Cork star Fiona Shaw has a 'disastrous' new relationship in latest series of Killing Eve
Irish star Fiona Shaw has a “disastrous” new relationship in the third series of Killing Eve…with a daughter.
The Cork actress, who plays spy boss spy boss Carolyn Martens in the popular series which returns to our screens later this month, meets her match when her feisty offspring turns up.
Fans knew she had a son, Kenny, who is also in the secret service game and has appeared in the first two series, but not a daughter.
But Geraldine – played by Game of Thrones’ star Gemma Whelan - arrives to cause havoc as she has the opposite personality to her cold mother and empathises with everyone.
"It's disastrous," says Shaw, 61, of the relationship between Carolyn and her daughter.
“It’s hilarious because Geraldine is just absolutely a red rag to a bull with all of this feeling and self-help and emotional talk. It drives Carolyn mad!
“For all the peculiarity of their relationship, Kenny and his mom have a lot in common.
“They're both slightly obsessive and maybe slightly on the spectrum, and they go on very well in their silence.
“They didn't have to speak much. I’m thrilled that Gemma has joined the family.”
Shaw told Entertainment Weekly that Geraldine has nothing to do with the spy world but kept mum about the storyline.
“She hasn’t on the surface anything to do with the family business,” says Shaw.
“That's not her interest. You'll find quite quickly that she's the one who got away.
“But she comes back and she tries to organize the household in a more organized way, which Carolyn really doesn’t like.
“It's good because you get the family dynamic. There is love there but whether there’s actual like there is a difficult thing to say.
“They're very different people, put it like that. So there's plenty room for complication in this.”
Whelan, 38, played Yara Greyjoy throughout the Game of Thrones run after being introduced in the second series. She also starred in The End of the F***ing World on Netflix and was recently seen in the murder thriller, White House Farm.
The new series of Killing Eve, which follows the love-hate battle between super assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and MI6 operative Eve (Sandra Oh), begins six months after series two ended with the killer shooting the spy in the back after being stabbed by her.
TV bosses revealed earlier this year that a fourth series of the show has already been ordered.
Shaw won the 2019 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress playing Martens.
She was also nominated for an Emmy for her role in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama category.
At the same time she was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy for her role as a psychiatrist in Fleabag.
In total, Killing Eve was nominated for nine Emmys last year, with Comer winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Several key new faces will be introduced in the new season with executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle calling it “the most personal season” yet.
New cast members include Harriet Walter (Succession), Danny Sapani (Harlots), Pedja Bjelac (Harry Potter), Camille Cottin (Call My Agent), Steve Pemberton (Inside No. 9), Raj Bajaj (A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding), Turlough Convery (Ready Player One), and Evgenia Dodina (One Week and a Day).
Created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the series is based on the Codename Villanelle book series by Luke Jennings.
