‘It's a modern horror'

Tuppence Middleton and Martin Compston on the nightmare scenario at the heart of their thriller

- CAREN CLARK

How would you react if you walked up your front path to find another family moving into your home? This is the nightmare scenario at the heart of ITV’s nerve-jangling new thriller Our House.

Based on Louise Candlish’s bestselling 2018 novel, the four-parter stars Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey, War & Peace) as mum-of-two Fi Lawson, who arrives home one day to find all her belongings gone and strangers claiming they now own her luxurious suburban house.

As a horrified Fi tries in vain to contact her estranged husband, Bram (Line of Duty favourite Martin Compston), to find out what is going on, the action flashes back to show the devastating collapse of their marriage after his affair, and the shocking events that have led to this point.

TV Times joined Tuppence, 35, and Martin, 37, for a video chat to find out how the story is set to get viewers talking…

Why did Our House appeal to you?

MARTIN The script was a pageturner! It’s a classic thriller where you don’t know who you can trust and you don’t know who you’re rooting for. The tables constantly turn and everything goes wrong.

TUPPENCE So many people have been through divorce, but we don’t see this enough on television – how difficult it is, how many decisions you have to make, how much of your life you’ve invested, and how does that work when it goes wrong and you have to pick up the pieces?

There’s also a Hitchcock-y feel of an ordinary life becoming a mystery that unravels slowly. There are lots of twists and turns. I really didn’t see anything coming!

What more can you tell us about your characters?