New series Broken shows it’s far from grim up north, says Anna Friel

ANNA FRIEL says she’s thrilled new series Broken is showing it’s far from “grim up north.”

The BBC drama deals with some dark matters, but the look is anything but gloomy.

“Being a Northern girl, I hate the portrayal of the North as miserable and gloomy,” says Anna, who plays lonely mum Christina in the series starring Sean Bean as a priest.

“It’s not that. During filming I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in years, which was just setting behind the cathedral in Liverpool and it was just breathtakingly beautiful,” she protests.

“The North is a very beautiful place, and in Broken each vista almost looks like a painting.”

Anna, who came to prominence in Brookside, says it had been more than 20 years since she’d been back in Liverpool and found the musical and cultural scene a delight.

And she was more than happy with the way she got on with young Macy Shackleton, who plays her on-screen daughter Lisa.

“I spent all my time that I wasn’t on set with Macy,” she confides.

“I think that the bond of making a believable mother and daughter can be challenging.

“Thankfully, we had an amazing rapport – to the point that I want her to play my daughter in everything else after this!”

But not being with her own family is always one of the issues for Anna, who made a big impact in ITV cop hit Marcella.

“As you get older it’s not really about the characters crossing over, it’s more about not having your little girl or partner there when you get back to the hotel to lift your spirits up.

“You get back to the loneliness of your room and I think that the older you get the less exciting that travel becomes and you want your own home comforts.”

Broken, BBC1, Tuesday, 9pm.