Sally Lindsay stars as Emma in the new series, a recent divorcee who falls for a deceptive stranger.
New Channel 5 drama, Love Rat, kicks off tonight for what is set to be a series packed full of twists and, also, bears a striking resemblance to many real life tales of deception.
Chatting to RadioTimes.com and other press, series star Sally Lindsay said of her leading role as Emma in the drama: “It’s like when you learn a new word, you hear it all the time. When I was out there, we were hearing stories of this happening to women. There were cases we heard of all the time, it happened to Imogen’s auntie, who played my daughter.
“Alexis [Georgoulis] showed me a thing on the Greek Reporter that somebody had pretended to be Keanu Reeves’s PA, a beautiful young man. So there were stories that happened when I was out there, it’s actually quite a common thing to be to be singled out and to be manipulated, which is horrific because it’s one thing stealing your money, but stealing your heart is pretty unforgivable.”
Similarly, Neil Morrissey who plays Pete, Emma’s ex-husband, in the series added: “We see it so much. It’s ever present in the news for the past decade. People being groomed online, sending money, giving money, being taken advantage of and being manipulated. it’s around a lot. I think there’ll be a lot of empathy out there.”
The new four-parter follows Emma as she sets off a sunlit adventure in Cyprus and strikes up a romantic relationship with Nico (Gerald Kyd), the wealthy owner of the hotel that she’s staying at. Although it seems like a holiday romance, soon Nico is asking Emma to move in with him, and that’s when things start to take a turn.
Nico asks Emma for a short-term loan and soon, Emma realises that not everything’s as it seems. Speaking about that, Lindsay said: “I think what was tough about this is she offers him money, it’s not anything he asks for. He’s very genuine, he’s very real. It looks like they’ve just fallen for each other and it’s completely believable. And it’s only unbelievable when she analyses it afterwards.
“The way it’s filmed, it’s like a fantasy really, like a Shirley Valentine fantasy, it’s just like this fantastic thing that’s happened to her and my God, this relief and this lovely man and he’s loaded and it’s fine, but it’s awful.
“It’s just awful, the manipulation, because it’s so real. And I think it was interesting that he she gave the money to him, he never asked her for that money ever.”
Morrissey also revealed more about the journey viewers are set to go on when watching the new series, saying: “In terms of the storyline, it’s one of the great hooks within it, that we as the audience will be sitting with our doubts. First of all we’re going to be thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing’. And then a certain point where everyone goes, ‘Oh my God’.
“The plot changes because this woman is suddenly going to have this amazing life, and then all of a sudden, everyone’s going, ‘Oh watch out, girl. Watch out’. So in terms of the storyline, in terms of how involved the viewer is going to be, there’s going to be those who go ‘Go for it, girl’, and there’s other people who are going to go ‘Watch out’.”
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Lindsay added: “And I really like it for that. And I think they’ll be rooting for her. And that’s what I thought was brilliant. It’s actually really interesting how prolific it is, sadly.”
As per the synopsis for Love Rat: “When Niko needs what he says is a short-term loan to complete the villa purchase, Emma happily lends him the money.
“But then Niko, her money and her dreams of a new life disappear. Desperate, she sets out to find him and get her money back, descending into a shadowy underworld of conmen where nothing is at is seems, and uncovering an even more twisted truth as she battles for justice.
“Starting out as an escapist fantasy in the sun, Love Rat transforms into a terrifying psychological thriller.”
Love Rat starts tonight at 9pm on Channel 5 and My5 and continues every night this week until Thursday 14th March. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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