Mother of all SECRETS

SURANNE JONES on how a dream inspired a drama exploring complex family relationships

Sometimes dreams can become a reality, as Suranne Jones will happily tell you. This week, the BAFTA-winning Doctor Foster star headlines ITVI's new family mystery drama Maryland, the premise of which came to her while she was asleep.

'It's based on a dream I had!' smiles Suranne, 44, when TV Times visits her on a chilly November morning as she films on location in the pretty Irish coastal village of Howth, which doubles as the Isle of Man in the story.

'When I woke up, I wrote down, "Sisters, house, double life" - the bare bones of the idea - and then I kind of rattled it around for a bit.' Teaming up with screenwriter Anne Marie O'Connor (Hullraisers), Suranne co-created a three-part series that sees her and Eve Best (House of the Dragon) as estranged sisters Becca and Rosaline.

The pair live worlds apart but find themselves reunited following the sudden death of their mother, Mary (Judy Clifton), on the Isle of Man.

As they fly out to identify their mum's body, they're soon shocked to the core to discover she was leading a secret double life.

Here, Suranne tells us more about the drama, which also features Grease legend Stockard Channing and Holby City favourite Hugh Quarshie...

So, Suranne, how did your dream transform into a TV drama?

Well, I've known Anne Marie for about 15 years; we'd never worked together, but she had written about double lives before and was interested in familial experiences. So we got on a call, and she added in the Isle of Man because she knows it really well, and then that became 'Maryland'! Becca has a strained relationship with her husband Jim (Ackley Bridge star Andrew Knott).

What more can you reveal about her?