Hollington Drive: What is the new Anna Maxwell Martin series about? Who stars alongside her? All you need to know

Family secrets and tensions bubble to the surface in this absorbing thriller from ITV.

By Katie Archer Published: 16 September 2021 - 5.37pm

Drama Thrillers Anna Maxwell Martin

Tense family thriller Hollington Drive is one of the highlights in ITV’s autumn schedule which is jam-packed with must-see drama.

With a cast featuring Anna Maxwell Martin, this stylish-looking series has all the hallmarks of a show that will get the nation talking.

Find out more about the storyline, cast, and when to look out for it with our guide to Hollington Drive.

What is Hollington Drive about?

Sisters Theresa and Helen appear to have the perfect family set up - they’re close friends, their partners get on, and their children love to play together.

The series opens with Theresa and her partner Fraser playing host to Helen and her partner David at a barbecue at their smart family home.

Theresa’s 10-year-old son Ben wants to make the most of the warm summer evening by going to the local play park with his cousin Eva, but it kicks off some tension between the adults as Theresa has a feeling of foreboding about it while Fraser is happy for them to go.

But Theresa’s fears seem to be justified when the children don’t come home on time and the parents go in search of them - although they’re luckily found in the park, they are at the edge of some woodland and look to be arguing.

Things take a more sinister turn later in the evening when distraught neighbour Jean arrives on their doorstep looking for her 10-year-old son Alex, who has gone missing, and Theresa begins to feel that her earlier sense of doom was accurate.

In a Q&A session with press, Anna Maxwell Martin – who stars as Theresa - laughed: “She’s not the life and soul of the party, Theresa”.

She explained: “There’s some stuff going on for her and that was exposed by the pressure of what’s happening in this road - and also by this brilliantly written, horrible, co-dependent relationship she has with her sister which really defines her and therefore defines all her relationships. I found that really interesting in the writing.”

She added that the series is far from the usual missing-child thriller that have become popular in recent years.

“It’s much more nuanced… it’s really exciting to be part of a project like that, not just sort of from a cookie-cutter ‘Oh God another child goes missing’ drama which this not. This is about people and relationships and oddness.”

Who's in the Hollington Drive cast?

Leading the cast is Anna Maxwell Martin as Theresa, best known for her roles in Motherland, Line of Duty and The Bletchley Circle.

Her older headteacher sister Helen is played by Rachael Stirling (Wild Bill) and Fraser is played by Rhashan Stone (Finding Alice), while David is played by Peter McDonald (Dublin Murders).

The children are Ben played by Fraser Holmes, and Eva played by Amelie Bea Smith (The Haunting of Bly Manor, Peppa Pig).

Jodie McNee (Little Boy Blue) plays Jean, the mother of the missing child.