Chloe, starring Erin Doherty, is heading our way very soon and is set to leave viewers gripped by following a quest to uncover the truth about a mysterious death.
The six-part BBC1 thriller, which starts on Sunday 6 Feb. at 9pm, and continues on Monday, stars The Crown’s Erin Doherty as Bristol-based office temp Becky, who is obsessed with looking at the social media posts of glamorous Chloe Fairbourne (Stay Close's Poppy Gilbert), an enigmatic face from her past. But when Becky spots a post about Chloe’s sudden suicide, she is shocked.
Determined to learn more, Becky takes on a fictional identity as successful, confident "Sasha" and goes out of her way to infiltrate the lives of the people who knew Chloe best, from her widower Elliot (The Serpent’s Billy Howle), to her troubled friend Richard (Poldark’s Jack Farthing) and her best pal Liv (MotherFatherSon’s Pippa Bennett-Warner). But can Becky find out what really happened?
We caught up with Erin Doherty and Jack Farthing to find out more…
'Chloe' looks like it will be very twisty! What is your take on your characters?
Erin Doherty: “Becky’s had a difficult upbringing, which has resulted in a toxic, codependent relationship with her mum who has early onset dementia. Becky’s stuck, she isn't a full-time carer yet, but she knows she's going to have to be and she's running away from it, so when Chloe dies, that catapults her somewhere else. She becomes so hooked on figuring things out and she feels like she's serving Chloe, because no one else seems to be. She is determined to fight for her.”
Jack Farthing: “Richard is in this group of friends who are in the aftermath of one of them having died. He’s clinging on to his childhood and Peter Panning his way through life. But ironically, in a show about people lying and not saying who they are, Richard is a truth-teller. He's not afraid to say what he thinks. But he wants to protect Chloe’s memory.”
Will we root for Becky?
Erin Doherty: "The moment I read about Becky, I loved her. But it’s more interesting if you fluctuate between like and dislike. I don't think it's black and white, no one's a goodie or a baddie. Becky's not calculating and doesn’t have it all planned out, she's off the cuff and quick. She’s insecure but throws herself into situations and has a fearlessness that I'd like a bit of!"
Jack Farthing: "Richard is suspicious of her though. These friends are everything to him, they grew up together, so he's territorial about this group. Then Becky/'Sasha' injects her way in. There's something about her that feels familiar as well. And he's a bit like, 'Who is this person? Why are they here?"'
Did the sudden intriguing turns in the plot surprise you?
Erin Doherty: "I didn’t expect any of the outcome! We got sent all six episodes and I devoured them. I wanted to have an episode seven! [Writer] Alice Seabright’s genius is that she takes you in directions and just as you're settled on the path, she turns again, and you're like, 'What's going on?!' She’s brilliant."
Jack Farthing: "I had the feeling about it that I hope viewers will have, which is I just wanted to pick it apart and find out what happened and who they all were and how much of what they said was true and how much was a lie.”
'Chloe' looks at our obsession with social media, how do you feel about that world?
Erin Doherty: “I just have it for professional reasons. The amount of people who spend their time in social situations like this [mimes looking down at a phone] is scary. I'm chuffed we get to put that on screen because it's not until you see other people behaving that way that you think, ’Goodness, I do that’. It's important to hold up the mirror and go, ‘This is where we're at’.”
Jack Farthing: "I am not on it at all. So I guess that means that I do see the downsides of it! I've never been drawn to it. II don't feel a great need to share my stuff. The pace at which it moves and which it changes is a bit much. But it's such a dominant force in our culture and world today so I feel like it's a really important thing to be discussing."
When can I watch 'Chloe'?
The six-part thriller starts in the UK on Sunday 6 February at 9pm, and continues on Monday 7 February at 9pm, before airing on Sundays and Mondays each week. All six episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer after the opening episode airs. It will air on Amazon Prime Video in the US at a later date.
