Night TERRORS

VICKY MCCLURE talks to TV Times about her sleep-deprivation chiller, the joys of turning 40, and why life couldn't be better...

- EMMA BULLIMORE

INSOMNIA 

NEW FROM THURSDAY 23 MAY, PARAMOUNT+ THRILLER (FIRST TWO EPS FROM THU 23 MAY, THEN WEEKLY)

It's a soggy day in the Hertfordshire village of Bayford when Vicky McClure invites TV Times into her toasty trailer. We're on set for new Paramount+ thriller Insomnia, the story of a divorce lawyer, Emma Averill, approaching her 40th birthday whose life descends into free fall when a string of sleepless nights puts her mental health on a knife-edge - the same thing that happened to her mother during Emma's turbulent childhood.

It's a change of pace for the BAFTA-winning actor, who has spent the past few years taking our breath away as a bomb-disposal expert in ITV's Trigger Point and an anti-corruption officer in BBC hit Line of Duty. Indeed, as she shows us around the beautiful family mansion they are filming in, we're almost anticipating Vicky pulling out a walkie-talkie and springing into action! But while six-parter Insomnia, written by Sarah Pinborough and based on her 2022 novel of the same name, has its fair share of adrenaline, this is the tale of a woman desperately trying to hold everything together. Vicky carries no such burden on her shoulders, and as we chat, it's clear that life has never felt more rewarding.

Here, as we warm up with a cup of tea, Vicky tells us what makes Insomnia an exhilarating ride and why the past year has brought her so much joy...

Why did you want to be part of this show?

Well, actually, I didn’t want to do a big job after filming the second series of Trigger Point because I was getting married and had other plans. But then the scripts for