What’s on TV – 27 July 2019

15

S

ince giving birth

to baby Oliver,

headteacher

Mandy Carter has been

on maternity leave from

Ackley Bridge, with

Sian Oakes in charge

as acting head.

‘Mandy found it very

hard to go on maternity

leave and leave the

school in somebody

else’s hands,’ says Jo

Joyner, who plays her.

Rumours

It seems Mandy can’t

keep away as she visits

the school with Oliver

this week – but she’s

stunned to discover

there’s a rumour going

around that troubled

teen Cory Wilson is

the father of her baby!

Mandy is unaware

Sian (Ty Glaser) is

having a hidden affair

with pupil Cory (Sam

Retford), and it turns

out that Sian started

the rumour about

Mandy to keep her

dark secret under

wraps. But as Sian

tells Cory she still

plans to marry fiancé

Tim, Cory threatens

to tell everyone all

about the affair!

Suspicion

To protect herself, Sian

lies to Mandy that Cory

has become obsessed

with her, and Mandy

believes her. But later,

when Mandy has

cause to suspect there

is something going

on between Sian and

Cory, will she side with

Sian or the student?

‘The whole concept

behind the school

has been to unite the

community and to offer

encouragement to

working-class kids

like Cory,’ says Jo.

‘When Mandy went

on maternity leave,

I wondered if she’d

be the sort of woman

who’d stay at home

for three years or be

itching to get back to

work. Well, it looks like

Mandy’s focus is on

getting the school

back on its feet!’ n

Secret affair

REVEALED!

Will Mandy believe teacher

Sian or teen Cory?

Testing time... Mandy
(centre) must choose
between Sian and Cory

F

aith Howells is walking on a

dangerous tightrope in this

week’s episode of Keeping Faith

when her friend Madlen Vaughan’s

murder case comes to trial.

Madlen’s accused of shooting her

husband, Will, after finding out he

had been having an affair and had

run up massive debts.

But as a high-street advocate who

has never done a murder case before,

Faith’s clearly out of her depth when

it comes to representing Madlen and

is forced to turn to the only person

she can think of who can help – her

lawyer husband, Evan.

Big shock

When Faith (Eve Myles) visits Evan

in prison, where he’s languishing

for his shady criminal dealings, she’s

shaken to discover that he’ll soon be

eligible for home leave!

‘Evan’s repentant but a lot of hurt

has been caused,’ says Bradley

Freegard, Eve’s real-life husband,

who plays

Evan. ‘Faith doesn’t forgive and

forget easily – and quite right, too.

‘At the end of series one, she

was held at gunpoint, and Faith

and Evan’s daughter, Alys, was

kidnapped, so there’s no forgiving

that in a hurry! They’re trying to

make the best of things for their

children’s sakes, but how successful

they are remains to be seen.’

Meanwhile, Faith is also still

wrestling with her feelings for her

ex-client Steve Baldini (Mark Lewis

Jones) while desperately trying to

pay off her and Evan’s £120,000 debt

to crime boss Gael Reardon. But

doing Gael’s dirty work soon brings

her to the attention of DI Breeze

from Swansea CID (Strike Back’s

Rhashan Stone).

Upper hand

‘Gael Reardon has certainly got one

over on Faith and Evan, and she

uses it to full effect,’ says Bradley.

‘Everything is upside down.

‘From Evan’s perspective, he was

trying to do the right thing but was

taken advantage of by bent coppers

and criminal families, and now he’s

paying the price. But he’s still got

a lot of work to do to go anywhere

near making up for his wrongs.’ n

In too

deep!

Faith is forced to turn to

her estranged husband

Evan for help as the

murder trial looms

Words:

Hannah Davies, Victoria Wilson

Photos:

BBC, C

KEEPING FAITH

Tuesday, 9pm BBC1Drama

’ f i

h

fr

R

‘G

o

u

‘E

tr

ta

a

p

a

n

Tough case...

Can Faith (left)

help friend

Madlen?

On edge...

Faith is

feeling the

pressure

Prison news... Evan has

a surprise for Faith

ACKLEY

BRIDGE

Tuesday, 8pm

C4Drama

l All of series two will be released as a box

set on BBC iPlayer from 10pm on 23 July