Jenna Coleman avoided detective roles - until now - because she feels the star just becomes a "vehicle with which to turn the cogs of the story."
Jenna Coleman was 'completely hooked' by the 'emotional human story' at hand
The former 'Doctor Who' star made an exception to her rule of not playing a detective to star as the inexperienced Ember Manning in the four-part BBC series, 'The Jetty', created by 'Harlots' writer Cat Jones and directed by 'Young and Wild' filmmaker Marialy Rivas.
She is quoted by OK! as saying: “My reluctance in the past, as much as I love detective thrillers, has been where you become a vehicle with which to turn the cogs of the story."
On the emotional pull the role had, she continued: “Whereas for me, I felt I knew who Ember was as a human from the first page. It felt like a human and emotional story as much as a detective thriller – the two co-exist together. That completely hooked me, and also, the beauty, the themes, the waters of conscious trauma, blurred boundaries, memories. It felt so dense and rich.”
The action will unfold around a fire that tears through a holiday home in a scenic Lancashire lake town. Manning must work out how it connects to a podcast journalist investigating a missing persons cold case and an illicit ‘love’ triangle between a man in his twenties and two underage girls, but the truth threatens to destroy her own life and make her re-evaluate everything she thought she knew about her hometown.
Jenna said: “The Jetty asks probing questions about identity, sexual boundaries, sexual politics and the awakening of oneself."
She added: “She’s investigating a case which becomes very personal to her.
“It’s a very character, human and relationship-driven drama that’s wrapped up as a detective thriller.”
Upon the announcement of the series, the 38-year-old actress said: "I’m delighted to be returning to the BBC to be a part of The Jetty, with Firebird Pictures at the helm, bringing the story of Ember Manning to life. I look forward to exploring Cat Jones’ darkly probing scripts, alongside Marialy Rivas’ eloquent vision."
Writer and creator Cat admitted she was “thrilled” to be bringing her story to the BBC.
She said: "I’m thrilled to be making ‘The Jetty’ for BBC One. Like millions of people all over the world, I've grown up loving and admiring BBC dramas, so getting to create one really is a dream come true. ‘The Jetty’ is a story I’ve wanted to tell for a long time, but it wasn’t until it found its champions at the fantastically writer friendly Firebird, that it really came to life. What feels like a total dream team continues to grow with the addition of Marialy Rivas to direct and the brilliant Jenna Coleman. I’ve no doubt audiences are going to be completely transfixed by her as Ember."
The series’ executive producer Elizabeth Kilgarriff dubbed the show “provocative” and “deliciously surprising”.
'The Jetty' airs Monday July 15 at 9pm on BBC One, or stream the whole series from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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