‘It's a story of betrayal…'

Charlie Brooks on the challenges of playing a wronged woman in an Australia-set thriller

- VICTORIA WILSON

LIE WITH ME NEW MON-THU / CHANNEL 5 / 9PM / EPS 1-4 of 4 / DRAMA

Charlie Brooks is no stranger to high drama, having made her name as super-schemer Janine Butcher in BBC1 soap EastEnders. And, this week, the actor takes on another challenging role – playing a woman scorned in Channel 5’s new suburban noir thriller Lie With Me.

Airing over four consecutive nights, it sees Charlie star as Anna, a British woman who relocates with her husband Jake (Neighbours star Brett Tucker) and family to his native Australia for a fresh start after infidelity rocks their marriage.

That’s the plan at least until they hire a young live-in nanny, Becky (rising star Phoebe Roberts), to look after their two small children.

The women quickly form a bond, and Anna soon confides in Becky that she thinks Jake is cheating on her again. However, Becky isn’t the innocent stranger she appears to be and soon they are embroiled in a tangled web of secrets, lies and betrayal – with deadly consequences.

Here, Charlie, 40, who’s set to make a dramatic return to Walford as Janine later this year, tells us more…

Can you describe the series to us?

Lie With Me centers on a woman and her husband who move to Australia because their relationship has been turbulent and they’re looking to start again, but it’s really a story of betrayal and uncertainty.

As soon as the drama begins, we know that somebody dies but we don’t know who, why or how we got to that point. It’s a really sexy thriller – unfortunately, none of the sexy stuff comes from me, ha ha!

What can you tell us about Anna?