Niamh Algar On Portraying Postpartum Depression In ITV Baby ...

There are also portrayals of coercive control and abuse, why are these nuanced behaviours so crucial to show on screen as well?

I feel like I don't want to be to speak on Jessie of James's point of view… The way in which they performed that relationship, I think it's the subtlety in how he controls her, down to, I suppose, the physical threat… Because of the ranging variance of severity [with coercive control], some people don't realise that they are in that situation. From the outside, it's easy to judge, but when you're in it, it's very hard to see that.

We see your character subjected to sexist attitudes towards parenting, as she is the breadwinner, why is this shame important to show?

We don't see portrayals of the father who stays at home [like James Norton's character Pete] and is the primary caretaker for their child. It's always the mother who does that, and suddenly, when you've got that role reversal, [Niamh's character] Maddie is being judged for the fact [she works, being called] this career-seeking workaholic.

Joss Barratt/ITV

I hope that the audiences sit there and are grinding their jaw, going, 'Why is this an argument? Why is it a problem that she's the one who's the breadwinner? Why do we think that this is the structure of a family, the father who works and the mother who stays at home and cooks and cleans and looks after the kids. That's what I feel like is important when you take on a script, it's always about challenging the narrative and societal norms and questioning why they become societal norms.

It felt like a core message of the series, eventually, was two women, two mothers, supporting each other – how did you go about creating the complicated bond your character has with Jessica Brown Findlay?

I've fallen in love with Jessie. We became so close throughout the whole shoot. She's the warmest, kindest human you'll ever encounter. And she is a mother. She's got these two beautiful kids and obviously she has gone through childbirth, so she was able to share stories. We spoke about how there is almost an ingrained resilience that mothers have… having to set aside your own needs in order to raise your child to look after them. I think women are incredible, they go through so much.