Hannah Spearritt is back as Abby Maitland in the fifth series of time-travelling dinosaur drama Primeval, airing at 8pm on Tuesdays, exclusive to Watch.

> Order the Series 5 DVD on Amazon.

Watch the trailer…

Previously stranded in another time and place with Connor, she needs all her resolve to stop her losing the man she loves…

What does Series 5 hold for Abby?

“Her relationship with Connor gets a little… tricksy. All Connor and Abby have ever done is be honest with each other, but in this series they’re both burdened by secrets. Both of them always try to do the right things but their worlds start to get further and further apart.”

How has the relationship gone the other way so quickly?

“In one of the episodes in Series 5 Abby is let in on a secret, almost by default really because she catches Matt going into Connor’s computer. So there are secrets going on. It definitely gets heavy.”

Tell us about Abby’s relationship with Matt…

“At first she doesn’t really know what their relationship is, but as things go on she realises that Matt knows everything about her. But he never gives too much away to people and Abby is a bit wary of how closed off he is. They do make a real connection because of his love for Emily, and Abby sees this and it endears him to her.

“Trust plays a massive role in their relationship. She becomes aware of why Matt is here and that puts her in a really difficult position. And then it gets interesting – the seeds of doubt are planted in her mind for the first time about the man she loves.”

Abby has changed in the space of a series… what is it like to have this extra emotional dimension to the character?

“I’m really happy with the way it’s gone in this series, especially the emotional journey. From an overall point of view, and from everyone’s character, the attention to the depth of characters is a lot more exciting – there’s so much more to sink your teeth into. It makes things more challenging and creative.”

Did you enjoy filming in Ireland?

“Ireland was great! I really wouldn’t have changed filming in Dublin for the world – it’s just a fantastic city to film in and the town has such a great buzz about it. I feel really lucky to have spent that amount of time there so I could really get to know it. I didn’t go as far as I would have liked – over to the west coast of the country – but it was so much fun.”

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