What is Playing Nice about?

Playing Nice is a story about two families who realise that their children they’ve been raising for the last three years aren’t theirs. There was a mix up at the hospital when they were born because they were born premature, and each family took home the wrong child. It’s a psychological thriller which follows two couples over four episodes and how they navigate this discovery and how these four people slowly unravel as the story goes on. There’s plenty of twists and turns. It’s sharp and dark and psychologically intense.

What can you tell us about Maddie? Where do we meet her at the start of the series?

At the start of the series, we meet Maddie, who is happy. She’s with Pete – the guy she’s in love with and has a son with, Theo, and life is good. She’s living her best life, running the restaurant that she owns. When they discover the truth, and that Theo isn’t really theirs, it’s the worst news she could ever imagine receiving and up ends her world.

Can you tell me about the moment in the series where everything changes for Pete and Maddie?

It’s the moment they find out the child they’ve been raising isn’t theirs. That is a huge obstacle for any couple. It’s the fear of looking like you’re not a good parent to the couple whose child you’ve been raising and how they are put under the microscope of how Miles and Lucy view them and their parenting.

Did you do any specific research into similar cases in real life when this has happened?

Yes I read articles on it. I didn’t realise that this – accidental baby swapping – actually happens quite regularly, especially around when babies are born premature because they do all look very alike. I sat down with Kate Hewitt, the director, to get into the mindset of this character and weaving in her back story to my portrayal of Maddie.

Do you think Maddie had an inkling that something might not be quite right?

Yes, I think she’s always had an inkling that things weren’t quite right or they haven’t been right. She suffered with postnatal depression, and at that time she had this feeling like the baby isn’t mine as she felt she had no connection with him. When she finds out that Theo isn’t actually her child and she meets her biological child, David, who has been raised elsewhere, she has a connection with him. It’s almost like the missing piece. It finally makes sense to Maddie the way she felt in the period after giving birth.

How has it been building your on-screen relationship with James Norton?

Oh, it’s been a joy. James is so lovely to work with. He’s very generous, very kind and a lot of fun. It’s been really collaborative process. Working with him and Kate Hewitt [director], we discovered who these two characters were.

Can you tell us a little bit more about Maddie’s relationship with Miles and Lucy?

Miles and Lucy are polar opposites of Maddie and Pete. It’s a complicated relationship between them all. Maddie and Lucy are two women who are now bound to each other by this experience, each loving both children however there is no trust there so it’s an interesting dynamic – they are all always second guessing each other. Maddie is great at reading people and instinctively she knows that there’s something not quite right with Miles. James Mcardle plays Miles so well – Miles so confident and he has this filter that Maddie’s able to see behind – there’s something just not right here. It’s almost like when people are too nice, it’s overcompensating for something else.

Is it quite taxing playing these really emotionally-charged scenes?

It’s actually fun. The reward of playing in a role like this is that it forces you to, I suppose, dig deep into human emotions. It allows me to find something new and portray feelings and situations that I’ve never experienced or hope not to experience.

Have you enjoyed filming in Cornwall?

Yes, it’s been so nice filming in Cornwall. I hadn’t actually been here before and I remember just saying to everyone- ‘I’m going to be in Cornwall for three months filming the series’, and they said ‘you’re going to have the best time.’ The four of us [me, James, Jessica and James] friends and we went surfing every weekend. It’s been really lovely. A really great experience.

What drew you to the role?

Kate Hewitt, our director. She wrote me a letter about the role and immediately I knew I had to work with her. She’s incredible. When I was signing on, I saw that I would have Jessica, James McCardle and James Norton to play in scenes with and that for me was enough to say ‘I need to do this’. I wanted to get stuck into this character and play opposite these actors that I really admire. The psychological thriller was also another draw for me.

Were you familiar with the book beforehand or was this all new material for you?

I wasn’t familiar with the book before but as our show is slightly removed from the book, I didn’t read too much into it. I tried not to because then I would worry that I would draw a comparison and our production is doing taking their own take on this. Your script is the Bible.

Do you feel any added pressure given that it’s so different from the book? You’re
not playing someone that people are familiar with.

You want the freedom to be able to bring your own take on this character and bring something that potentially isn’t there on the page. It lets us dig deeper and find somenew nuance – there was plenty to work with.

What would you say makes the script so compelling for you?

It’s the situation in which these people find themselves. It’s such an intriguing idea. There’s this sense of loss, but yet they haven’t lost a child. It’s more grieving the memories. It’s such a mind-bending thought for someone to think that the child that they’ve been raising isn’t theirs. That alone is terrifying.

What journey do you hope audiences go on when they’re watching this?

Gosh, I hope audiences invest in our characters and are forced to question their own morals of whether or not they would do the same thing. That’s what I love about narratives like this, it’s putting yourself in that situation and seeing how you would react or seeing parts of yourself in the characters. It’s a thrill ride! I love a series that leave you guessing what’s going to happen next. And I think this definitely does that!

How would you describe the series in three words?

Not playing nice.

The first episode of the four-part series will air on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday 5 January, with subsequent episodes landing at the same time on both Mondays and Sundays.

You can also watch the entire series in one day on streaming service ITVX.