Saturday Magazine - 31.08.2019

4 SATURDAY MAGAZINE

A CONFESSION Mon, 9pm, ITV

‘I was nervous --

there were no easy scenes’

As she stars in a new hard-hitting true-life crime drama,

Imelda Staunton opens up about challenging roles, the

golden age of TV drama and working with her husband

Jim Carter on the Downton Abbey film

I

melda Staunton has portrayed her fair

share of dark and tormented characters

during the course of her long acting

career. From her BAFTA-winning turn

as Vera Drake (2004) – a woman imprisoned

for conducting illegal abortions in 1950s

London – to killer’s accomplice Mrs Lovett

in Sweeney Todd on the West End stage,

Imelda hasn’t shied away from a challenge.

Her latest part could be her most difficult

to date, though, as she stars this week in

ITV’s A Confession, a drama about the

serial killer Christopher Halliwell, in which

she plays Karen Edwards, the mother of

victim Becky Godden.

Imelda admits that she was immediately

drawn to the plot, not realising it was based

on real events.

‘I read the first two scripts not knowing it

was a true story. When I found out, I did feel

nervous and a sense of responsibility,’

admits the actress. ‘But I find that nerves

are only good adrenaline. They are there to

get you going.’

Penned by Philomena and Mrs Biggs

writer Jeff Pope, the six-parter begins when

22-year-old Sian O’Callaghan goes missing

after a night out with girlfriends in Swindon

Old Town. When she doesn’t

return home to her boyfriend

Kevin, or respond to his

increasingly frantic text

messages, he raises the alarm.

Detective Superintendent

Steve Fulcher (Sherlock star

Martin Freeman) comes on

board as chief investigating

officer and his team rapidly

piece together Sian’s last

movements – leading them to suspect

local taxi driver Christopher Halliwell (Joe

Absolom). But when Steve follows his

instinct instead of police protocol in his

questioning of Halliwell – something that

ends up landing him in hot water – he elicits

a confession not only about Sian but also

about Becky Godden, a young woman from

a neighbouring family in Swindon.

Becky (played by Bodyguard’s Stephanie

Hyam) was 20 when she went missing

in 2003, eight years before Sian. She

was an addict and prostitute, and her

loving mother Karen had repeatedly

tried to get her off drugs and into rehab

• something that we see in an emotional
  flashback scene in the drama, with Karen
  physically restraining her daughter.
  ‘She’s brilliant, Stephanie. During that
  scene, I told her to spit in my face. You can’t
  mess around with that stuff. The camera is
  right there and you can’t pretend,’ says
  Imelda. ‘When you’re in the moment,
  nothing matters but telling that story. It was
  intense. There were no easy scenes to film.’
  Imelda decided to visit the
  real-life Karen Edwards
  before playing her, but
  admits she did have
  some reservations
  about the meeting.
  ‘When I was first
  asked if I would like
  to see her I said no,
  absolutely not. But
  I did, in the end.
  We had a five-hour
  meeting. She was
  terribly nice and
  forthcoming and
  welcoming. I didn’t

want to ask her any prying questions. The

worst thing to say would be, “How did it

feel?” I think we know that it doesn’t get

any worse than that. But I wanted to

get a sense of her and the energy that

she has. She is fuelled by grief and rage.

She’s a real force.’

Imelda, of course, is a mother herself

• to her only child, Bessie, 25, who is
  also an actor. And she’s been happily
  married for 36 years to fellow actor Jim
  Carter, who she met when they both
  appeared in Richard Eyre’s National
  Theatre production of Guys And Dolls
  in the early 80s. Next month they will star
  alongside each other again, this time on the
  big screen in the Downton Abbey movie.
  Imelda had never appeared in the series,
  but landed the part of formidable Lady
  Bagshaw, a cousin of Lord Grantham (Hugh
  Bonneville), while Jim reprises his role as
  Downton’s loveable butler Mr Carson.
  ‘I was really grateful for this [project],
  having done a long string of theatre and
  some quite heavy stuff,’ says Imelda. ‘It was
  lovely going to work with Jim for a bit and to
  be part of Downton. I was so excited. I got

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Words by: Kirsty Nutkins Pictures: ITV; Getty Images

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