A drama about the pressures and demands on the health service in the wake of the pandemic couldn't be more timely. Now add in a painfully true-to-life plot about the difficulties women face returning to work after maternity leave and you've got a TV show that will get everyone talking.
Maternal starts on ITV tonight and stars Lara Pulver (Spooks, Sherlock, The Split) as surgeon Catherine MacDiarmid who is trying to cope with post-pandemic frontline medicine, all while navigating life as a new mother. The show also stars Parminder Nagra as paediatrician Maryam Afridi and Lisa McGrillis as Dr Helen Cavendish, who are also trying to juggle family life with a demanding job. Friendship is an integral theme throughout the four-part series, as the female characters face respective challenges in their home and work lives.
Lara, 41 - and a mother of two herself - says, ‘Maternal was by far the best thing I'd read in a long, long time. I hate to use the description “like a page-turner” but it was. I think it's witty, I think it's political, but I think it's absolutely heartbreaking at the same time.’
Lara stars alongside her husband Raza Jaffrey, 49, who plays her ex, Jack Oliviera, in the show. Working together was everything she hoped it would be.
‘It was brilliant. It's funny isn't it, I remember him saying, “I’m so pleased you’re the lovely, generous, brilliant person that I would hope you would be - that you didn't turn into some random TV monster!” I guess we don't know what we're like professionally. To have the opportunity to be on screen together and to debrief together at the end of the day… it was a gift.’
Lara and fellow Spooks actor Raza have been married for eight years and share two children, Ozias, five, and Thea, who was born in 2020.
Welcoming her daughter during the Covid pandemic came with mixed emotions for Southend-born Lara, who is now based in Los Angeles with her family.
‘It was kind of wonderful. Saying that, I was also in denial. I miscarried twice in between the two kids, so I don't feel like it was until I was about 25 weeks that I even really felt like I was pregnant,' she recalls. 'I was slightly like, “Well, who knows what's going to happen here, what’s going to happen this time?” But I felt so blessed and lucky because we were all healthy.’
As an acclaimed actress and mother of two young children, Lara knows what it’s like to face 'the juggle'. While any acting schedule can be gruelling and force you away from loved ones for extended periods, Maternal allowed both her and Raza to be as present as possible for their children, as they travelled as a family. However, the TV star recognises that it was made easier with an extra pair of hands.
'If I'm honest, I don't think you can have it all. I think the only way you can is if you have help. You don't know what type of a mother you want to be until you have a child, and I quite honestly said to my husband, “I'm not sure if I'll ever want to work again after having children. I might pop my son out and be back the next day. I don't know. But I want to say it out loud to give myself the choice.”
‘I placed a huge judgement on myself about getting a nanny or getting a childminder. But for this job I was like, “Okay, this makes sense. We're both coming to do Maternal we have to get help because we're in scenes together.” And it was life-changing because I've been there and been so present. The kids adapted brilliantly because they are emotionally very secure.’
It is clear that Lara has carved a fulfilling life across the pond, but there is part of her heart that will always be in the UK. The West End star – who won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role in Gypsy – admits that settling down in the States has not been as plain-sailing as she envisioned.
‘Trying to build a community and your tribe is trickier than I'd ever anticipated because cultural references are different,’ she explains. ‘I yearn and I love being back in the UK because the banter is common ground and familiar. It makes me want to come back home if I'm honest, because in these moments of political craziness, you go, “Oh, I would prefer the familial craziness!”'
What’s next for Lara? Well, she can't wait to see how viewers respond to her latest project, and she seems full of optimism for the year ahead.
‘A big chunk of [2023] will be back in Europe, which will be amazing. I would love to get back on stage, too. I’ve really missed it.’
Maternal starts on ITV1 on 16 January at 9pm. The full series will be available on ITVX once the first episode has aired.