A whole New world

Dafne Keen on the new dangers and new friends awaiting Lyra as the fantasy epic returns

- CAREN CLARK

HIS DARK MATERIALS NEW SUNDAY / BBC1 / 8.10PM / EP 1 of 7 / DRAMA

Breathtaking fantasy was effortlessly blended with moving teenage rites of passage when BBC1’s epic drama His Dark Materials, based on Philip Pullman’s much-loved trilogy of novels, made its debut last year.

This Sunday, the series returns for another run, even more action-packed and heart-rending than the first, based on the second novel in the series, The Subtle Knife.

As the seven-parter begins, spirited but vulnerable young Lyra (played by Dafne Keen) is still reeling after her father Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) killed her best friend, Roger (Lewin Lloyd), to open up a window into a new world and investigate a strange substance known as Dust.

Now, Lyra has travelled through the same portal to the seemingly abandoned city of Cittàgazze, where she encounters troubled teenager Will Parry (Amir Wilson). But danger beckons and Lyra’s ruthless mother, Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson), is hell-bent on finding her…

From her home in Spain, Dafne, 15, joins TV Times for a video chat to tell us more about the spellbinding adventures ahead…

Has Lyra changed?

I was excited to explore Lyra’s vulnerable side because in series one, she never really shows it – she’s outgoing and hides her pain. But in series two, we see a more quiet, introverted version of Lyra, which I thought was interesting. She switches from her tactic of, ‘I trust everyone.’ Now she is in a dark place where she’s going, ‘My father has betrayed me and I’m completely alone.’

How do you see her relationship with Will?