Bad Sisters' Anne-Marie Duff: 'There’s a time-bomb ticking away in season 2'

We find her in a really lovely space. She’s loved up, she’s free of JP and she’s moved forward in her life. But there’s a time bomb ticking away – her guilty secret. In that way, JP still controls her from beyond the grave.

How has Grace changed since we last saw her?

For the outside world, she played the role of grieving widow. She’s reconnected with the church and formed a close friendship with a character who’s played by the incredible Fiona Shaw, and she becomes her support.

So she’s swapped one controlling relationship for another?

Totally. Sadly, until we sit in a therapist’s chair, we tend to be repeat offenders, don’t we? We put the washing machine on the same cycle until we learn to confront certain aspects of ourselves.

Coercive control is such an important issue. Did you feel a responsibility portraying it on screen?

Absolutely. Both Claes [Bang, who played JP] and I were committed to telling this story properly. We had to, because if we didn’t make it as true as possible, the audience would not have been willing the sisters to kill him. You had to make it that they felt desperately sorry for Grace. Also, you don’t know who’s watching. There will undoubtedly have been more than one person who has found themselves in a similar situation, and just to hear their story being told will be really powerful for them. So you have to serve it well.

Did you research or talk to anyone who’d been in that situation?

I did. I’ve worked on projects over the years where I’ve involved myself with Women’s Aid and I’ve been to refuges and spoken to women who are in violently abusive relationships and controlling coercive relationships. So, I’d had conversations with people who had experienced it first-hand.

Do you share any traits with Grace?

We’re quite different, actually. But I suppose trying to see the good in people. I’ve got that sort of idealism that she has, but without the denial that she has along with it.

How is it working with your on-screen sisters?

They’re such funny, extraordinary women, all of them. It’s really good fun to be in their company. I love being part of a sister family. I don’t have any sisters – I have one older brother – so that was gorgeous, to actually be inside of that dynamic.

Who would you say is the strongest Garvey sister?

I don’t think you could. They all have their own strengths, and that’s the thing about all of us as human beings. Everybody is everything. And that’s what’s clever about Sharon’s writing. She doesn’t write Spice Girl sisters. She doesn’t go, "This one’s this Spice, this one’s that Spice." Every single character is beautifully swollen with many things. And that is what makes it so enjoyable for the audience, because that’s what the audience wants to see. They want to see complicated characters.

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Bad Sisters season 2 will premiere on Wednesday 13th November on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes, then new episodes weekly. Season 1 is available to stream on Apple TV+ – sign up to Apple TV+ here.

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