Q&A with Sam Palladio who plays Jacob Roberts

Q&A with Sam Palladio who plays Jacob Roberts 

Why should people watch series two? 

People should watch series two because series one was such a fantastic set-up for this world that has allowed us to play and to explore. Fans of series one are going to come back to this neighbourhood, see this world develop and take some dark twists. 

The characters in this season are so well written; they're complex, they're dealing with domestic situations that have been turned on their head. We're exploring what happens when you make those choices that you would only think about and most people wouldn't act on. 

It's a compelling piece of writing and it's a really dynamic cast. The relationships we've got are detailed and interesting and there's something to really get stuck into.

What was it about the role of Jacob / the show that appealed to you? 

I've lived in the States for about 12 years so it's always lovely to come home and work in the UK and Europe with a British production company. 

I've played a lot of roles with accents and Jacob was one of the first times I've used my natural accent in something and that makes the work feel bit more grounded and feels relatable. 

The world for Jacob is interesting. I've played lots of characters that are the love interest, the hero, the singer… these sorts of charming, charismatic characters and Jacob really gets to play in that world. Then also he goes on such an arc in this series and gets exposed to just so many different emotional pulls dealing with intense jealousy, rage and putting up a façade. It’s a really complex, challenging storyline that pushes me in an emotional way. 

Can you tell us a little bit about Jacob and Charlotte’s relationship across this series? 

Jacob's story is quite dramatic. It's a rollercoaster, which gives me lots to play with. We first see Jacob and Charlotte in their domestic bliss. They’re happily married. They’ve been together for 20 years so at this point they're very familiar. 

The dynamic is a married couple, who work together, so that's another element to their relationship that brings tension. They’re on the same surgical team; Jacob's a consultant anaesthetist and Charlotte's the consultant heart surgeon. They both have high profile jobs and are under a lot of stress but are as cool as cucumbers on the outside. They're hard working and they've put the time in to be where they are. 

The audience is introduced to this very settled relationship but once we get introduced to Mia, cracks start appearing… 

Why do you think Jacob is drawn to Mia? 

Jacob starts to see something in Mia that he hasn't seen with Charlotte for a long time. There's a strange, hypnotic pull to her.  It’s something he tries to ignore but it's quite overpowering. Then we start to see that happen for Charlotte as well and the three of them are in this whirlwind battling what they should and shouldn't do. And what society says you are supposed to do and how you're supposed to present yourself and ultimately that that leads to some really dramatic consequences. 

And Jacob, fuelled by the latter part of the series, has this jealousy and this pent-up frustration. When Leo comes into the picture, old wounds are opened up. To see him suddenly back in Jacob and Charlotte's territory in the hospital, it turns him into a teenager again and he doesn't know what to do. We take these peaks and troughs and there are some really dramatic consequences.

Given this is a completely new story - did it still feel like you were joining an existing show? 

I loved series one. I was gripped by the great performances and story so to come and play in this sandbox was really exciting. There’s a lot that happened in this little cul-de-sac. 

Driving onto the set for the first time and into that little dead-end and thinking “Oh, that's where they run out in the rain and had the little moment in series one”.

I thought: “Yeah, here I am. I'm part of this now.” And it was exciting.

How did you find the experience of observing real life heart surgery and meeting a real anaesthetist? 

It was incredible experience actually getting to see a real-life heart surgery. It happened at the beginning of filming, and I was quite anxious about it. It was so helpful for the character of Jacob to meet a real anaesthetist and just observe this operation. I felt privileged to sit in and be able to look into a chest and watch out for the heartbeat.

It was a really important day. As an actor, you look at the script and sometimes you see these big words and think we don't know how we're going to tackle this. Without having that day, it would have been really tricky.