Summerwater - Press Pack

SERIES OVERVIEW

5 Cabins, 24 Hours, 1 Fire

Based on Summerwater, the Sunday Times Top Ten book by novelist Sarah Moss, this six-part CHANNEL 4 Drama is written by screenwriter John Donnelly (The Assessment, Pierre), directed by BAFTA Scotland winning Robert McKillop (Ludwig, Guilt, Then You Run) and developed by Glasgow-based indie Freedom Scripted Entertainment. A thrilling and compulsive drama about relationships, sex, identity, and not being able to escape yourself, Summerwater takes us on a journey of wit, heart, and tragedy. An unflinching yet empathetic look at human nature across generations, the series provides a riveting portrait of the divided nation that is modern Britain. Each episode is set over the same 24 hours and seen through the different perspectives of the inhabitants in each cabin. In a Scottish holiday park enduring unpredictable weather, the residents of Summerwater attempt to escape life's problems in the serenity of isolation. Far from a relaxing retreat, Summerwater turns out to be a mysterious, all-knowing place, where residents are confronted with their deepest desires and darkest truths. Weaving together the lives of several families, as they are observed closely from their disparate cabins, Summerwater shows how the simmering tensions between holidaymakers leads to a devastating climax.

CHARACTER BIOS

JUSTINE TINDALL (Valene Kane)

Hard-working mother who has emotionally checked out of her marriage. Justine is worn out by the domesticity of middle age, causing a deep unhappiness that seeps into her work and family life. Withdrawing from her husband, she forms an intense resentment towards her new, younger colleague, Maya, when she is chosen over Justine for a promotion. Justine’s erratic behaviour results in disaster and she seeks escape in Summerwater, but attempting to hide her secrets leads her family into even more trouble.

STEVE TINDALL (Daniel Rigby)

Justine’s husband; Lola and Jack’s adoring dad. Frustrated by financial troubles and a career standstill, Steve is downcast about his marriage and desperate to regain closeness to his wife. He lets off steam at the Summerwater hotel bar by chatting to pretty waitress Alina from the noisy Eastern European cabin, deciding she’s an exception. Steve’s casual xenophobia builds a tension between the cabins which doesn’t go unnoticed by his impressionable children.

DAVID CAMPBLELL (Dougray Scott)

GP David has been coming to Summerwater with his wife Annie for decades. Now that their kids are adults and he has retired, David is hoping for an active and healthy holiday. It soon becomes apparent that they can’t escape their problems here this time, as David finds himself increasingly exasperated by his wife’s illness-related struggles. Scared for their fate and wracked with guilt from a past affair, the strain drives David to breaking point. David loves Annie, but he has a habit of succumbing to his selfish needs, including in his refusal to help her wife with her wants and needs.

ANNIE CAMPBELL (Shirley Henderson)

Annie is David’s wife and a long-time visitor to Summerwater, a place where they have come to fix their problems over the years. But a recent medical diagnosis has seen Annie becoming weaker physically and declining cognitively. Having made a decision about her future, Annie appeals to David for help, but they must face their past problems, as Annie relives the heartbreaks that have made up her life.

MILLIE NKENE (Shereen Cutkelvin)

Millie is holidaying with her boyfriend Josh at his family cabin, ahead of their much-anticipated move from Glasgow to Barra. Distracting themselves with sex in an attempt to seal their bond, Millie spins out as relationship doubts set in. Trapped in their Summerwater cabin, surrounded by troubled families who seem to augur badly for the future, Millie is forced to confront their differing ambitions in settling down and starting a family, and whether she loves Josh enough to have a life with him.

JOSH GILMOUR (Anders Hayward)

Millie’s well-meaning boyfriend Josh is hoping their time together at his parents’ Summerwater cabin will solidify their bond before they make the move to Barra to settle down. But his suggestion that they spend their leisurely holiday hours achieving mutual orgasm – to maximise their chances of lifelong romantic happiness – unfortunately backfires, instead catalysing Millie to question whether they’re right for one another.

ALINA PIOTROWSKA (Anna Próchniak)

Reluctantly but pragmatically leaving her burgeoning photography career behind for the good of her family, Alina is working as a waitress at the Summerwater hotel. A doting mother to her daughter Violeta and a supportive (if increasingly frustrated) partner to Marijonas, Alina is often at loggerheads with her mother-in-law Rasa. Rarely seen without her camera, Alina is fascinated by the people around her. Still searching for a place to call home, she is hoping Summerwater can offer their family something different, but the tension between their cabin and the Summerwater holiday residents is palpable, leaving them isolated.

MARIJONAS ZALISKEVICIUS (Arnas Fedaravičius)

Alina’s loving if distracted husband and Violeta’s father, Marijonas came to Scotland to work as a PT. Having run into trouble in Glasgow, he and his family moved to Summerwater for a fresh start at the hotel, where his mother‘s presence has been a continuous source of tension. Though kind-hearted, the misfortunes Marijonas has endured have seen him develop a darkness and misanthropy that he struggles to control. Letting off steam with loud parties makes him the prime target of their neighbours' resentment at Summerwater. 

RACHEL HENDERSON (Shauna Macdonald)

Becky and Alex’s mother. Rachel is trying her best to keep their family together in the wake of her husband Ian putting them at risk of financial ruin. Add to that her golden boy Alex getting into fights at school, and her own frazzled nerves, Rachel feels tired and peeved at the world. Her attempts to heal the family lead Becky to feel invisible and further tension in the household. Despite it all, Rachel and Ian have a strong bond and are loving parents. 

IAN HENDERSON (Jamie Sives)

Ian is the warm-hearted husband of Rachel, and loving father of Alex and Becky. Though well meaning, Ian’s decisions have left the family in financial difficulty and his secretive investing has led to distrust and resentment from his wife Rachel. Ian struggles with his perceived loss of his children' s respect and relies on Rachel for support. Committed to Rachel and his family, Ian has to find a way back to being the man and father they need. 

ALEX HENDERSON (Calum Ross) 

The golden child of Rachel and Ian, who has recently gone rogue. Alex is pent-up and hormonal, but not unsympathetic to his parents’ issues. Driven mad with boredom at Summerwater, Alex takes his kayak out on the loch, haunted by guilt over hurting a girl he liked at school. Alex has a near death experience in the lake – one which he will never share, largely because he thinks he deserves it for wronging the girl at school.

BECKY HENDERSON (Silvie Furneaux) 

The definition of teenage angst, Becky would rather be anywhere else than at the boring Summerwater cabin - who goes on holiday to a place without Wi-Fi? Clashing with her well-meaning mother causes Becky to act out and seek the company of a mysterious older man in the woods. Her longing to be seen and understood puts Becky in potential danger. Her brother Alex worries about her, but she assures him she is safe. 

GAVIN (James Harkness)

An ex-soldier, Gavin left his young family on his return from deployment because he no longer trusted himself to safely fulfil the role of father and husband, due to his PTSD. He now lives in the woods at Summerwater, on the edges of – but not completely separate from – society. Gavin is a benign force overall but understandably a cause for concern to the parents of children at Summerwater who encounter him. His main point of contact is Becky, who, worryingly, is hoping he might take a fancy to her – but Gavin instead feels paternal towards her, missing his own daughter.