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Viewpoint: ITV Thriller Starring Noel Clarke Starts Monday On ITV

Viewpoint: ITV Thriller Starring Noel Clarke Starts Monday On ITV

Tyla sat down with the cast of the gripping new thriller.

Kimberley Bond

Kimberley Bond

Line of Duty is drawing to a close (and it's just as well, if you ask us - season six has given us heart palpitations) - and we're now looking for a brand new crime thriller to obsess over.

And while there's no shortage of detective shows to sink our teeth into, ITV's latest offering, Viewpoint is an entirely unique take in an oversaturated genre.

Taking place over five consecutive nights, Noel Clarke plays DC Martin Young, who takes part in an intense surveillance operation in a bid to help locate missing teacher Gemma Hillman.

But as Martin watches from Zoe Sterling's (Alexandra Roach) flat, a sense of unease grows - with the tense thriller promising to turn the spotlight on the observer rather than the observed.

ITV have described the show as "a contemporary, character-driven mystery with a seductively intimate feel" that's "as much about friendship, trust and community as it is about solving a crime."

Noel Clarke leads in this gripping thriller (
ITV)

And we're already hooked.

The idea for the series came from director Harry Bradbeer (who counts Fleabag in his ouvre of work), after a friend was approached by the police to use their flat for surveillance purposes in order to watch potential drug dealers in Islington, London.

"He thought that was an inherently interesting relationship," writer Ed Whitmore explains. "You've got someone at home while a stranger is working. It's immediately interesting - that juxtaposition of the personal and the professional."

Noel, who recently returned to screens in the second series of Bulletproof, was attracted to this role due the complexities of his characters. While Martin had previously been sidelined in his career after a near fatal mistake, his relationship with Zoe as he uses her flat helps bring him out of his shell.

"It's a character that resonated with me because he had the trauma and then afterwards he was so considered and so still. If you know me, I'm the least still person you'll ever meet!" he says.

Martin and Zoe get close (
ITV)

"Just meeting Zoe, she's like a whirlwind to him and just intrigued him in a way that used to be - a bit more free when he used to work with Hayley before. I think that just intrigues him and pulls him in. It kind of pulls him back out of his shell."

While Martin may be the main character who we follow as he stealthily surveys the main suspect in Gemma's disappearance, Greg (Fehinti Balogun), he is surrounded by strong female characters, who add another layer of intrigue to the story.

While Zoe at first appears to just be the owner of the flat used for surveillance, the single mum is desperate for excitement in her life - with the operation appealing to her hugely voyeuristic sensibilities.

As the operation progresses, Zoe finds herself increasingly entangled in the case - and starts to become attached to Martin.

Zoe has her own secrets (
ITV)

"Zoe's been waiting for something like this, an exciting chapter in her life, to happen for years," actor Alexandra Roache, who plays Zoe, explains. "When [Martin] turns up with his kit... she feels alive again.

"She's flawed and she's messy and that really contradicted what energy he brings into her flat."

Catherine Tyldesley also stars as Kate Tuckman - a social media influencer who finds herself embroiled in the heart of the mystery, as well as hiding her own demons.

"As an influencer, she portrays this life of perfection," she tells Tyla.

"We all know this isn't possible.

"She is in love with her boyfriend to the point that she's a little obsessive about it, but he's a serial adulterer. She's grown up with this abusive childhood and she's an incredibly strong character because of all she's been through."

Kate is an influencer with a less than picture perfect life (
ITV)

Catherine, who has embraced a diverse set of roles since departing Coronation Street in 2018, added the coronavirus pandemic has only the stiflingly claustrophobic atmosphere of Viewpoint all the more palpable.

"We're all fascinated with human behaviour," she says. "It's a human instinct, whether you would classify yourself as a nosy person or not. If you walk past somebody's house of an evening, and,the lights are on the curtains open, you look, don't you? I defy anybody who says 'actually, I just looked away.'"

Catherine adds that she believes social media "has made us more voyeuristic" than ever before.

"It's just so easy to sit and scroll through someone's life," she says. "But it's hard to remember it's not always real. Playing an influencer in Viewpoint really had that hit home.

Catherine says playing an exposed influencer was fascinating (
ITV)

"It's hard to remember sometimes that nobody's perfect. My Strictly Come Dancing partner in 2019, Johannes Radebe, used to say to me: 'Baby girl, nobody likes a perfect bitch.' I never forgot that.

"In reality, everyone's got their own problems. And so for me to find a character where she suddenly becomes so exposed was a really interesting part to play."

Viewpoint starts Monday at 9pm and continues all week on ITV.

Featured Image Credit: ITV

Topics: Drama, TV News, TV & Film, ITV