‘It's almost like a war...'

Liar star Joanne Froggatt tells TV Times about Laura’s mission to clear her name and rumours of a third series

- Caren Clark

From her TV breakthrough as troubled teenager Zoe Tattersall in Coronation Street to her Golden Globe-winning turn as Downton Abbey’s Anna Bates, Joanne Froggatt has all it takes to portray heartfelt agony on screen. Her role in ITV thriller Liar has been no less of a challenge, with teacher Laura Nielson suffering an assault – and its devastating aftermath – at the hands of rapist Andrew Earlham (played by Ioan Gruffudd) in the first series, only to become the prime suspect for his murder in the current second run.

In this week’s penultimate episode of the drama, dogged DI Karen Renton (Katherine Kelly) believes she has enough proof to charge her, but desperate Laura – convinced she is being set up – takes a huge risk to discover who might be responsible.

Here, Joanne, 39, chats to TV Times about Laura’s fight to clear her name, next week’s nail-biting finale, and the show’s future…

The last series was about Laura proving Andrew’s guilt, but now the police seem intent on charging her with his murder…

Laura has been in the frame from the start – and DI Renton has been a fantastic antagonist. They’ve gone head-to-head, which I think has added a spark to everything.