Amanda Coe (Screenwriter)
What is at the heart of the story of Apple Tree Yard?
For me, the heart of the story is a woman who finds herself at a crossroads in her life, which is quite common in mid-life, and essentially ends up having her sexuality put on trial. We鈥檙e very familiar with procedural stories or thrillers, or kind of very dark romantic stories, but we鈥檙e very unused to seeing those stories told from the point of a 50 year old woman, that in itself is quite radical. And although in the story her sexuality becomes problematic because of what happens, her own relationship with her sexuality isn鈥檛 a problem, it鈥檚 not like she鈥檚 questioning in any kind of agonised way initially that she鈥檚 a sexual being. I really like that about the book and I think a lot of readers responded to that. It shouldn鈥檛 be necessary that that statement is radical, but it is in our culture, so I feel that in its own way it鈥檚 doing something that is fairly important.
What would you hope that a viewer would come away with from Apple Tree Yard?
Well primarily I hope that they鈥檒l feel they were really entertained by it and they enjoyed the four hours. After that I hope it maybe it provokes a bit of debate or thought about some of the themes that it explores. Fundamentally I think that anyone who makes TV drama just really wants to grip the viewer and give them that experience that they鈥檙e having a good time watching it and that you鈥檙e wholly absorbed by the story.
How much did you work with Louise and talk with the book's author Louise Doughty through the process?
Not very much at all actually, although we got to know each other at the later stages. What was really nice and liberating was we had a meeting quite early on. Louise was very clear early on that it was a very different process and she was letting it go and trusted me. It鈥檚 good when you feel like there鈥檚 not going to be kind of any conflict or anxiety. When she read the scripts at quite a late stage she was extremely positive about them so she鈥檚 been a very supportive, generous presence in it.
Do you have a favourite scene that really stands out to you?
I think everyone saw a particular scene in the book as a stand out scene, which is when Yvonne is being questioned by a consultant who鈥檚 helping her, training her for her presentation in court, and he鈥檚 a very insensitive, young, male barrister, and his questioning of her makes you see what she鈥檚 facing in the court case, and her husband is witnessing it. Everything鈥檚 been kind of tamped down between them emotionally and just snaps and pulls a knife on this guy, which is a shocking moment in the book. It鈥檚 been great seeing that because I think it works just as well as everyone hoped it would.
I was quite pleased with the scenes between Gary and as husband and wife, because it felt there was more room to kind of shade in those moments of a long term relationship and the nuances of that, which I really enjoyed. There is a little random moment which is Yvonne and , when they鈥檙e in a very sexual phase of their affair and they鈥檙e flirting. It鈥檚 all quite charged. But then we also see her in the toilet cubicle of the bar and she鈥檚 actually got some spanx on and she鈥檚 really struggling to take them off.
I enjoyed that as just a very human moment that I think only a woman could have written, that kind of performing of your sexuality and that backstage moment of the reality of how all that is performed, which is in the book as well and I think that鈥檚 what the book is all about.
Louise Doughty (novelist)
What has it been like watching Apple Tree Yard come to life in a TV adaptation for 大象传媒 One?
It has been both wonderful and surreal. Like many novelists, my books had been optioned several times and nothing had come of it, so my initial reaction was to feel pleased but sceptical as to whether or not it would actually happen, and it was wonderful when it did. At the same time, it's been a little surreal to see characters I imagined come to life. is very close to how I imagined Yvonne in so many ways, even down to gesture, wardrobe choices or settings that weren't really described in the book. When you see the detail of your novel portrayed so accurately it's both marvellous and spooky. They've been inside my head.
What did you think of the casting of Emily Watson as Yvonne Carmichael?
Once I knew Emily Watson was a possibility I think I actually held my breath until she was confirmed. Yvonne is a character who has to have so many elements to her: you have to believe she's a convincing research scientist, so she has to have real intellectual heft and gravitas, while at the same time believing she would do something utterly reckless and passionate and out of character. She has to remain likeable even when you disapprove of her actions. And she has to be independently minded and strong while having a degree of vulnerability. It's a very complex part and Emily Watson pulls it off magnificently.
What research did you do to write Yvonne's Crown Court trial?
I spent three weeks at the Old Bailey sitting through every day of a real life murder trial and it was an invaluable experience. At first, I went along looking for authentic atmospheric details but I was inevitably caught up in the drama and plot of that trial and it gave me so many ideas for the twists and turns that Yvonne endures. The Crown Prosecution Service was very helpful, as was the Murder Investigation Team running the case. It was the kind of experience that is utterly invaluable for a writer.
Does the finished product look like what you pictured as you wrote the book?
Oh yes - to a spooky extent! My first day on set was when I visited the house the production team found as Yvonne and Gary's suburban home, and it was so close to the house I had imagined that my jaw dropped. I love the look of the production - in many ways, it's a love letter to London with so many wonderful locations, but it's also part of the real world.