Broadchurch star Shaun Dooley is at the heart of the final episode of the BBC’s Ordinary Lies this week.
He’s Dave, the missing husband of Jo Joyner’s character Beth.
The series has been filled with tales of lies that spiralled out of control with devastating consequences.
But Shaun says the drama would be rubbish if it relied on his real-life fibbing.
“I was doing a job once and the make-up artist asked if I was related to the England international rugby player Wade Dooley,” says Shaun.
“For some reason, I don’t know why, I said ‘Yes, he’s my uncle.’ I just completely lied.
“But then she said that’s great, she was seeing him at a barbecue that weekend.
“I could just imagine her saying she’d been speaking to his nephew and him wondering what on earth she was on about.
“So I had to bite the bullet and come clean. She looked at me very strangely, but I had to nip it in the bud.”
The six-part drama, centred around car dealership JS Motors, has seen Beth grow closer to company boss Mike, played by Max Beesley.
Until now Dave has only been seen as a family photo on Beth’s desk.
He disappeared 16 months ago but just as Beth feels ready to move on, Dave drops a bombshell by getting in touch.
“I was a big fan of Jo in EastEnders so I was really excited when I found out I was going to work with her,” admits Shaun.
“I work hard and tend to do a lot of research away from the cameras and Jo has exactly the same work ethic.
“So we’d spend our evening sitting at the hotel with a couple of glasses of wine of course working on our scenes.”
Shaun is one of the most familiar faces on TV, appearing in both Corrie and EastEnders as well as a host of dramas like The Street, Misfits and The White Queen.
But that level of recognition shot to a whole new level following the recent series of Broadchurch.
He played Ricky Gillespie who, (spoiler alert) in the shocking final episode, was revealed to have been involved in the death of daughter Pippa.
Shaun admits people now look at him differently including wife Polly.
“It was really nasty and because of all the secrecy I hadn’t even told Polly,” confides Shaun.
“When we watched it together and the murder happened she actually moved away from me on the sofa and said, ‘I don’t like you’.
“It’s definitely had an effect on people. I’ve noticed when I’m on the train that nobody really sits next to me.
“I can pretty much guarantee that if I get a window seat with a table I’ll be on my own.”
Shaun is one of the UK’s most in-demand actors. We’re about to see him alongside Brian Cox in the BBC’s Cold War drama The Game and he’s already moved on to film new cop show Cuffs.
“I’m a month into filming Cuffs, where I play a detective, and I’m so proud of The Game. It’s already been shown in America where they compared it to Mad Men.”
The packed work schedule obviously takes dad-of-four Shaun away from home a lot and he’s quick to pay tribute to Polly.
“I’m so lucky,” he insists. “She’s a stay-at-home mum. She’s found her calling and I’ve got mine.
“She’s an incredible mum and it would be so difficult if she wasn’t happy to do what she’s doing. She runs the house and keeps me grounded.
“I’m in the fortunate position that a lot of stuff comes up. If it scares me then I usually think that means it’s a good challenge and makes me want to do it.
“If a musical came up I’d probably say yes even though I reckon I can’t sing.
“It’s great that I get the chance to do different things, but if the work dries up and I have to play the one character for the next 30 years to feed my family, I’ll do it.”
Ordinary Lies concludes on Tuesday 21 April at 9pm on BBC1.
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