The Wives: Angela Griffin on joy of working on sun-soaked drama

“I suppose it could have been an absolute nightmare, having loads of lead actresses on set,” jokes Angela Griffin.

We are talking about her glitzy new Channel 5 series, The Wives, a sunny, pulpy beach read come to life. Angela shares top billing with fellow British TV legends Jo Joyner and Tamzin Outhwaite.

“But we were all friends before shooting, and we were all very aware that it’s rare to read a script with three female leads of equal stature, talking about female things and dealing with female issues – it just doesn’t happen.

“All three of us work in a similar way and came up through a similar trajectory. Our chemistry together came through immediately.”

The Wives

The show, which unfolds over six episodes, follows three sisters-in-law on their annual family holiday – recently divorced Sylvie (Tamzin), stressed-out Beth (Jo), and Natasha, played by Angela, who is hiding a devastating financial loss.

“Before we started shooting, we did a lot of rehearsal around how Natasha and her husband, Sean (Jonathan Forbes), got themselves into this situation,” explains Angela.

“Natasha and Sean are a solid couple. They shunned Sean’s family money to make their own way and live independently of the family, and that worked for them for a long time. But they are gamblers and they’re addicted to the thrill. And when those big money deals happen and it comes off, it’s brilliant. Their passion for each other comes from huge dopamine rushes and living on the edge. But when we meet them in the series, that one bad deal that sends you under has just happened.”

Each woman has their cross to bear, but they come together to solve the mystery of what happened to Annabelle (Christine Bottomley) – their fourth sister-in-law who mysteriously disappeared on the previous year’s family holiday.

Shot on the dreamy, golden shores of Malta, it is a must-watch for fans of Big Little Lies and The White Lotus. But while The Wives has the same glamorous sparkle as those shows, it has something uniquely special about it too. It’s realistic about the lives of middle-aged women in a way that feels like a breath of fresh air on television.

Angela says: “It was a massive draw for me. This is not a series about women and the menopause. But those things happen along with the rest of life, be that debt, divorce or children leaving home to go into the world on their own.

“Screenwriter Helen Black weaves it all into the story so well. There’s a huge, lovely, dramatic story happening, and alongside that something that’s going to happen to the majority of women.

“Sometimes it impacts the story, sometimes it’s an annoyance, sometimes it has no impact on what is going on. It’s talked about, but not in a preachy way.

“All those issues that women in their 40s, 50s and above face are in there without hitting you over the head with it. Who are you when you’ve been Mrs Someone for 20 years, and now you’re not?

“Who are you when your kids have left home and you’re not mum every day? Major upheavals are happening in these women’s lives, and we are finding out how they will redefine themselves.”

Family life

There was a lot in the series for Angela to identify with. She recently celebrated her 18th wedding anniversary with her fellow actor husband, Jason Milligan, and the pair have two daughters, Tallulah and Melissa, who are both in their early 20s.

“I sometimes call my husband ‘dad’,” she laughs. “I have to stop myself and say, ‘he’s not dad, he’s Jason!’. What am I going to do when they have both moved out? Say, ‘better check what dad thinks?’. It’s as simple as that – who are you as life changes?”

Even though their kids are all grown up, Angela’s family are as close-knit as ever. They recently enjoyed a family holiday in Greece, with lots more time to relax and recharge than The Wives get on their fateful TV holiday in Malta.

As we chat over Zoom, there’s a knock at Angela’s office door. Melissa appears with a cup of tea for her mum. “Oh, I love you so much,” Angela says to Melissa, before turning back to me and saying: “Sorry – I was dying for a brew!”

Despite Angela’s life looking picture-perfect from the outside, she is keen to point out that what we see looking in is not always reflective of what is truly going on behind the scenes in a person’s life.

Angela says: “I’m certainly not someone who airs everything that goes on in my life, I don’t vlog all of my ups and downs, but I think I’m very honest about saying, ‘This life I’m showing you here, I’m cherry picking the good days!’

“I don’t particularly advertise my bad days, and I’m very clear when I say my life is not perfect. But I’m really grateful for everything I do have and try not to mourn too much for everything I don’t. But I can see how someone like my character, Natasha, can get themselves into a bad situation to keep up appearances.

“For my research for Natasha, I spoke to someone who was living hand to mouth every day but had to put on this front to the rest of the world that everything was great. And the overriding emotion seems to be one of disgust and shame at the situation that you’ve gotten yourself into. I think Tasha’s journey is to realise you don’t need loads and loads of money. It’s family and friends that are what’s important.”

Working with women

Practising gratitude is important to Angela. One thing she is thankful for is how women-centric her career has been so far.

She says: “I’m really, really lucky that throughout my career, I’ve worked on quite a few female-centred jobs. I think back to Cutting It with Sarah Parish and Amanda Holden and, while men were in it, it was absolutely about women – a woman was number one on the call sheet. Then there was Brief Encounters with Sophie Rundle and Penelope Wilton.

“One of the joys about a recent show I worked on, Harlots with Samantha Morton and Lesley Manville, was that we had female directors and female directors of photography. Sometimes, and it can be the same with diversity, that onscreen boxes are being ticked, but when you come off-screen and see who is editing, directing and producing it, sometimes not much has changed. But particularly with The Wives and Harlots, it was female top to bottom. Women-owned production companies are making these shows, and I just love it.

“But I recently read a statistic that only one in four directors are women. I’ve lived in this lovely bubble where I’ve done all these women-led shows, but I can’t take it for granted because it’s not reflective of the whole industry.”

Angela is doing her own bit to boost those statistics. She is now a director herself, having directed two episodes of Waterloo Road and currently working on her third. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in; I’ve always been technologically minded. But while I was interested in it, I didn’t know how to make that move.

“When I came back to Waterloo Road, I felt confident enough to say I’d love to direct. I absolutely loved it and I did a good enough job that they asked me to come back. I got such a buzz from it.”

At 48, Angela’s career is entering a new era, and she has no plans to slow down. “I do radio too and I just got my score through for the second year of my psychology degree. I really do like to keep myself busy!” she laughs.

‘I’d like to live in Scotland’

Angela and husband Jason spend lots of time holidaying in Scotland and particularly love disappearing to the shores of Loch Fyne in Argyll and Bute for some much-needed rest and relaxation.

“We have such an affinity with Scotland, we love it. I’ve spent lots of time in Edinburgh and around the countryside. I just love how beautiful the landscapes are, especially around Loch Fyne. You sometimes see a bit of land for sale or a house and think, ‘Could we? Should we?’”

Angela has filmed in Scotland a few times, most recently on Crime, an adaptation of Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh’s novel of the same name that’s available to watch on ITVX. “I loved filming that series, it was so much fun. I stayed right in the heart of Glasgow while working on it. I’ve always wanted to come back and shoot in Scotland again.”

For a while, Angela’s family thought their connection with Scotland potentially came from Scottish roots. “My husband Jason thinks he’s Scottish, we even did a DNA test to find out.

“He had about a 10% match for Scotland. He was born in Newcastle, which is quite close to the border. He also thought he had quite a lot of Italian heritage, but it turns out he couldn’t be more British! It was like less than 1% European or something, which was very funny.”

The Wives starts on Monday at 9pm on Channel 5 & My5