Hope Street’s Amara Karan teases “provocative” storylines in crime drama
"There are important, serious storylines."
BBC One has welcomed a new daytime crime drama to our screens. Hope Street, which is set in a fictional Northern Irish seaside town, stars Amara Karan (Lucky Man, Bancroft, The Night Of) as Leila Hussain, a detective drafted in from the big city.
“She arrives in mysterious circumstances," Karan told RadioTimes.com. "And she's such a stranger to this little world. She's a detective from Nottingham. She was working undercover and has arrived suddenly because of what has happened with that particular case.
"She’s a Muslim and she arrives in this small little port town in Northern Ireland, and I just thought the setup initially was very funny, but also really intriguing. And I found the scripts to be a page-turner."
Karan stars alongside a big ensemble Hope Street cast and plenty of guest actors who pop up throughout the series, with each episode throwing up a fresh challenge for the local police force, as well as plenty of personal drama.
"It's really great fun doing big scenes where we're all there," said Karan. "It's just great to bounce off everyone because there's always so much energy in the room. There's a story of the week and the guests were incredible. There were some extremely powerful performances from our guest characters, so I can't wait for the audience to see them. And also, the storylines each week are quite hard-hitting. There are important, serious storylines."
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Karan went on to say that she was "surprised by how important the storylines are, and how affecting they are", adding: "Some of the storylines are really moving. And I think [viewers] will be surprised. I think it's quite clever that the show is entertaining and presents itself as being entertaining, but it also makes you think as well.
"We have something provocative each week as the storylines between these characters in this town, and I just love the juxtaposition of that."
Hope Street airs weekdays on BBC One at 2.15pm. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Drama hub for the latest news.
Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
