‘There's no replacement for family'

On location in East Sussex, star Francesca Annis tells us why her new thriller will have viewers gripped

- VICTORIA WILSON

As TV Times arrives on a glorious summer’s day in Normans Bay, East Sussex, to watch filming for ITV’s dark new family thriller Flesh and Blood, it’s hard to imagine anything sinister happening in this quiet and picturesque coastal hamlet.

But at the heart of this drama – which airs over four consecutive nights this week – is a serious incident. Someone’s badly hurt, but we don’t know who, how or – more importantly – why.

As the story begins, the lives of three siblings – Jake (Years and Years star Russell Tovey), Helen (Grantchester’s Claudie Blakley) and Natalie (Gentleman Jack’s Lydia Leonard) – are thrown upside down when their recently widowed mother Vivien (Home Fires’ Francesca Annis) reveals she’s in love with a new man, retired surgeon Mark (The Stranger’s Stephen Rea).

Her children vow to find out more about him, as does her nosy neighbour Mary (Harry Potter and A Confession star Imelda Staunton), who has lived next door to Vivien for 40 years.