We love a Vicky McClure drama - and Insomnia looks like it might be her best one yet. The actress, who is perhaps best known for her roles in Line of Duty and Trigger Point, is set to star in the adaptation by bestselling author Sarah Pinborough - find out more about the show here…
The six-part series will be released on Paramount+, and stars Vicky as Emma Averill, a successful career woman who thinks she might be losing her mind when her dream life turns into a nightmare.
The official synopsis reads: “A couple of weeks before her fortieth birthday, Emma stops sleeping — just as her mother had done right before she suffered a violent psychotic breakdown on the night of her fortieth birthday. Emma’s mother always told her she’d go the same way, that she had the same ‘bad blood’ and now Emma’s terrified it’s true.
“As events worsen, Emma’s world starts to unravel and she realises that only by investigating the truth of her painful past, can she find the answers to her present and prevent tragedy from striking a second time.”
The series has an impressive cast, with The Gold star Tom Cullen joining Vicky as Emma’s loving husband Robert, Wisting star Smylie Bradwell and The Nevers actress India Fowler playing Will and Chloe, their two children, and Inside Man star Lyndsey Marshal as Emma’s best friend, Caroline.
Fans were excited for the new show, with one commenting: “Love watching anything with [Vicky McClure] in she’s just [heart-eyed emoji].” Another person added: “If Vicky is in it, I'm watching it.”
Vicky has been having a busy time recently, as she also starred as Lana Washington in the return of ITV’s Trigger Point, where she also served as an executive producer.
Speaking about taking on the role, she explained: “For me it was just a case of elevating what we already had, because you don’t want to stray too far from what people liked about the show first time round. The audience responded well to the world of bomb disposal and it’s something we haven’t seen a lot of on telly, so I was really keen to make sure that we carried on listening to our advisors as much as we could and we tried to keep it as authentic as possible.
“We are making an explosive drama, but the characters and other elements of the show need to feel believable. The terror threat in this series is very complex. It’s not the same one-man band that we dealt with last time – it’s a much bigger game being played and the Met and expos find themselves in a long-running cat-and-mouse game, they’re being sent in circles. It’s tense and frustrating.”
She added: “I did also feel like I was a bit more prepared this year, because there’s so much behaviour that I’ve picked up from series one and I got into a rhythm with acting with these devices, which I brought onto this series.”
