It was a change for Anne to
be on television in modern day dress. Although she had appeared in a
leading role in a number of current day parts (Jess Calvert, This
Year Next Year, The Party Of The First Part), the audience were
generally more familiar with seeing Anne in historical costume. As
the following Daily Mail interview states, the production also
involved the actress in more steamy scenes than she had previously
been noted for.
Anne,
when the kissing starts …
Once, Anne Stallybrass
refused to pose for a kiss. Tomorrow night we’ll see her tumbling
about in bed in a casual encounter with a younger man.
That is the difference
between Anne as the first Mrs James Onedin in The Onedin Line and
her modern-day role as Rose Datchett in ITV’s new Sunday Night
Thriller, Dark Secret.
Rose Datchett is an
independent woman, separated from her husband, and running a
restaurant.
When a detective arrives to
ask questions about her previous job, he breaks down her reserve.
“The woman, who kept her
feelings bottled up for years, opens up to this young man. He offers
her a no-strings-attached encounter in bed and she tells him her
secrets,” she said.
“I can understand her,
although I’m not like her. But I do know what it’s like to be
alone and have to be independent. It is important to be able to live
on your own.”
Nude
Anne now lives with Onedin
star Peter Gilmore, and it was when she was co-starring with him
that she refused to pose for publicity pictures of them kissing.
“Onedin married his wife
for her ship, and we both felt that it would spoil the surprise for
the viewers. I’m not prudish. I have been in bed with many men on
television, when it is important to the story. But I would never
appear nude.”
It is rare for Anne to play
a modern part. She became a TV star in period pieces. Her first
contemporary rolling-in-the-hay was when she co-starred with Michael
Elphick in Yorkshire’s
This Year Next Year.
“Local shopkeepers changed
their attitude after they saw that. They suddenly became much more
familiar. I realised how it must be for actresses who play really
tarty roles. I’ve never played a tarty lady, but I’d love to.”
By
Pamela Hodgson
© Daily Mail, 17
January 1981
Rose Datchett is a retired
scientist who has recently opened a restaurant in an isolated part
of the Cotswolds. A local woman helps out in the kitchen but
otherwise Rose and her young son live alone. One night Rose is woken
by noises outside …..
Dark Secret is very good,
gripping and imaginative. The story, by John Bowen, is full of
twists and turns and you are kept in the dark until the final
minutes. What you assume at the beginning to be the reason behind
the story turns out to be incidental, it has little to do with what
is really going on. It is unlike many recent television and film
thrillers/murder mysteries when you guess the murderer and/or what
is going to happen within the first half hour. The ending isn’t
disappointing, the outcome is not a cop out. It is also nice that
for once everything is explained; I hate loose ends, I like
everything sown up.
The newspapers at the time
generally recommended Dark Secret and gave it good reviews.
Daily Mail: “Dark Secret
… began with spine-chilling promise … and has hooked at least
one viewer to want to find out who did what next week.”
Daily Express: “This ….
is a classic of its kind.”
The Guardian: “Dark Secret
is as well made as it is good looking. Nice, neat and nerve wracking
…. Well recommended. Worth a return visit next Sunday.”
Daily Telegraph: “A nicely
atmospheric and chilling opening, beautifully set at a remote
restaurant in the Cotswolds.”
News of the World: “If you
are an addict of mystery and suspense tales, with the odd murder
thrown in for good measure, don’t miss Dark Secret. This two-part
story is … guaranteed to set your spine tingling.”
When I watched Dark Secret I
hadn’t a clue where the story was going and what was going to
happen - every time I thought I knew, there was a new twist and I
was proved wrong. Admittedly, the story is a bit far-fetched in that
the chance of it really occurring is infinitesimal but, for all
that, when the truth is revealed it is believable. And it is rather
creepy, with some shocking moments. I wouldn’t have wanted to
watch the thriller on my own at night.
Anne is very convincing as
the independent, almost self-sufficient Rose. The second part when
she has long periods of sitting almost completely still in
uncomfortable positions, only able to use her face to express
Rose’s feelings, couldn’t have been easy to do.
“When it comes to looking
worried, Miss Stallybrass is in a class of her own.”
©
News of the World
Anne is revealed to be much
more attractive in real life than how she often appears on
television and she is also very slim, something usually concealed by
her costumes. I certainly enjoyed the opportunity of seeing
something of the “real” Anne.
The sex scenes, although
rare for the actress, turn out to be rather tame, certainly in
comparison with what we get on television these days.
Overall I rate Dark Secret
as well worth watching if somewhat obscure … and wonderful for the
chance to see Anne in something different.
To find out the full story
of Dark Secret and what happens to Rose,
click
here ....
DR
March 2004
Copyright DiMar
|