James Norton on Playing Nice: 'We want to make the country squirm'
"We want to make them feel uncomfortable."
"We want to make the country squirm," said James Norton of Playing Nice, a new ITV drama about two couples who enter one another's lives after being told their toddlers were swapped at birth.
"We want to have people sitting on their couches at home with their families watching it through their fingers," added Norton. "And then asking the big question..."
"Are you mine?" laughed James McArdle.
"DNA testing is going to go through the roof," joked Norton.
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"Living a waking nightmare, Pete (Norton) and Maddie (Niamh Algar) are jettisoned into the world of the other couple, Miles (James McArdle) and Lucy (Jessica Brown Findlay)," reads the official synopsis.
"At first, it seems all four are agreed on a solution, but it soon becomes clear that hidden motives are at play.
"How far can each couple trust the real parents of their child – or even each other? As Pete and Maddie are stretched to breaking point, they realise they will stop at nothing to keep their family together."
Norton went on to say that the drama is designed to ask the audience what they would do in that situation.
"We've got these different characters, different approaches to the problem, and hopefully it will get the audience asking: Are you a Pete? Are you a Maddie? Are you a Miles? Maybe a Lucy," he added.
"We want to make them feel uncomfortable. That's the idea. It's definitely about tension and knottiness."
Viewers will need "a long walk" following the finale, according to Algar.
"They will be exhausted," echoed Norton.
Algar also said that different people "might react differently" to how it wraps up.
"I really hope they have their own reactions," she added.
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Playing Nice will air on ITV1 on Sunday 5th January at 9pm, with subsequent episodes airing on Monday and Sunday in the same timeslot.
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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.
