Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine opens up about returning to major show: 'I've absolutely loved it'
Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine has come a long way since portraying Nurse Jenny Lee on the hit BBC drama - and is now starring as the lead in Prime Video’s supernatural thriller The Devil’s Hour.
It has been confirmed that the show, which is returning for our screens on 18 October, will continue for a three-season run, with Jessica opening up about what to expect from her character in the twisty, time-bending series that sees her portray several different versions of the same character.
In a Q&A, she told HELLO! And other reporters: “I've absolutely loved it. It's been a career highlight for me being able to play Lucy Chambers because it's so challenging… I've never done three series of anything before really so it's never formulaic, it's always challenging… I just had those five scripts with me all the time.
She continued: “I wouldn't let anyone take my bag away because you're actually looking all the time, relying on your team. [Creator Tom Moran] was on set every day, so I had to mine him constantly. I just had to try and make sure they were really well defined characters, because, although they're the same character, they've had very different lives.
“D.I Lucy's had a much harsher background and nearly goes off the rails and as a result is very tough, she's astute, very practical, doesn't smile very much except when she's with Ravi because that that love no matter what loop you're in is inescapable which is deeply romantic as well.”
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Tom also opened up about the show’s future, reassuring viewers that he knew how the show would end upon writing the pilot episode. He said: "Before I finished writing the pilot episode I knew how season three ended, including the last shot. It told me what this story wanted to be.
"It excites me, I always think about making a TV show and it doesn’t change from one season to the next, I get bored very quickly. What TV allows us to do is say, ‘Okay that was that chapter, let’s move it on. Same characters and the same world, but what can we do differently.’
"Season one was a trick, it tricked you into thinking it was a horror story but it wasn’t, it was a supernatural thriller, so this season we lean into the thriller part of it."
Producer Sue Vertue added: "There’s nothing more annoying than watching a series and realising that the writer thinks, ‘I’ll work it out as I go along.’ Once I knew he knew exactly where it was going, we were in safe hands."
The story follows a woman named Lucy Chambers who gets caught up in the hunt for a serial killer, Gideon, with the pair sharing more of a complex history than she could ever imagine.
The synopsis for season two reads: "In Series Two, Gideon’s true intentions are finally revealed, as he attempts to involve Lucy in his mission to stop an elusive force of evil. Simultaneously a sequel and a prequel to the first chapter, expect nothing but the unexpected.
"Meanwhile, Isaac is discovering new emotions every day and struggling to keep his balance in a reality that rejects his existence. Fresh mysteries unfold as our stories converge on one explosive moment that will change the fate of our characters for the rest of their ever-recurring lives."
