Meet the cast of Apple Tree Yard
Everything you need to know about the cast and characters of the BBC’s adaptation of the Louise Doughty novel
Things are about to get a whole lot steamier when psychological thriller Apple Tree Yard hits our television screens.
Written by Amanda Coe and directed by Jessica Hobbs, the show has been adapted from Louise Doughty’s novel. With a female-centric storyline and creative team, the show tackles a topic that rarely sees the limelight – middle-aged sexuality.
- Mark Bonnar: “I’ve always been attracted to the weird”
- Emily Watson on her Apple Tree Yard role: ‘Sexuality is powerful at 50’
- Apple Tree Yard review: a gripping psychological thriller with a dose of Fifty Shades
Dr. Yvonne Carmichael, a high-flying career woman in the area of genetics seems to have it all: a devoted husband, two well-raised children, and an enviable suburban home.
Not so... She becomes entangled in a web of lies and embarks on a passionate affair with a man she hardly knows until a single act of violence brings her world crashing down.
Delve into the complex psyche of the cast and characters of this four-part series before it airs this Sunday the 22nd on BBC1 at 9pm.
Emily Watson – Yvonne Carmichael
Yvonne Carmichael is a geneticist who works at one of the most highly regarded institutions in her field. Despite her accolades and healthy home life, she seems to be stuck in a bit of a rut. Her mid-life crisis, if we can call it such, and stale marriage thrusts her into the arms of a stranger, but is he all that he seems?
“I hope it’s going to cause debate and that people feel very strongly about Yvonne, the things she does, and the choices she makes. I know some people are going to really disapprove of her,” says star Emily Watson.
“I think some women will be really invested in that relationship, showing an older woman going off and having an exciting affair. I hope it’s going to make people talk. I think the moral ambiguity and how it’s not entirely clear-cut is true to life.”
Where do I recognise her from?
Emily Watson is known for roles in films such as The Theory of Everything, Anna Karenina, Angela's Ashes, and Red Dragon. She started out in theatre and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. She went on to win an Oscar nomination for Breaking the Waves and won a Bafta for her TV role in ITV's Appropriate Adult.
She was the first one to tell her co-star, Ben Chaplin, about Apple Tree Yard. Due to the sexual nature of some of the scenes in the show, she wanted to act them out with someone she felt comfortable with.
