Life with the Lyons family continues, as daughter Edith is forced to return home in Russell T Davies' new BBC1 drama Years and Years
Life with the Lyons family continues, as daughter Edith is forced to return home in Russell T Davies’ new BBC1 drama Years and Years
'Society is getting hotter, faster and madder!’ says Edith Lyons during the second helping of Years and Years, Russell T Davies’ captivating family saga – and it’s hard to disagree with her.
Forced to return home to Manchester after witnessing the bombing of Hong Sha last episode, the political activist – played by the wonderful Jessica Hynes – is welcomed back by her family, but she hasn’t told them the whole truth about that fateful night in the South China Sea.
‘Edith witnessed a seismic event,’ explains Jessica (pictured above, second from right).
‘She’s forced to return home and that’s when she reconnects with her family, but there’s something she’s not telling them...’
After moving in with her sister, Rosie (Ruth Madeley), she soon slots back into family life.
‘Edith’s travels made her realise the most important thing is her brothers, her sister, her nephews, nieces and her grandma,’ Jessica says.
‘She wants to be with them for the rest of her days.’
Edith’s return comes as the Lyons clan gather to celebrate their grandmother’s birthday, but it’s not a happy occasion for Daniel (Russell Tovey) after his Ukrainian boyfriend, Viktor, is told he might be deported.
Meanwhile, TV celebrity Vivienne Rook (Emma Thompson) seems like a woman on the rise after striking a chord with the public, and she decides to run for parliament in the by-election in their constituency.
Edith doesn’t trust the populist candidate, but she agrees to go along to a debate and see what she has to say…
‘Edith finds it difficult to detach from her former life,’ says Jessica.
‘She has a couple of run-ins with Vivienne, which were great to film.
'Working with Emma Thompson was brilliant and I was properly starstruck – I love her!’
TV Times rating: *****
