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What are the themes within Hidden?

The whole series has a fascination for me because of the political aspect. I had to let go of a certain naivety – I used to believe that everything on the news and the television was the truth, but now I think there are so many different versions of every news story that its very hard to know what the truth is. I think that's something that the series explores.

The other element that fascinates me is, when someone dies in a plane crash or an accident, we want to see the body, or we want to see the black box. It doesn't change anything but it provides some sort of reconciliation. Harry and Gina practically give up their lives to find out the missing information from their past.

Your character, Gina Hawkes, was originally a London-based lawyer. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, there was no mention of her being European in the script. Gina comes from a very wealthy family, her parents are high profile lawyers who have worked abroad and took their child with them where-ever they travelled. Niall MacCormick, the director, was looking for something in Gina – he didn't exactly know what – something extra, something surprising. So it wasn't a big step for Gina to have a French mother and for Gina to have a European accent.

How would you describe Gina as a person?

I think she's scarred by the events in her past, and as a person she's unable to flourish because she's stuck in the past, unable to let go. She does everything that she needs to do – she works and she's good at what she does.

I don't think she's a very happy woman because she's stuck in this desire, and need, to find out what happened in her past. And that also brings the two characters together.

When she meets Harry – who couldn't be more different from her really – in terms of where they come from, how they work and how they talk. Yet it becomes clear very quickly that they both have this shared wound from their respective pasts', that's actually the most important thing for both of them.

They're probably made for each other because they've lived through the same drama and have the same obsession about the truth.

Gina's also a woman who, being the daughter of two lawyers she's very principled and ethical; but she predominantly raised by Nigel Fountain and he has instilled an idealistic and straightforward way in her.

Did you base Gina on anyone, or was there anyone who influenced her characterisation?

I thought a lot about playing a lawyer, and how best to research, because it's not a profession close to my world.

A member of my family is an officer of justice and that made me want to play Gina as close to myself as possible. We only see her once in a professional manner so to speak, so it was important to get that right.

For me the most essential thing was to play her as someone who has never been under fire or had a gun pointed at her and when that happens she's really scared. Harry is much more experienced in situations like that, so I thought it was good to let her be very much the studious law girl, who has always been so safe.

How did you find working with Philip Glenister?

Funny and great. I was very curious at our first meeting because when you see him as Gene Hunt – the language and his skill delivering those mad one liners – I was very curious who I was going to meet! Of course I could already see that he was going to be perfect for this role. But also he's actually a very sweet guy – and really hilarious, we had a lot of laughs.

I also tried to watch him because his skill and ease with delivering lines is really fascinating and I wanted to learn from him too.

Do you have a particular scene that you really enjoyed playing or that really stands out for you?

There were a couple – being chased in the warehouse was great, it was fun – it was a bit of a competition between me and the camera team because I was trying to out run them to make the scene really fast.

It was a really incredible location – this totally worn down and overgrown warehouse, with mould everywhere and nails sticking out of the wood! It was great to have an action scene.

The other scene I really enjoyed was Gina's confrontation with Sir Nigel Fountain – she finally knows what has happened and it's very emotional. I really enjoyed doing that with David. All the scenes between these two characters were completed in 2 or 3 days, so it was quite an intense journey.

I enjoyed all my scenes with Phil! But I guess especially the bar scene in the beginning.

What do you hope viewers will get out of Hidden?

First of all I hope viewers can't wait for the next episode because they really want to find out what's going to happen – that they are on the edge of their seat. I also hope they connect with Harry and Gina from the start and want to go on the journey with them to find out the truth.

I think the way it's written you get a little bit of information every now and then, not too much so you keep wanting more.