Interview with Vinette Robinson (Louisa)

9 July 2024

What drew you to this series?
I found the format of the series really interesting which is definitely what drew me to it. That and getting to work with the brilliant Anne-Marie Duff. The fact that you get to do a series consisting of two handers feels almost like doing a play, which is different from most TV dramas.

Are you excited to be working with the Director?
Yes, I'm really excited to be working with Carolina because, as the piece feels quite like a play, you get a real hands-on approach with your director and the other actors in your episode.

Are there any challenges with the structure?
Definitely, there's a lot of dialogue to learn with very long takes. So technically it's a challenge. I think the characters are very emotionally and psychologically strong to play because it's focuses entirely on them, pretty much in a single setting, with each episode a complete story for that focus character. So certainly my character goes on a real rollercoaster of emotion and a lot unravels for her psychologically in the episode.

Location is a distinct part of the series. Can you tell us something about your character's situation?
My character’s is at firearms practice inside a police firing range. She's a firearms officer who has recently returned to active duty. She is interrupted at work by Susannah who has been her therapist in the past and there is a hostile atmosphere between them. It's a location that adds a lot of the jeopardy, obviously, as live firearms help to heighten the tension of the situation.

What made you respond to the character of Louisa when you first read the script?
Louisa is a complex character in that she has a lot of past trauma that comes to the fore in this episode. And what's really interesting about playing her is that she's someone who can deal with a lot of pressure but the episode finds her at her most vulnerable.

Can you tell us something about your preparation for your character?
So for Louisa, I spent time with a firearms expert so that I looked like I knew how to use a gun and had been using them for years. I also spoke to a police advisor about the protocols that my character would have had to go through as a firearms officer.

Can you tell us something about Louisa's relationship with Susannah?
Louisa has a contentious relationship with Susannah at the point that we meet them at the start of the episode. Louisa feels like Susannah really let her down, which was hard for Louisa as she had invested a real trust in her. They haven't seen each other since that point of perceived betrayal. So it’s really interesting to see the two characters come back together with all that has happened between them.

Louisa has faced trauma as a detective, but also as a mother. Do you think she's overcome these adversities when we meet her in the story?
I think that when we meet Louisa at the start of the story, she believes she's overcome her problems. But seeing Susanna again brings everything back up to the surface, and she realises she hasn't dealt with them as well as she thought she had.