Until I Kill You's Anna Maxwell Martin's 'heavenly' time in Wales filming new ITV serial killer drama
Spending Easter swimming along the idyllic beaches of the Gower while also playing a woman who survived a near-fatal attack from a serial killer might seem worlds apart, but this was how Motherland star Anna Maxwell Martin sensibly spent her downtime in Wales while filming the dark new ITV1 true crime drama, Until I Kill You, in Swansea.
The series is based on the extraordinary and disturbing true story of Delia Balmer, who survived a near-fatal relationship with murderer John Sweeney, played by Endeavour's Shaun Evans in the show. Anna, who is known for her roles in BBC One's recent hit Ludwig and Line of Duty, plays Delia. The four-part true crime series was filmed completely in Swansea, and was favoured by producers due to its resemblance to 1990s London, when Delia was involved with John.
Speaking about filming in Swansea back in 2023, Anna said she loves the Welsh people and it was "heaven" when her children came to visit her during Easter.
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"I love the Welsh people and we had a lovely crew, but this is all set literally around the corner from my house, so when I got it I thought, 'Brilliant this is easy with the kids – we’re a single-parent family so I thought it would be great... and then they said we were going all the way to Swansea," told the lead of the drama, which is based on the memoir written by the real-life Delia who was in a 'near-fate' relationship with Sweeney after meeting him in 1991.
Anna added: "But I was staying in the Mumbles and I had the kids down over Easter, which was heaven – we went swimming along the Gower Peninsula every day and it was gorgeous."
The star also spoke about being supported during filming as this was her first time away filming since her ex-husband Roger Michell died in September 2021. She said: "I always feel so lucky to do this job and I’m so grateful to come off a project like this and think, “That was a lovely job”, especially in the past couple of years with what’s happened in my life, I feel exceptionally grateful to still be working. I was surrounded by lovely people on this drama and actually I was quite moved, because it was the first time I’d left my kids to go away to work since my husband died, and I was looked after so well.
"Everyone was so kind to me all the time, from Julia, our director, to Callum, our runner, they were so sweet. So I do feel so lucky and grateful to be in this industry, doing really good work with good people, every department knocked it out the park." For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.
Executive producer Simon Heath also explained why Swansea was chosen to replicate 1990s London. He said: "The whole series is shot around Swansea. Partly this was a cost decision, but partly it’s based on the fact that north London (where Delia’s story took place) no longer resembles the North London of the 1990s, which I knew very well.
"The locations were extremely convincing, to the point here I couldn’t believe the location pictures weren’t actually taken in North London. It’s amazing how the architecture matches up and has the right period feel."
The show's filming commenced in February 2023 and the drama is produced by World Productions, the company behind Line of Duty, Bodyguard and The Pembrokeshire Murders. Based on Delia Balmer’s memoir, Living with a Serial Killer, Until I Kill You is written by Nick Stevens (The Pembrokeshire Murders), and executive produced by multi-award winning World Productions CEO, Simon Heath (Save Me, Line of Duty, Anne) Delia Balmer narrates the ordeal Delia suffered at the hands of John Sweeney, and her traumatic journey through the police and criminal justice system as they attempt to prosecute him for his crimes.
Until I Kill You begins at 9pm on Sunday, November 3 on ITV1 and runs until Wednesday, November 6. On Thursday, November 7 there's an accompanying documentary, Until I Kill You: The Real Story, on at 9pm.
