The Cry: Two babies got sacked and 8 secrets from Jenna Colemans gripping new BBC thriller
The Cry is about to take over your life for the next four weeks (Picture: BBC) The Cry is about to ..
The Cry is about to take over your Sunday nights for the next four weeks, while we all mourn the end of Bodyguard as Jenna Coleman takes centre stage as a depressed mother whose newborn baby boy is snatched during a trip to Australia.
Jenna stars as Joanne, who through the course of four episodes starts her journey as broken mother suffering from post natal depression to fight back as a determined warrior facing relentless scrutiny from both the courts and the glaring eyes of the media.
And ahead of tonights thrilling opening episode, Metro.co.uk can reveal all the big secrets behind your new favourite drama.
Noah is played by twins – but heres how you can spot the difference
Director Glendyn Ivin told us and other media outlets that the baby playing young Noah is actually played by two twins, which came in very hand when filming long shoots and you a screaming baby is the star of the show.
Its tricky working with actors, including babies, he joked. And it was pretty real. You put them down, they cry, it gets very alert and you film and then you take them off and theyre not crying anymore.
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Jenna added: They were genius actor babies, it was just brilliant.
Though, there is one glaring difference which sets them apart.
One of them has hair so we would just have to put a hat on, giggled executive producer Claire Mendell.
The twins would cry on cue
Whenever it was like Noah is on the ground crying, youre kind of at the mercy of a six week old baby, Glendwyn began. It just happened very quickly, very organically to the point the moment when you called cut everyone would just be standing there thinking, “I cant believe that happened the way it was written out on the page.”
Although, a lot of the crying was added post filming
Jenna prepared for the role by walking an empty pram and buying post natal face cream
I went out with a pram to prepare for the role, she grinned. Except a few people would come up for photos and look in the pram and see this empty bottle to then I had to explain the director made me and dug myself in a hole.
Glendwyn teased: I thought no one would recognise Jenna. Everyone ignores mother so it will be fine.
Whats funny with the muslin cloth, Jenna continued. The pram came with some massive prop clips.
In one store they recommended post natal face cream and I didnt have the heart so I just bought it and left.
The soundtrack was inspired by Jenna
The chilling soundtrack haunting through the backdrop of The Cry plays an integral role to the eerie thriller, and was partly inspired by photos of Jenna.
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Glendwyn explained: Before the very beginning of filming I was sending photos of Australia and Jenna, and [composer] Lorne started generating ideas instantly and Id listen to them on set.
Its a tonal show, a lot of the music that was put on the scene was post so it felt like it was made as we were going along and then with Lorne, when weve found the shape of it, the music helps it along.
But theres something very valuable I think in working with the tone even while youre in the writing room while youre e in the writing room or looking for locations.
Two babies were technically fired from The Cry before filming had even begun
Its a pretty tricky thing to find a fresh baby, insisted Gledwyn. Wed actually cast another step of twins and then you think youve ticked that box and you just want to meet them and of course theyd grown. They were little and now theyre big and so youve got to go out and find some new babies.
Thought Joanne was struggling on the plane – the struggle was real for Jenna too
It was really claustrophobic, Jenna admitted. It felt just like that really. We filmed it in Maidenhead; it was an airplane turned into a set. We were on their for three days so it really was like being in Melbourne, but with no destination.
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The Cry is not inspired by any real life cases, despite comparisons to the McCann tragedy
The show is an adaptation of a novel, which Helen Fitzgerald wrote some time ago, stressed Claire. What interested me about the novel when I first read it is it spoke about a very contemporary sort of crime.
There are, sadly, umpteen high profile cases over the years – there was no specific case that we drew upon.
Its a fictional piece of work, it was all driven by Helens brilliant novel. It was so clever how it wrapped up this thrilling experience but also summed up things that are important in a contemporary world.
We are quick to judge and the media are quick to stoke the judgement.
The Cry airs tonight at 9pm on BBC One.
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