- 2 days ago
Annabel Scholey and Angela Griffin joined HELLO! for an exclusive interview about their new series, The Serial Killer's Wife, on Paramount+
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00:00Well, hi, I'm Megan from Hello.
00:02Hello, hello.
00:04Congratulations on the series.
00:06It's very addictive.
00:07That's a good word. We like that word.
00:10So to start, when you guys get a script, like you do for this one,
00:13do you get to find out the big reveal?
00:16Like, did you know if Tom was innocent or not, or are the cast kind of kept in the dark?
00:20You do find out.
00:22I can't remember if I read all four first.
00:24Oh, did you not? Did you not know?
00:25Was it surprising?
00:27Oh!
00:28They kept you, but you weren't allowed because she's the detective.
00:31Because I'm the detective, so I didn't want to know straight away.
00:34No, I got all four, and we shot everything out of order.
00:41So you have to see everything because you're,
00:43which means that you have to know the whole thing inside out.
00:47It's quite good, but it also, it gets very confusing
00:49because you'll be doing a scene where somebody's perfect and happy
00:54and the marriage is going great, and then the next scene, it's the end of the marriage.
00:57And, you know, it's always very difficult to get that detail in the right order.
01:02But yes, we knew everything.
01:04Interesting.
01:05And when you were filming the show as well, you both have very intense,
01:09very emotional scenes as well.
01:11Did you ever find that there was a scene that you thought,
01:13this is actually quite difficult to film?
01:15Was there anything that felt quite, yeah, harrowing or struggling to film?
01:18My character's so emotionless.
01:21That was what was brilliant.
01:22No emotion.
01:23No emotion.
01:24No emotion.
01:25No emotion.
01:25Show nothing.
01:27I was the opposite.
01:28I had, there was one scene I do with Luke, Treadway,
01:32and it was, it was a night shoot.
01:35And it was, I've done a lot of, I do tend to get quite emotional parts.
01:39Don't know why.
01:40But I like to like harrowing parts.
01:43Yeah.
01:43And I like a good old sob and I can do it.
01:46I can, I can turn it on.
01:47But it was, it was really, the pitch, the level it had to be at for it to,
01:53we rehearsed a few times and I had a strop in my head.
01:56I was like, you're terrible.
01:57You can't, you can't act.
01:59And I realized, no, it's just, you need to go up about 10 gears
02:01and you're not letting yourself do that right now because you won't be able to keep it up.
02:05And we did do it quite a few times and I was wrecked by the end of it.
02:09But that, I think that was probably the hardest scene.
02:12Yeah.
02:13Yeah.
02:13Yeah.
02:14Crying, sobbing.
02:15It was just the heat.
02:17Yeah.
02:18Most hot.
02:18Mine was, was, was trying not to show any emotion and then trying not to show emotion
02:23whilst wearing a trousers, shirt, jacket, and an overcoat in 40 degrees.
02:29Oh my gosh.
02:30Yeah.
02:30It's a real challenge that I know that they kind of need to teach that at drama school,
02:34how to look cool whilst acting in heat.
02:37But your brain shuts down.
02:39It completely does.
02:40You forget your lines.
02:40Even if you're a person who never does, you just short circuit.
02:44And we had long scenes, six pages and just, it would just go because it was so hot.
02:49And I don't know about you guys, but when you watch the first few minutes of this show,
02:52I straight away thought, I think Tom has a lot of red flags here.
02:56Like from the moment I met him, I was like, this guy's shady.
03:00That's interesting.
03:00And so I want to know for you guys, what would be the major red flags for the person
03:05that you would make you think this guy could be a bit shady?
03:08Serial killer vibes.
03:09I think temper.
03:11Yeah.
03:11Is not good.
03:13Yeah.
03:13I think control as well.
03:14Control.
03:15Is that someone who's, who's.
03:16Just slightly.
03:17Yeah.
03:18Who decides, who wants to make all the decisions.
03:20Chooses your outfit.
03:21Yeah.
03:22I mean, that's a massive red flag.
03:23That would never happen.
03:24That's a huge red flag.
03:26That kind of.
03:27Yeah.
03:28Somebody also, I think vanity, too much vanity.
03:32Don't like, well, that's not why I don't like it, but.
03:34I don't know.
03:35Yeah.
03:35Self-obsessed narcissist.
03:36Yeah.
03:37That red flag.
03:37Huge.
03:38Yeah.
03:38Huge.
03:39Yeah.
03:39And on that note as well, what would you guys do if you found out that your partner
03:43was a serial killer?
03:44Would you go into investigation mode?
03:46Would you leave?
03:47What would you guys do?
03:49I would run.
03:50A mile.
03:53And go to the, and go to you.
03:55And come to me.
03:56Yeah.
03:56I'd come and solve it.
03:57I mean, you do kind of think, don't you, because there are so many killers and so
04:03on where they have got a partner at home and the partner knew nothing.
04:08It's part of the personality.
04:10You know, the fact that Beth is living in this house and knows nothing, it doesn't,
04:15it's not because she's stupid.
04:16It's not because of anything that, you know.
04:18She doesn't want to know.
04:19People who commit those kind of crimes are psychopaths.
04:24Yeah.
04:24Yeah.
04:25You know, narcissistic, all these different things.
04:27They, they, they hide in plain sight.
04:30And they manipulate.
04:31And they manipulate, yeah.
04:32So it's, who knows, we could be, for all we know, we could actually be living with
04:37a serial killer right now.
04:38A bit terrified.
04:39So could you.
04:40So could you all.
04:41We don't know.
04:42No, we don't know.
04:43No, we don't know.
04:43Wow.
04:43But I think it's interesting because I think Beth does see things, but she's so intoxicated
04:51by him and their life that she ignores it.
04:54And I think that must happen a lot.
04:55Yeah.
04:56She's got a lot to lose.
04:57It's amazing what love and lust can do.
04:59Absolutely.
05:00Particularly lust, I would say.
05:02Yeah.
05:02The chemicals.
05:03Yeah.
05:03And Annabelle, fans have also absolutely loved seeing you in the split.
05:07So I have to ask, is there any possibility of you revisiting that show at any point?
05:12Do you think that would be something we could expect?
05:14I, yes, maybe, but not, I don't know whether there'll be another series, but there is, there
05:22are talks about it.
05:24Very interesting.
05:25Yeah.
05:25Yeah.
05:25We, I mean, which is just amazing.
05:27Cause it's every time we do that job, it's like going on holiday with a family.
05:31Yeah.
05:32It's, it's one of those special groups of people.
05:35So yeah, I'd be nice.
05:36I love Nina.
05:37I love playing Nina and all her craziness.
05:40I love that show.
05:41I really love that show.
05:42Yeah.
05:43And so on this show as well, what did you guys think were sort of the most memorable
05:47moments from filming?
05:48Do you have any really, really nice fun memories?
05:50I really have fun memories.
05:52We shot, not that you would know from watching it, but we ended up, we ended up shooting
05:57about a third of it in Puglia.
06:00Oh wow.
06:00Yeah.
06:01That sounds nice.
06:02So I've got to say the day we found out that actually we're not just going to be shooting
06:07in the UK.
06:08We're going to be shooting in, in the, one of the most beautiful parts of Italy.
06:11That was a bonus day.
06:12And I've got to say, I've got lovely memories from, from other than the 40 degree heat,
06:16wearing the suits.
06:17Yeah.
06:17Yeah.
06:17That was not good.
06:18But there's lovely socials.
06:20We had some great food and wine in, we filmed in Bari.
06:23That was, it was really nice because actually we'd all been quite separate until then.
06:27And then we were all suddenly together at the end of the job.
06:30That was really lovely.
06:30It's, it's very funny watching.
06:32I watched it, episode one last night.
06:34I was like to my partner, that's Italy.
06:37No.
06:37Yep.
06:38I couldn't tell.
06:39That's Italy.
06:39Now you've said that first episode, I couldn't tell.
06:41Yeah.
06:41They've disguised it very well.
06:43Some of the essays have had to be blurred out though.
06:46Did you notice that?
06:47Because they look so Italian.
06:48Oh really?
06:49Yeah.
06:49I'm going to look for this now.
06:50We don't have to be watching.
06:51Let's look.
06:53Oh wow.
06:53And so for each of you, what drew you to your respective roles?
06:57What was it about the characters that you thought, I have to play this person?
07:00I think, I mean, there's so much going on for Beth.
07:04You know, there's a whole spectrum of things.
07:06Also, you know, she's, she's quite similar to me in some ways in that it's, you know,
07:12she's a mother and she's struggling with that and her identity, which obviously I'm,
07:17I've got a little girl and I always find anything that lets me explore that.
07:23And identity since becoming a parent is really interesting.
07:26I love how it really goes into this relationship and the dynamics within it.
07:32I think it's really well written and it's challenging.
07:36And Jack Farthing, who plays my husband in it, we're old friends from the theatre.
07:41He's just, he's such a great mate and he's such a good actor.
07:44And I knew that he was thinking about doing it and to do those scenes,
07:49because the scenes, I mean, it's only just getting started.
07:51Obviously in episode one, we have some great scenes, physical, emotional.
07:56It's kind of the parts kind of got everything that you would want in a, in a part.
08:00Yeah.
08:01So I couldn't, I could not do it.
08:02Yeah, definitely.
08:03Um, and for me, it was to, what made it attractive was it was a part that I haven't played
08:10before.
08:11Um, I do tend to be the warm, down to earth, working class mother.
08:17Northern.
08:17Yeah.
08:18You know, that kind of thing.
08:19And this is, you know, there's no children for DI Aileen.
08:22There's no family.
08:23There's no friends.
08:24She's, you know, her job is her, is her other half.
08:28Um, she's really committed to it.
08:30She's very good at it.
08:31Um, she's very driven and it suits her personality.
08:35Um, and to play a character where I have to do everything in my power to not go.
08:43Yeah.
08:44That must be so hard.
08:46Do you know what I mean?
08:46You had to do the whole gurn.
08:48It was, you know, between me and, uh, Laura Way, who was the director, you know, she really
08:54kept her eye on, on keep it still.
08:57Keep it very, very still.
08:59We actually had, um, uh, Kima from The Wire.
09:03Like we'd do a take and then, and then it'd be like, right, cut.
09:06Okay.
09:06She'd come in and just go, Kima, Kima from The Wire.
09:09And you do.
09:10That's it.
09:10Yeah.
09:11Kima from The Wire.
09:11Kima from The Wire.
09:12So, so yeah.
09:13Uh, it was just, it was, I just love playing different characters.
09:17Yeah.
09:17Been around for a while and it's, it's, you know, played a few similar characters, played
09:22a few characters a few times.
09:24It's nice not to get to us.
09:24It's really important not to get to us.
09:25Yeah.
09:26It's great.
09:26And it's a challenge.
09:27Everyone wants to challenge.
09:28Yeah.
09:28And you mentioned as well, obviously it was very, very hot on set, but was it also really
09:33challenging with the actual police jargon?
09:35Cause some of the kind of phrases you have to say, you're kind of learning how police operate,
09:40isn't it?
09:41It's a different world.
09:41It is a different world.
09:42Did that feel like a struggle?
09:44No.
09:44And, and actually that is kind of part of it.
09:47Uh, and I find it whether I'm playing a nurse or a teacher or a cop, the key sometimes
09:53is being able to say those things, like you say them every single day, like it's a shopping
09:57list.
09:57Yeah.
09:58So it's kind of really getting on top of those lines so that they are so familiar on your
10:01tongue.
10:02And I, and for me, I always, when I'm watching anyone else, it's if, if it sounds like you've
10:08been saying that every day of your life, then you've got, then you've got it.
10:10Yeah.
10:11So yeah, it is a challenge, but it's a challenge I am up for.
10:14She accepted.
10:15I accepted and ran with.
10:17Yeah.
10:18So did you guys get a lot of time as well in between filming?
10:21Like you say, you were kind of separate for a while and then you got to kind of really
10:24get to be together.
10:25Do you think that that was kind of deliberate to create a sort of divide?
10:29Cause your characters, obviously they're not very unified at all.
10:31No.
10:31Do you think that was maybe a deliberate thing?
10:34Did you feel like that helped your performances in a way?
10:36I know I felt mostly that I wanted to hang out with you and I couldn't and it was annoying.
10:42Um, no, I, I mean, I was in every day, all day.
10:47So, um, and sometimes doing days on my own, which is the first time that's ever really
10:52happened where it's, I had a day when I, it was, it was just me, Beth walking, Beth
10:57smoking, Beth crying, but I was like, Oh my God, I need a mate.
11:00Yeah.
11:00Um, I don't think they did it on purpose.
11:02No, I think it was just the schedule, but, um, it probably does help.
11:05It probably does help.
11:07I mean, I spent a lot of time with Jack and Luke and obviously the nature of the stuff
11:11that we have to do together.
11:12It was really useful that Jack and I were already friends and I knew Luke a little bit.
11:16So I think that it does help, but no, I don't, I wasn't deliberate.
11:19No, I don't think it was.
11:20I spent a lot of time with Ben as well.
11:21Um, who, who plays my sidekick, whose name I do know.
11:28But we split loads of time together before we, no, don't, don't, don't, don't.
11:33It's Ben.
11:34It's good that I know his name.
11:36It's his real name.
11:36It would be awful if it was the other way around.
11:38So me and Ben like, cause we, we needed to have, uh, that ease of relationship that we'd
11:43worked together for quite a long time.
11:44And so it was very much like I phoned him before we started going, right, bar, drink.
11:50Yes.
11:50Let's meet, tell me everything.
11:52And so we did, we got a bond there beforehand and we found a shorthand as well for that,
11:57that really does feed into their relationship as they move on.
12:00And what was it like for you two getting to work together when you finally got those scenes?
12:04It's lovely.
12:05The Yorkshire girls.
12:05So we kind of bonded over Wakey and Leeds, which was really quite nice.
12:08No, it was lovely.
12:09We just, I just wish we'd have had more, but the scenes we had together, I loved.
12:12And I'm, and I'm really chuffed with them as well.
12:14Yeah.
12:14So far.
12:15Me too.
12:15Me too.
12:16Yeah.
12:16And do you both have any future projects that you might be able to tell us about, might
12:20be able to tease about yet?
12:22Um, I don't know if I'm allowed to, uh, I'm doing, I'm doing a full part BBC, actually
12:28with Laura who directed this again, but I don't know whether I'm allowed to say what that
12:32is, but I'm, that's very exciting and completely different character.
12:36Interesting.
12:36Um, so I'm really looking forward to that.
12:38That's in the new year.
12:39Um, other than that, I don't know whether I'm allowed to say anything.
12:43I'm never allowed to say anything.
12:44Yeah.
12:45I've got, um, well, I, well, I can say mine cause mine got released yesterday.
12:48So your Christmas or mine too.
12:49Yes.
12:50Which I'll probably be talking to you about in two weeks.
12:52Yeah.
12:52Uh, so that comes out, uh, just before, um, uh, the serial killer's wife comes out.
12:57So that's, that's really exciting.
12:59So busy, aren't you?
13:00I know.
13:00I know.
13:01And I'm doing other things and being a mother all at the same time.
13:03Yes.
13:04Amazing.
13:04And then obviously I've got my lovely Radio 2 show on a Sunday night.
13:07Yes.
13:08On BBC Radio 2, which I just absolutely love.
13:10After I've worked and worked and worked, I unwind at 10pm on a Sunday night on BBC Radio 2.
13:18Nice, nice ad for it.
13:19I like it.
13:19Well, thank you so much for, for chatting to us.
13:22It was lovely to meet you guys.
13:23And can't wait for everyone to see the series.
13:25Thank you very much.
13:26Nice to meet you.
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