A dream family holiday becomes more for ‘Us’!

David Nicholls wrote the novels Stater for 10 and One Day, and his TV credits include the acclaimed Patrick Melrose. So, expectations are high for the new drama series Us, which he adapted from his own bestselling book – and it also doesn’t hurt that it stars Tom Hollander and Saskia Reeves.

But just in case the cast and writer weren’t enough to tempt you, Us also offers viewers whose own holiday plans were derailed this year the chance to see some vacation destinations, as it follows a family who are travelling around Europe.

Hollander says: “It was wonderful to be shooting in the actual places. It was particularly magical as we had access to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, a couple of rooms in the Louvre in Paris for an afternoon, the glorious Joan Miro Fundacion in Barcelona for a day and in our very own National Gallery. These all felt like a great privilege and it was magical because there wasn’t anyone else in them.”

He adds: “We were also filming on the Eurostar and other trains, travelling from Paris to Barcelona but pretending that it was Paris to Amsterdam which worked well until we got to the wilds of Southern France and Northern Spain where it didn’t really look like the lowlands of Flanders!”

That may sound like a dream holiday, but it risks becoming a nightmare for Hollander’s character, Douglas. He’s been planning this grand tour of Europe for his wife Connie (Reeves) and their son Albie (Tom Taylor), so they can enjoy one last summer together before Albie, who has a slightly strained relationship with his dad, heads off to university.

But then Connie drops the bombshell that she’s not sure she wants to stay married to Douglas anymore, throwing the trip into jeopardy.

Hollander says: “Douglas is fairly conflicted about the idea as he isn’t sure he wants to go on holiday with someone who might want to leave him. However, he decides that the best way of fighting for his wife is to go on the holiday with the mission of making his marriage survive. It’s an opportunity for Douglas to try and prove to Connie what a wonderful man he is and it’s a chance for him to resolve things with Albie, all of which goes wrong pretty quickly..!”

While all the travel may currently seem like a distant dream for anyone worried about the changing quarantine rules, Hollander believes it will strike a chord with many viewers.

The actor says: “Us is actually a very familiar story which I think a lot of people will be able to identify with. I think one of the most poignant things about the way that David has written the story is how the present-day Douglas and Connie are intercut with flashbacks of them as a young couple. You see them, how they fell in love and yet how things have changed.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you