As the twins’ family come under scrutiny again, there’s trouble at home for Lisa (Morven Christie) as ITV drama The Bay reaches its midway point
As the twins’ family come under scrutiny again, there’s trouble at home for Lisa (Morven Christie) as ITV drama The Bay reaches its midway point
New information regarding the disappearance of twins Dylan and Holly places the focus of the investigation back on their family, in particular recent changes in the financial fortunes of their trawlerman stepfather Sean.
In the parallel storyline following the less-than-perfect home life of family liaison officer Lisa Armstrong (Morven Christie), with her teenage kids Abbie and Rob getting deeper in trouble, Lisa’s attempt to have a heart-to-heart with them misfires badly.
Meanwhile, CCTV footage appears to point towards a new prime suspect – but with three more episodes to go, we’re not going to fall for that red herring, now are we?
TV Times goes behind the scenes of Morven Christie’s drama…
Inspirational Morcambe
Writer Daragh Carville was inspired to set the series in Morecambe after seeing a map of the UK made up of TV shows. ‘The whole country was covered in drama and comedy except this corner that I live in.’
Rock and Redcoats
In creating the drama’s distinctive look, director Lee Haven Jones turned to the past for inspiration. He says, ‘I thought about depictions of the British seaside, such as the work of photographer John Hinde, who made postcards for Butlin’s holiday camps.’
Facing Danger
Filming episode one’s night scene on the sands of Morecambe Bay posed a challenge for Lee and his team. ‘We had to check the tides to ensure the sea wasn’t going to come in!’ he says.
Guest star Eric
The birthplace of Eric Morecambe, Morecambe has a statue of the comedy legend overlooking the bay, which eagle-eyed viewers will have glimpsed in the first episode. ‘You can’t come here and not shoot Eric!’ says executive producer Catherine Oldfield.
Help from Above
Since Sean (Jonas Armstrong) is a fisherman, some scenes were filmed at sea. ‘For health-and-safety reasons, we shot a lot from a drone and had real trawlermen dressed in the costumes,’ says Catherine.
TV Times rating: ***
