Annabel Scholey on The Couple Next Door: ‘Sex scenes are embarrassing – I warn my family to skip them’

“We joked about this when we were filming – ‘Oh, here she is again in the toilet.’ I really hope I’ve had my last encounter in a bathroom. I’ve done my fair share,” laughs the new co-lead of Channel 4’s hit drama. “It’s definitely not in my contract to have one of those scenes in the toilet, but this celebrates older women and that’s great. I’m 41 and it’s no longer the case that you’re sexually washed up at 25 or 30. Women don’t die at 40.”

The first series of the sexually charged drama, set in an upmarket Leeds cul-de-sac, was a huge hit for Channel 4 and in the second series, Scholey plays surgeon Charlotte Roberts, one half of a respected medical couple whose work and home life are inextricably intertwined.

The arrival of Mia (Aggy K Adams), a nurse who moves next door to Charlotte and her anaesthetist husband Jacob (Sam Palladio) and starts work at their hospital, ensures no inch of the couples’s life – and bodies – remains untouched.

“I actually read for Evie, the part Eleanor Tomlinson played in series one,” reveals the Wakefield-born actor. “I really liked the script and the character. Then I read the second series and thought I’m like Charlotte in so many ways; not necessarily what she gets up to, but her type. She’s very focused, quite serious. We’re the same age and from the same place – it’s fairly perfect casting for me.

“She’s a West Yorkshire girl and I haven’t played many of those because people don’t realise I’m from there. I wanted to be reclaimed by the North,” laughs the actor, who now lives on the border of Wiltshire and Somerset. “My parents, sister and nephew still live in Yorkshire, so I go there a lot.”

To prepare for filming, Scholey attended open-heart surgery, which left her “mind-blown”. To add to the pressure, a surgeon at that procedure was also a series adviser and even plays Charlotte’s resident during surgery, which Scholey describes as “terrifying.” That wasn’t the only aspect of the role that conjured up some trepidation.

An undeniable thrust behind the first series’ success was the adult treatment of sexual relationships, those intimate scenes exuding a passion and hunger that seduced viewers. Before a chemistry read with Palladio – where prospective leads are paired to learn if they have a complementary energy – Scholey rewatched the first series to “remind myself what I might be in for.” She also discussed the role with her husband Jim, who she married 18 months ago and unlike her first husband with whom she has a daughter, doesn’t work in the industry. “I needed to check with him as well if he was OK with that because it’s quite a sexual part and a sexual story and it’s important to discuss that with your partner. He’s very supportive.”

Such support extended on to the set with the intimacy coordinator Vanessa Coffey. “I really enjoyed working with Vanessa. There are a few quite intense sex scenes and I felt very safe having Vanessa there – and she’s an ex-dancer, so the scenes were all beautifully choreographed,” explains Scholey, who admits to struggling with the introduction of these specialists.

“I’ve spent two-thirds of my career not using one, so it was a shift. It’s tricky when actresses who’ve had to deal with these scenes on their own suddenly have a person with a set way of behaving. To have a specific person behind the camera with an eye for specific details, protecting your modesty is really good. They know exactly what’s in your contract.”

I ask if that sense of safety removes any awkwardness when family and friends watch those scenes. “No, it’s still incredibly embarrassing. I give my mum time codes – ‘At five minutes and 30 seconds, get Dad out of the room’. I’ve now got a father-in-law to worry about as well, so he also gets time codes.”

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The Couple Next Door season 2 will premiere on Channel 4 on Monday 14th July.

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