Based on Liz Jensen’s bestselling novel, The Rapture is the latest psychological thriller to land on the BBC. Here’s everything you need to know about the new five-parter, including what Ruth Madeley and India Amarteifio said when they sat down with Stylist ahead of its release.
You can always count on the BBC to deliver gripping, edge-of-your-seat dramas like Doctor Foster, Vigil and I, Jack Wright. Now, it’s added yet another title to its ever-growing slate – this time, a high-stakes thriller set during a heatwave starring Ruth Madeley (Years And Years) and India Amarteifio (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story).
Based on the 2019 book by Liz Jensen, The Rapture follows forensic psychologist Gabs Fox (Madeley), who starts a new job at a high-security psychiatric hospital. Here, she meets 17-year-old Bethany Krall (Amarteifio), who has been convicted of murdering her mother (though she claims she’s innocent).
Estranged from her father, Leonard (Sam Hazeldine), the charismatic leader of an influential religious movement, Bethany tells Gabs that she has psychic powers and can predict the future – but what will it take for Gabs to believe her? And if Bethany didn’t kill her mother, then who did?
Credit: BBC / Mammoth Screen
Speaking to Stylist about the new show, Madeley, who also serves as executive producer, says: “This is the first time I’ve exec-produced something when it’s actually on its feet and in production, which was really, really interesting. I learned so much and I wanted to learn so much.”
Alongside climate change, guilt, the supernatural and faith, one of the main threads of the show explores Gabs’ sexual identity in the wake of a life-altering car accident that killed her husband and left her paralysed. “It was so important to have that side of things told because disabled people aren’t usually seen as having any sexuality at all, so I found that really fascinating,” says Madeley. “It also ties into how I’ve felt about my body at different stages of surgery and my disability changing over the years. So that was really important to me.”
For Amarteifio, this show marked quite a switch-up from some of her previous roles, which included playing the lead in Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. “This character felt so vastly different from anyone I’d studied at school or who I’d previously played, so I really wanted to take it on.”
“That, and knowing that Ruth was also attached, was a very big indicator that this was going to be good. Plus, I’m deeply inspired by the outdoors and nature, and I love that this was such a massive part of the series, so I felt really connected to it in that way.”
Alongside the leading duo, the cast includes Iwan Rheon (Game Of Thrones) as journalist Dick Carwin; Sam Hazeldine (Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason) as Bethany’s father, Leonard; and Ruth Jones (Gavin & Stacey) as Gabs’s therapist, Mel.
What was it like working with a Welsh legend? “Working with Ruth was fantastic,” says Madeley. “We condensed a lot of therapy sessions into two days of filming and it was incredible. I’d like her to be my own therapist in real life.” We second that!
The Rapture lands on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday at 9pm.