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The synopsis for the new Channel 5 drama reads: “Her [Claudia's] opportunity to be a hero comes when a young child in her community – Emily Winter – goes missing. Claudia becomes embroiled in the case and fixated on uncovering the truth.
Collecting money for Emily’s family gave Claudia the perfect excuse to strike up a rapport with teacher George (Craig Parkinson), a colleague she’d been admiring from afar. Who won Bake Off 2023? Final results and GBBO champion 28 November, 2023 The Bake Off final was a triumphant end to the best series in years 28 November, 2023 Opinion | Bake Off is dying 28 November, 2023 Shirley says: "I loved the danger of it, the delicate quality, the sense of the unknown. I was very surprised to be offered the role, though! I don’t think I’ve ever had this big a part in a TV show, where I’m in almost every scene – I was really nervous about it!" Shirley says: "Claudia initially recognises the sadness in these parents who have lost their daughter. I don’t think she really knows she’s becoming obsessively involved, though. Maybe if she just sat down properly and thought, what on earth am I doing, she’d see it. But there’s something pulling her in. She also hasn’t got anybody to talk to about it, so it begins to emotionally affect her."
It’s only natural for viewers to feel a certain amount of empathy for the main character, but Claudia’s obsession with Emily’s disappearance does add another chilling element to this already dark tale… Who’s in The House Across the Street cast? The House Across the Street cast is led by Scottish star Shirley Henderson, who’s known for everything from Trainspotting to Bridget Jones’s Diary and, of course, as the iconic and ever-melancholic Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films. She plays Claudia, who has survived a battle with cancer and feels distant from her son, whom she co-parents with ex-husband Leon. Craig says: "As a parent, I find it very difficult to hear about reports of real-life cases, I always turn the television or radio off. But this isn’t just a series about a missing child, it’s also a thriller about unhealthy obsession!" Who's Who — a brief guide to the main characters in The House Across The Street Claudia (Shirley Henderson) is the school nurse and neighbour of the missing child. She has just recovered from breast cancer, her ex-husband has a new partner and a baby on the way, and she is losing connection with her teenage son. Claudia becomes creepily over-involved in the case, and we’re left to work out if that’s because she has something to do with it, or whether she’s just lonely and desperate to feel needed. The other suspects include George (Line of Duty’s Craig Parkinson, an actor with the charisma to lift every show he’s in), who arrives at the school to teach adult literacy; Joanne (Sara Powell), a nosy neighbour who appears to relish the drama; and the mother and father of the missing girl, because aren’t we conditioned not to trust the parents in these cases?
Here is everything you need to know about The House Across the Street. You can get more TV news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here. The second episode will air at 9pm on Tuesday, October 18 and then the drama will return to screens on Monday, October 24, and Tuesday, October 25 for the final two episodes. Likeable teacher George is new to the area, but becomes friends with Claudia when he starts tutoring her troubled son, Rhys. But he soon becomes concerned about Claudia’s odd obsession with the Emily Winter case, especially when she begins to question his innocence. Shirley says: " It’s the human condition to be curious. People are interested in the sad and the bad things that happen in life. But the thing about our story is that Claudia goes to extremes – she goes to a point where her interested could be dangerous!"The final episodes will air next week on Monday, October 24 and Tuesday, October 25 at the same time. The good thing about Channel 5 is that they let me have all four episodes of their dramas in advance, so I can watch the whole thing and manage your expectations. Thus I can tell you that The House Across the Street doesn’t build to a brilliant finale. It crams far too much into its final episode and goes a little bit too mad (put it this way: there is a scene in which a woman puts on a pair of her male neighbour’s underpants).
Shirley says: "Claudia’s a quiet woman, who’s on her own a lot and in her own thoughts. She has been lonely for a while, she’s had a lot of medical things going on and I think she’s having a breakdown. Then one day everything changes when she walks up her path towards her house and sees that there’s something going on in her street. Maybe the case of missing Emily is what she needs to feel worthy and alive again." Shirley says: "Sometimes I’d sit on the pavement between scenes just to get my thoughts together and run the lines in my head. Wondering how to bring to life a character that has lots of emotional scenes is always challenging, but getting to have magic moments with such a brilliant cast and crew made it all worthwhile!" Irish actor Ian-Lloyd Anderson, who plays Owen, said: “This job was lovely because we filmed near Dublin, which meant I could go home every night.Shirley Henderson, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Bridget Jones, will lead the cast as the lead character Claudia. Claudia has a very complicated story, she is recovering from cancer and struggling to build a relationship with her son.
READ MORE: ITV The Larkins season 2 start date and cast as Bradley Walsh leads The Darling Buds of May remake The House Across The Street follows Claudia, a lonely single mother. Recovering from breast cancer while working as a school nurse, Claudia’s days appear bleak. At the end, Emily’s body was found. Camera crews descended to report on the tragedy. Raw and bereft, Claudia surveyed the scene through tears. Was she crying because she had hoped to find Emily alive? Or did her pain come from somewhere darker? “I just don’t want it to be over,” she told a reporter. “Not yet.” In the process her neighbors become prime suspects, including Emily’s mother Sabine whose coldness in the face of their family tragedy means Claudia sets her sights on her as a possible villain too. Ian-Lloyd Anderson (Game of Thrones) and Lisa Dwyer Hogg (Silent Witness) play Emily’s heartbroken parents Owen and Sabine, while Doctor Who star Sara Powell plays Joanne, a supportive yet suspicious neighbour.Also in the cast is Craig Parkinson, best known for his role as Matthew 'Dot' Cottan in Line of Duty, and he plays George, a school teacher who is new to the community and many are suspicious of him. The House Across the Street is not based on a true story and is not originally a book. Here is everything we know about the drama. Vikings star Ian Lloyd Anderson stars alongside Shirley and Craig as Emily Winter’s dad Owen, with The Fall’s Lisa Dwyer Hogg as her mum Sabine. Unforgotten actor Sara Powell plays their neighbor Joanne, Out of Innocence’s Ronan Leahy plays Joanne’s husband Dave and Luke Griffin from The Frankenstein Chronicles plays Leon - Shirley’s ex-husband. How many episodes in The House Across the Street? Shirley Henderson leads the cast of The House Across the Street, a brand new Channel 5 drama. The Harry Potter star plays Claudia, a lonely single mother and school nurse longing for connection. The House Across the Street begins on Channel 5 at 9pm on Monday, October 17. The episodes are an hour long and there will be four in the series.