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New BBC drama Babies is far from an easy watch, guaranteed to take viewers on a rollercoaster of emotions as a married couple navigates pregnancy loss.
But despite its heavy subject matter and the endless tears shed by its characters, the cast was still keen to spread hope.
Written by Stefan Golaszewski, whose recent work included Nicola Walker and Sean Bean drama Marriage, the six-parter is every inch as tender as it is devastating, following Lisa (Siobhán Cullen) and Stephen (Paapa Essiedu) on their journey to starting a family.
The spouses, in their thirties, have anything but a smooth ride to parenthood, as they endure multiple miscarriages, testing not only their relationship but also their hope.
As they muddle through their unprecedented trauma, it’s Lisa and Stephen’s love for one another that must carry them through while they still seek to find warmth and humour amid the rubble of grief.
Alongside Lisa and Stephen’s story, we meet Amanda (Charlotte Riley) and Dave (Jack Bannon), a new couple who seem worlds apart on paper. While exploring their compatibility, they encounter complexities of their own, ultimately exposing cracks in Stephen and Dave’s long-standing friendship.
Speaking exclusively to Metro ahead of Babies’ release, the core cast and its creator admit that, while the story carried a huge responsibility, it was a vital one to tell.
‘I always feel a responsibility to a story when I’m working on something, but that sense is slightly heightened given some of the things that my character goes through,’ explains Siobhán, 36.
‘You just want to make sure that you’re telling a story that’s truthful and honest.’
She adds that extensive research (such as listening to podcasts and tapping into her friends’ personal stories) ahead of shooting was essential to portraying Lisa’s pregnancy losses accurately, particularly for scenes involving medical procedures or depicting the physical aftermath of a miscarriage.
‘We also had access to midwives at every point during the shoot, which helped give the nuance of how it feels when you’re in a particularly vulnerable state.’
There’s no denying that some scenes will have been emotionally draining to film. Still, Siobhán insists it was still a ‘happy set’, with the subject matter bonding everyone.
‘As a cast and crew, there was a real sense of ownership from every department that we were all chipping in to tell this story together,’ she recalls. ‘On the challenging days, people checked in more and were more delicate, but I felt fully supported in every capacity.’
When asked what he learned, co-star Paapa, 35, adds that he found ‘all’ elements of the story ‘surprising’, whether it be the jarring comments from Lisa and Stephen’s friends who are on very different pregnancy journeys or the matter-of-fact ways doctors explain loss with little emotion.
However, the Black Mirror star believes this can only lead to a positive outcome.
‘So much of it is surprising, but I think that’s good, as that’s what allows it to feel really alive and in the moment, and hopefully, that’s what draws you in to their dynamic and relationship and their emotional journey.’
Stephen has huge growth throughout the series. To begin with, it’s clear he believes his wife’s pain is more valid and is keen to keep morale high as they try again and again.
As the episodes progress, though, his own suppressed grief rises, resulting in a tsunami of emotion when he finally opens up, which the actor calls a ‘gift’ to have had the ‘space’ to nurture.
Similarly, Dave grapples with his masculinity throughout Babies, forcing an infuriating wall between him and best pal Stephen as they fail to have earnest conversations that don’t brush off feelings with laddish banter.
Admitting that his character is ‘a man who’s drowning’, Jack, 34, tells us that we meet Dave, who also has a son, at a time in his life when he ‘can’t escape’ his adult responsibilities, yet he’s unable to access the ability to ‘make meaningful connections’.
‘It’s cleverly depicted as someone just having a laugh, which isn’t dangerous in our show, but we’ve seen how it can become dangerous in others like Adolescence. This is the tip of the iceberg.
‘But there’s a real tragedy in watching a man try to stay afloat. By the end of the series, in keeping with the hope that runs throughout Babies, he does begin to understand that, actually, love is what he needs, and the opportunity for that is right there in his son. He just needs to be better to reap those rewards.’
Someone who isn’t keen to shower him with affection, however, is Amanda, who initially very much sees their relationship as purely physical, still tormented by her own past loss.
Upon introduction, she’s standoffish and mysterious before her layers are peeled back and viewers learn the truth, which Charlotte, 44, says is exactly what drew her to the role.
‘You don’t always have to reveal everything about a character or why they’re making the slightly unusual choices they’re making.
‘You don’t really understand what is drawing her and Dave together. Some of their first scenes, they’re in bed together; she’s dressing herself as quickly as she physically can, doesn’t speak to him, turns the lights off, and goes to sleep, which seems quite weird.
‘But it’s really good fun to play a character you don’t understand on the surface. It’s a really rich world to play in, and I enjoyed mining that character for all her little treasures.’
Amanda and Dave’s dynamic certainly lifts the mood in the show’s darker moments, whether with her sarcastic quips or his foolish naïveté.
Light and shade are woven into the fabric of Babies, in fact. Even with the hardship the characters face and the despair they feel towards the future, there’ll always be space for a niche cultural reference or classic British wisecracks.
Ultimately, that’s probably what allows the show to be the vessel it is for such a powerful story – how reflective it is of real life and the people we encounter.
So, what’s the aim? Well, creator Stefan believes he’s passing the mic to the viewer once the credits roll.
He says: ‘I think the show is actually about the audience. What we hope the audience does is have an emotional experience and feel in connection and spoken to and spoken with.
‘We hope the show allows a conversation to occur, rather than dictate what the conversation is.’
All episodes of Babies land on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Monday, March 30, with the series airing on BBC One from 9pm that night.
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