Dangerous obsession

Downton Abbey’s Laura Carmichael on playing a troubled woman in BBC1’s new domestic noir

- HANNAH DAVIES

She’s best known for playing Lady Edith Crawley in Downton Abbey, but Laura Carmichael swaps aristocratic glamour for greasy hair and jeans this week to play a troubled mother-to-be in BBC1’s new Sydney-set thriller The Secrets She Keeps.

Inspired by a real-life hospital-kidnap incident, the six-parter sees Carmichael take on the role of divorced and lonely Agatha. Pregnant and making ends meet the best she can, Agatha also develops a dark obsession with glamorous Instagram influencer Meghan Shaughnessy (Jessica De Gouw), who is also pregnant.

But far from being the perfect wife and mother, Meghan has skeletons in her closet, too – and when Agatha engineers a ‘chance’ meeting, the story takes a menacing turn as secrets are revealed and their lives fall apart thanks to one horrifying act.

TV&Satellite Week chatted to The Spanish Princess and Marcella star Carmichael, 33, to find out more…

What attracted you to the role of Agatha?