The Cuckoo star on importance of empathy in finale: "It's quite lovely"

Well, whatever happens, actress Claire Goose (who stars as Jessica in the series) has admitted that it's important to have empathy as we prepare for the fourth and final instalment tomorrow night.

Goose told press: "What’s also quite lovely with this show and its take on the genre, is that both Brian [O'Malley, director] and Jill were very keen that they didn’t just want to show 'a mad woman', and that we should have some empathy with Sian towards the end.

"Without spoiling anything, I love the way the ending is written. Even though Sian does some awful things, you also know it all came from the fact she was deeply hurting.

"I thought there was something really clever in the way that they did that, because it would be so easy just to make her crazy.

"But audiences are much smarter and more aware of mental health now, and you can see that Sian is struggling."

While we'll have to tune in to see exactly what Sian is running from and what her backstory really involves, it's clear that Halfpenny's character isn't just a plain villain in this at all.

As director O’Malley also told press: "With The Cuckoo, I really liked the idea that you could take one of those concepts but understand the woman in question so much more, humanising her to the point where you can feel some sympathy even though she’s the villain.

"That's what I really wanted to do with this show – I knew that whatever else happened, by the end of this series I wanted the audience to feel real sympathy for Sian and to understand that while what she did was wrong, she was really suffering as a human being.

"I didn’t want her to just be the crazy woman in this story, and I think we did achieve that."

From the start, it's been clear that mysterious lodger Sian has managed to get under the skin of Nick (Lee Ingleby) and Jessica (Goose) as she's moved in with them, despite protests from Nick over the fact.

Sian seemed to sweep in at just the right time for the family as they moved to the countryside, removed Alice from private school and have had to deal with some money problems – which Sian seemed to help out with rather conveniently.

But her motives have become all too clear, especially in the most recent episode. But the real question is: how will things end for Sian?

Read more:

• Jill Halfpenny and Lee Ingleby star in foreboding teaser for The Cuckoo
• Jill Halfpenny says it was "fun" playing "ridiculous" The Cuckoo character

While we'll just have to tune in to see how things unfold for all involved, Halfpenny has been upfront about how "ridiculous" her character is - but nevertheless had fun getting into role.

Halfpenny told press: "Sometimes she’s ridiculous, and it was fun to play somebody like that. But just because she does bad things, it doesn’t mean she’s a terrible person.

"We know how people struggle with mental health, and Sian is obviously struggling with her version of reality."

And Halfpenny also echoes the sentiment around empathy for Sian, saying: "It was easy for me to find empathy with her, because I know that people can completely convince themselves of something if they want it to be true - they just doggedly follow that idea to the end."

As for whether viewers will be able to exercise empathy in that fateful fourth episode, time will tell what's in store for Sian.

The Cuckoo continues on Thursday 11th April on Channel 5 at 9pm.

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