You can definitely see the wheels coming off,” she continues, “and there being a kind of unravelling and then once this line is crossed, how far do you go? And how much of your environment around you causes pressure? And how are you influenced by that?” Heughan describes the smothering suburban setting as its own character: “This sort of stylised suburbia that on the surface looks like an episode of The Jetsons, everything’s perfect, but actually underneath everyone’s watching each other and there’s a lot of underlying issues.” “It explores the claustrophobia of suburbia,” addsTomlinson, “and like Sam was saying, it’s almost its own character within the piece. That first shot – we see everyone leaving at the same time and all the cars reversing – I think everyone has that fear of the humdrum of existence, life becoming that day-to-day routine.” That sense of stagnation and ennui is part of the catalyst for Evie in searching beyond the boundaries of her seemingly perfect life. Ostensibly, she’s completed most of life’s checklist – long-term, supportive relationship, fulfilling job as a primary school teacher, comfortable house. But she finds herself yearning for more. And as she searches, her gaze lands on Danny next door, putting out the dustbins in the
rain, all handsome and drizzled.
“Evie is in a long-term relationship with Pete and we realise quite quickly that they’ve been together since they were at university and he was her first proper relationship,” explains Tomlinson. “And they’ve just kind of settled into life, and it no longer particularly excites either of them.” “She’s seemingly perfect. And then when life takes a turn and doesn’t go the way that she wanted it or expected it to, she begins to spiral and goes a bit mad with it, chasing this dream but also desperate to break away from the confines that she feels have been imposed on her. The good thing about setting her up as this wholesome teacher is that you give her so much space to then unravel in front of your eyes.” But this is not a simple affair with the woman/man next door story. It is complex. Danny appears to be a steady, strapping man. But he harbours his own secrets. And his relationship with his wife, Becka, the warm, sensual yoga instructor, is not quite what it seems either. “On the surface, Dan is a stand up guy. We have a lot of preconceptions about him. He’s this sort of alpha male traffic cop. But quite quickly you find out that he’s got a lot of secrets as well and his relationship at home is also an interesting one. “And the more he gets embedded into situations with the other couple, but also in the nefarious operations going on, he is really struggling to keep his head above water. Those grey areas he really struggles with. His morality is constantly questioned.”
The Couple Next Door came to Channel 4 at the end of November.
Photo: Eleanor Tomlinson as Evie
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