Suranne Jones and Eve Best play sisters facing many secrets in new thriller Maryland

Suranne Jones took a deep dive into the murky waters of international espionage in the hit nuclear submarine drama Vigil, and this week she immerses herself in another arcane world.

In the intriguing new ITV drama Maryland, Suranne plays Becca, a woman who discovers that her mother, Mary, led a life that neither she nor her older sister Rosaline (Nurse Jackie’s Eve Best) knew about, which only comes to light after Mary’s death. .

Over the course of three episodes, the layers of her mother’s incredible “other” world, including a house and partner on the Isle of Man and a circle of close friends built up over the years, are slowly peeled away to reveal some extraordinary family secrets. to reveal.

“Becca and Rosaline are stunned to discover that their mother lived this different life completely away from her husband and family home in Manchester,” explains Suranne, who also co-created the drama, which will be shown on three consecutive episodes. . nights from Monday.

“And they’re even more surprised when her best friend, Cathy – played by Hollywood star Stockard Channing – tells them why she came to the Isle of Man in the first place.”

The show begins with the shocking news that Becca and Rosaline’s mother has been found dead on a beach on the Isle of Man, so the sisters fly there to repatriate her body to mainland Britain.

The holiday photos she sent the pair, supposedly from Anglesey in North Wales, turn out to show stunning views of the Isle of Man and Bayview, the name of the house the taxi driver takes them to when they first arrive on the island . They thought it was a bed and breakfast, but it belongs to their mother.

The astonishing revelations about Mary’s life then begin to tumble out. After being surprised by pictures of themselves as girls on the walls in Bayview, the sisters are further baffled by revelations about parents, grandparents… and some very mysterious musicians.

The first episode also introduces us to Becca and Rosaline’s father, Richard (George Costigan from Happy Valley), who apparently knew about Mary’s other life—and wasn’t happy about it.

“He denies,” says Anne-Marie O’Connor, the screenwriter who co-created the drama with Suranne. “He’s like a king in a crumbling castle who’ll accept what Mary’s done so long as he can keep his head up at the golf club and stay in his three-bed semi-detached house.”

We also meet Pete (Holby City’s Hugh Quarshie), who shared Mary’s life on the Isle of Man, though he’s reluctant to discuss their mother with the sisters and it’s left to Cathy, Stockard Channing’s character, to keep an eye out. to fill.

It’s not Stockard’s first role on British TV – she played Elizabeth Taylor in Sky’s Urban Myths series in 2017 – but it’s still quite an achievement to land the actress who famously played Rizzo in the classic movie grease.

“We were determined to make it happen,” says Suranne. “We’d sit in the writers’ room and say, ‘And Cathy is played by Stockard Channing,’ hoping it would come true if we said it often enough.” And thanks to the brilliance of our casting director, Andy Pryor, we succeeded!’

The two sisters, Rosaline and Becca, are amazed when Cathy tells them why their mother came to the Isle of Man in the first place. Pictured: Cathy (Stockard Channing)

Rosaline and Becca’s father seems to have known about Mary’s other life – and wasn’t happy about it. Pictured: The sisters’ father, Richard (George Costigan)

It’s almost inevitable that Stockard, 79, steals a scene, but Suranne didn’t mind. After starring in Vigil and Gentleman Jack, she liked to take a step back and play someone who wasn’t so prominent.

“I could have played one of the sisters, but I went for the younger one because she gets caught up in events rather than being all up to date and running the show like some of my recent TV characters have been,” says Suranne.

“Amy Silva in Vigil and Anne Lister in Gentleman Jack were confident and at the forefront, while Becca is excited and stressed in episode one – but slowly calms down in episodes two and three.”

She says the drama, which is directed by Sue Tully (Michelle Fowler in EastEnders during her acting days), isn’t based on anything from her own life (Suranne is married to writer Laurence Akers and they have a seven-year-old son). It’s just the idea of ​​someone living an existence they’ve managed to keep completely separate from close relatives that intrigued her the most.

“That was the start of the project,” she says. “I don’t know how my husband will take this, but I’m definitely intrigued by the idea of ​​living a secret life. I know a few people who have done that and it fascinates me how they did it. I have a kid to pick up from school, I walk the dog, I go shopping, I write, I act… I wouldn’t have time for a secret life or even trying to organize one!’

• Maryland, Monday-Wednesday, 9pm, ITV1 and ITVX.