Eve Myles has played her fair share of detectives, from DS Lola Franks in We Hunt Together, to DCI Jeanette Kilburn in The Crow Girl.
In her latest series, Gone, the Welsh actress stars as Detective Annie Cassidy, who is tasked with solving the mysterious disappearance of a woman.
The six-part drama, written by George Kay, is partly inspired by the book To Hunt a Killer by crime correspondent Robert Murphy.
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The book explores the case led by former Detective Superintendent Julie Mackay of Gloucestershire Police, whose investigation helped secure a life sentence for the man who sexually assaulted and stabbed Melanie Road, 32 years after her murder.
Both Mackay and Murphy served as consultants on the series, which sees a local headmaster, played by David Morrissey, become the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance.
Myles, 47, who also starred in Broadchurch, says she sought Mackay’s advice while preparing for the role.
“She was very generous during the time we spoke,” says Myles.
“We did Zoom calls while she was out walking her dog or eating breakfast. Whenever I had questions or wasn’t sure about something, I could call her and she was always available to help. She also made visits to the set.
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“She even appeared as a supporting artist in one of the scenes, which was brilliant. It added to the sense of involvement and inclusivity.
“She was very honest and open, especially considering I was a complete stranger asking her quite personal questions.
“I felt it really helped me understand, manage and develop Annie’s character. I was profoundly grateful to her for being so open.”
Myles says she was particularly inspired by Mackay’s resilience and perseverance in solving Road’s case.
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“Julie said to me that she never doubted, not for a single second, that she would catch the killer.
“That resilience and persistence really stayed with me. Even if, externally, you feel like you’re not being listened to or heard, you have to keep that belief loud and alive within yourself and keep working towards your goal.
“You’ve got to trust your instincts. You have to believe that you have a voice and that you’re more than capable of achieving what you set out to do.”
Set against the backdrop of a prestigious private school, Morrissey’s character, Michael Polly, is an upstanding member of the community, until he finds himself at the centre of a murder investigation.
When he encounters the determined Detective Cassidy, a tense game of cat and mouse begins as she chips away at his composed exterior in search of the truth.
Morrissey, 61, known for his roles in State of Play and The Walking Dead, describes Gone as more of a psychological drama than a conventional thriller.
“We’re very used to the sort of ‘crash, bang, wallop’ moments you often get in a psychological drama like this. But this story is about the pauses, the intrigue and the relationships,” he explains.
“I don’t think these two characters would ever have met, or chosen to spend time together, if they didn’t have to. They’re both very good at their jobs. Whether they’re as successful in their personal lives is another matter, but professionally they’re highly capable.
“They meet at a time of crisis, and much of it centres on them trying to work each other out, for very different reasons. It becomes a kind of chess match between them, while the world carries on around them.”
Myles agrees, emphasising the emotional depth of the series.
“It shifts from being a procedural investigation to an emotional one. There are no car chases, no bombs going off, no guns, it’s not that kind of thriller.
“This is a psychological thriller, a human thriller. It’s about the breakdown of two people who were never meant to come together, but are forced into each other’s lives under extremely traumatic circumstances and what happens to them in the process.”
Morrissey describes his character as a control freak.
“It was about the idea that he’s a man who’s built a cage around himself,” he explains.
“As a result, he’s controlling, a real control freak. He likes routine and is very rigid in his outlook. He has a strong moral compass.
“He’s deeply committed to his ethics, particularly when it comes to how a school should be run, and he’s taken all of that responsibility on. But the downside is that he’s not emotionally in touch with himself and struggles to be vulnerable.
“He doesn’t seem able to have fun or embrace any kind of frivolity. What fascinated me was how locked-in he is, how that rigidity is demanded by his job, yet ultimately becomes an obstacle in his personal life.”
As his world begins to unravel, that rigidity becomes even more apparent.
“Once his world begins to unravel, he doesn’t have the emotional intelligence to cope with it. Instead, he reacts in a way that feels violent, not necessarily physically violent, but through stonewalling, stoicism and an absence of emotion. That unsettles people. It tips the police off to the sense that something isn’t right.
“‘I don’t know what’s wrong,’ she thinks, ‘but something is and I need to dig deeper.’ That’s really the heart of the piece.”
Morrissey, who has starred in thrillers including The Woman in Cabin 10 and Basic Instinct 2, says he was surprised by how the story unfolds.
“I think it’s a very surprising story, not just in the classic ‘he didn’t do it’ sense but in the cracks that appear in the characters’ emotional lives, and how we get there.
“I’ve not really seen it examined in that way in a classic thriller, the emotional lives of people, the baggage they’re carrying, and how that unexpectedly opens up.”
Episode 2 of Gone will show on ITV tonight.
