When a serious incident occurs, will blood prove to be thicker than water? New ITV drama attempts to find out...
Secrets, lies, rivalries and betrayals threaten to destroy a close-knit family when a mystery man enters their lives, in ITV’s complex new thriller Flesh and Blood.
Showing over four nights, we discover there’s been an incident. Someone’s seriously hurt – but we don’t know who, how or, more importantly, why.
Flesh and Blood start date: When will it be on ITV?
Flesh and Blood starts on Monday February 24 at 9pm on ITV and airs every night, concluding Thursday. Perfect for those who can’t wait to find out what happens next!
Flesh and Blood plot: What’s in store?
As the story begins, the lives of three siblings – Jake, Helen and Natalie – are thrown into disarray when their recently widowed mother Vivien reveals she’s in love with a new man, retired surgeon Mark.
Also in the mix is nosy neighbour Mary, who’s lived next door to Vivien for 40 years.
As Mark becomes more involved with Vivien, her children try to find out more about him. But with their own lives in chaos, will their efforts end in tragedy?
Flesh and Blood: Who’s in it?
Matriarch of the family Vivien is played by BAFTA-winning actress Francesca Annis (Home Fires), with The Stranger’s Stephen Rea playing her new love Mark.
"Vivien’s had quite an intense and full life, bringing up her family and caring for her husband, who died after a long illness. And now she’s decided it's ‘me’ time. She's nearly 70 but very fit and ready to take on whatever comes her way," says Francesca, who plays her.
Vivien’s children are central to the piece with played by Grantchester’s Claudie Blakley playing eldest daughter Helen, Gentleman Jack’s Lydia Leonard as Natalie and Years and Years’ actor Russell Tovey as son Jake.
"Jake’s the epitome of toxic masculinity, a complete man-child,’ says Russell. ‘He’s a gambling addict, whose debts got too much, his wife found out and left him taking their two kids. He wants to get back with his wife, so he’s scrambling around, trying to pay her back and rebuild his life. He’s desperate to prove himself but he’s kind of a reckless person."
Flesh and Blood also stars A Confession’s Imelda Staunton as Vivien’s nosy neighbour Mary…
"Mary’s quite lonely," reveals Imelda. "She’s been in Vivien and her family’s life for a long time and would look after the kids while Vivien was at work; they're the family she didn't have. She feels needed by them. Mary doesn’t want to impose and she never oversteps the mark but she’s desperate to somehow be in this family."
What else do we know about Flesh and Blood?
- The series is four parts, stripped across the week
- The location for Vivien’s beachside home in Flesh and Blood is the pretty coastal hamlet of Normans Bay, East Sussex
