What lies beneath… Colin Morgan reveals the supernatural scares in new BBC1 thriller The Living And The Dead (VIDEO)

colin morgan in the living and the dead
(Image credit: BBC)

Colin Morgan has revealed an eerie twist to filming on his latest BBC drama, The Living And The Dead, the story of supernatural goings on in late 19th-Century Somerset.

Colin Morgan has revealed an eerie twist to filming on his latest BBC drama, The Living And The Dead, the story of supernatural goings on in late 19th-Century Somerset.

Colin plays psychologist Nathan Appleby in the new six-part BBC1 drama and revealed to What’s on TV: “There were strange parallels to something that happened to a little boy in the house in the 1920s which actually happened to Nathan’s character in the show, which I only found about halfway through after we’d shot certain scenes.

“It made everything a little bit more eerie.”

The Living And The Dead tells the story of a young married couple who inherit a family estate in Somerset in 1894. However, everything is not what it seems and, soon, Nathan begins to review his basic disbelief in the paranormal!

Colin is used to playing dark and mysterious characters, from his break-out role in Merlin to Channel 4’s sci-fi thriller Humans and BBC2’s serial killer drama The Fall. But is this his darkest role yet?

Colin said: “First and full most, Nathan is a healer. He sees the pain and hurt in people and he wants to take that out some how.

“A big thing for the show is what lies beneath should be kept beneath and he has got a lot going on underneath. It starts to unravel under the surface.

“He is a man of science but he has a very traumatic past having lost some very close family members. If the science end of things could be disproved, that there was perhaps evidence of a supernatural world that would be amazing for him.”

Charlotte Spencer plays the role of Charlotte, Nathan’s wife, and their relationship is central to the drama.

Colin said: “There is a lot of love between Nathan and Charlotte, that’s the heart of the show really.

“But as with any relationship, when someone becomes so embroiled in one thing, the focus just gets taken away.

“Charlotte is this grounding force that is trying to pull him back to life.”

For the full interview with Colin Morgan watch the video, above…

The series broadcasts on BBC1 later this month, with the entire box set being released today (Friday) on BBC iPlayer. Click here to watch all six episodes.

 

Victoria Wilson
Feature Writer for What’s on TV, TV Times, TV & Satellite Week and WhatToWatch.com

With over 20 years’ experience writing about TV and film, Vicky currently writes features for What’s on TV, TV Times, TV & Satellite Week magazines plus news and watching guides for WhatToWatch.com, a job which involves chatting to a whole host of famous faces. Our Vicky LOVES light entertainment, with Strictly Come Dancing, Britain’s Got Talent and The Voice UK among her fave shows. Basically, if it’s got a shiny floor, she’s all over it! When she’s not watching TV, you might find Vicky in therapy… retail therapy that is!