M



arnie Dickens can make implies that get men and women speaking. She made it happen in 2016 with
Thirteen
, the addicting BBC Three abduction drama that broke iPlayer records. This week, the writer returns with a similarly stunning account, Gold Digger, about a mature woman swept off her feet by a younger man with seemingly nefarious motives. «I hope we have all another type of viewpoint whenever they watch it,» claims Dickens. «And I desire people’s opinions to evolve. They might begin with hating one personality. Then, if they watch the occurrence that focuses primarily on them, they’re going to go, ‘Oh I see, this is exactly why they can be such as that.'»

Dickens slashed her teeth on
Hollyoaks
, progressing to
Ripper Street
and
The Musketeers
. Thirteen – starring a pre-Killing Eve
Jodie Comer
as abductee Ivy – confirmed she appreciated to take chances. «I was really eager that Thirteen would not end up being voyeuristic,» she claims from the choice to home in on Ivy’s escape from the woman captor, without her knowledge as a prisoner. Besides, it was no clear-cut victim/perpetrator tale. «It starts off as an account about a survivor,» claims Dickens, «and turns out to be one about an unreliable narrator.»

A similar push-pull lies in the middle of Gold Digger. Julia, a wealthy, separated mama of three, fulfills Benjamin, a suave, good-looking and – crucially – a lot younger guy. Both attempt a whirlwind affair, a lot with the disgust and despair of Julia’s adult children.

Although Gold Digger possesses its own twists and turns, you will find definite
Doctor Foster
parallels, from an attractive cast acting extremely defectively to their luxurious design. And, like Foster, moreover it delves into common themes. «All of us have individuals and every solitary you have unique tips and lies,» claims Dickens. «a lot more than that, we all have our personal thoughts and variations of the identical activities. We hardly ever accept that the audience is incorrect when it comes to those perceptions.»

Feminine sex and need, specially the method we refuse all of them in earlier females, was actually another theme of the woman six-parter. «i desired to examine exactly what it opportinity for a lady when she drops off of the desirability scale for the rest of community. You have not really gone away, it is simply that folks stop appearing. The secret to Gold Digger is that Benjamin sees Julia. That is these types of a large thing because the woman ex-husband features only seen their in terms of the marriage they made, and her young ones can’t understand the lady as a sexual staying.»

It helps, she acknowledges, that actors – Julia Ormond and Ben Barnes – have great chemistry. «you must trust their unique union, to think that it maybe authentic, or otherwise the assumption fails. Julia is a tremendously attractive lady really real way. You can find precisely why he’d observe the lady and stay captivated. The setting is very important and: it really is her birthday, she is already been let down by her children, and additionally they fulfill when you look at the British Museum, where she regularly operate. He sees her because the individual she had previously been.»

Obviously, the story doesn’t unfold in the way you had expect. It’s packed with intrigue, too, like among Dickens’ favorite shows,
Succession
. «Initially,» she says with the HBO struck, «you think they are all-terrible folks, however your viewpoint modifications. As I first viewed, Tom had been a weak, repellent guy. By the end of next show, he had been splitting my personal heart. That is what a great crisis requires. It’s not sufficient to have adrenaline-driven plots. You will want figures to elevates on a journey. That is what helps to keep you coming back again each week.»

The one thing Dickens doesn’t like is dramas that outstay their own pleasant: she had been determined that Thirteen would merely manage for just one show. «There are demonstrates ignore that and carry on. Occasionally, they shouldn’t.» Really does she see gold-digger in the same terms? There’s a pause. «It’s always hard for article writers because, clearly, if individuals like your work and it also really does well, there is the urge keeping going. Also, you become really connected to the characters. With Gold Digger, i really hope people feel the ending does work fot it story.»

Gold-digger starts on BBC One
at 9pm on 12 November.