There are explosive consequences in Truelove when teenage sweethearts Philippa ‘Phil’ Leach and Ken Holding, played by Lindsay Duncan and Clarke Peters, are confronted with an agonising moral dilemma.
In the opening episode of Channel 4’s new six-part thriller, five childhood chums are reunited at a funeral. At the wake Phil, Ken, and old friends Tom (Karl Johnson, Mum), Marion (Sue Johnston, The Royle Family) and David (Peter Egan, After Life) make a drunken pact to help each other die with dignity, should the time come.
The next morning everyone goes their separate ways with retired deputy chief constable Phil resuming her humdrum life with husband Nigel (Phil Davis, Trying). SAS veteran Ken returning to his solitary existence with only his dog, Monty, for company. It’s life as usual for married couple Marion and David, while Marion’s older brother Tom enjoys his retirement sailing on the Bristol Channel. But normality is jarringly upended eight months later when Tom reaches out to Phil and Ken…
“Ken and Phil don’t expect this situation. When they made the pact in the pub everyone was drunk, sitting around a table and filled with emotion,” says A Discovery of Witches star, Lindsay, 73, when What To Watch join her and Clarke to talk about the series. “This is an unusual thriller as it spans long-standing friendships, marriage and a still-smouldering love affair.”
The double-edged drama, written by Humans’ Iain Weatherby and The End of the F**king World’s Charlie Covell, turns on-screen portrayals of older characters on its head, as Phil, Ken, Tom, Marion and David navigate difficult waters…
“There was a wonderful sense of support on set. It was so much fun working with others with the same life experience, we had so much to talk about. It’s a really wonderful group of people to be playing with," says The Wire's Clarke, 71, who was originally paired with Julie Walters for the roles of Ken and Phil. Sadly the National Treasure star stepped down from filming after being diagnosed with cancer. "With Julie it was a completely different show and I’m really sorry she didn’t do it. I’m also really glad that Lindsay was the one to step in. Working with both of them was a wonderful experience, as they had different approaches to the piece."
While deliberating whether or not to keep their word, Ken and Phil are propelled into a world of deception and collusion. Under extraordinary circumstances and with suspicious PC Ayesha (The Nevers' Kiran Sonia Sawar) sensing there’s more to this ageing friend group than meets the eye, latent feelings resurface, as they instinctively resort to their professional expertise to cover their tracks…
"Phil is ex police and was quite a high ranking Deputy Chief Constable, so she is tough. She wouldn't have got to the level she got to if she hadn't been really good and that’s clear," reveals Lindsay. "You do see her with burner phones and giving Ken very clear instructions about how things should be done - but he disobeys!"
"Ken is ex-military and his experience is also brought to bear on our story, but he’s constantly questioning whether this is a good idea and what the consequences are," says Clarke.
"At the same time, he knows that he's in it with Phil and that it’s the two of them. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that their biography is revealed - how they met, what went wrong and what’s coming right again. This is a drama about promises and whether we keep them. It’s also about love and respect for life."
Six-part thriller Truelove debuts on Channel 4 on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 9pm. The second episode airs on Thursday, January 4 at the same time.
Subsequent episodes air on Wednesday and Thursday weekly. Episodes will be released on All4 after transmission.
