Forever Home: Douglas Henshall Reveals the Unusual Acting Decision He Made on Set

Douglas Henshall has taken on one of his most unusual acting challenges in Forever Home — and preparing for the role meant deliberately knowing less about the story than he normally would.

The Shetland star plays Robert Barrie in Channel 5’s new drama, an adaptation of Graham Norton’s 2023 bestselling novel of the same name. The series also stars Amy Nuttall, Denise Welch, Lewis Cope and Kevin Whately.

Set against a growing atmosphere of suspicion and unease, the story follows Carol Crottie, who begins questioning what she really knows about her older partner as his dementia worsens. Robert’s anxiety surrounding a hidden basement raises further questions about his past, including the disappearance of his first wife, who left with his brother 20 years earlier.

For Henshall, portraying Robert required him to approach the material in a way he had never tried before.

Douglas Henshall Played Robert Without Knowing the Full Story

Robert is living under enormous psychological pressure. Henshall described him as a deeply paranoid man consumed by guilt and forced to constantly monitor everything he says and does.

Part of that strain comes from maintaining the lies he has told over many years. Henshall also believes that secrets rarely remain completely buried.

Whether they emerge through someone’s behavior, relationships or seemingly insignificant irritations, the things people try to suppress can eventually begin to surface in unexpected ways.

That idea became particularly important to Henshall’s performance because Robert is also dealing with early-onset dementia.

Instead of reading the entire script before filming, Henshall made a deliberate decision to limit his knowledge of the story.

“I decided to do a thing that I hadn’t done before,” he explained, choosing to read only his own sections of the script.

His reasoning was that knowing less might help him understand what it could feel like to play someone experiencing early-onset dementia. By not knowing everything that was happening around Robert, Henshall had to question why certain things were being said and consider how his character would respond in each moment.

He acknowledged that the approach could have made the process more complicated, but ultimately decided to trust it.

Henshall made sure producer, co-star Amy Nuttall and the directors were aware of his unusual method so they could provide information whenever he, rather than Robert, needed to know something essential.

Why He Chose Not to Read Graham Norton’s Novel

Henshall also decided against reading Graham Norton’s original novel before filming.

He explained that the television adaptation was sufficiently different that he did not want the book to influence his interpretation of the character.

There was another practical reason, too. Henshall did not want to arrive on set constantly comparing the production with the source material when the writers, producers and directors had already spent considerable time developing the television version.

Instead, he focused on the script in front of him and on building Robert from that material.

A Character Defined by Paranoia and Guilt

Robert is a long way removed from the character Henshall became best known for in Shetland.

In Forever Home, the actor portrays a man whose carefully controlled life is beginning to unravel. His worsening mental health, paranoia and guilt are closely tied to the secrets he is trying to keep hidden.

The character’s situation also feeds into the larger mystery surrounding the house.

Carol begins to suspect that Robert may know more about his first wife’s disappearance than he has admitted. As his behavior becomes increasingly difficult to understand, the hidden basement adds another unsettling layer to the story.

The series was filmed in the Northeast, with Henshall leading the cast as Robert.

What Douglas Henshall Wants Viewers to Take From the Series

Despite the darker themes, Henshall said his primary hope is relatively straightforward: he wants audiences to enjoy watching the show.

He sees entertainment as the foundation of his work, with the aim of giving viewers something that can draw them in after a difficult or ordinary day.

For Forever Home, that means a mixture of unease, humor and moments designed to make viewers react — while also leaving them with something more to think about.

Henshall also believes stories like this can highlight how vulnerable people are, often by presenting aspects of human behavior that audiences may find uncomfortable or difficult to discuss themselves.

For him, that is one of the valuable things about drama: seeing parts of ourselves reflected through someone else’s story can make difficult subjects easier to understand and relate to.

When to Watch Forever Home

Forever Home continues on Channel 5 at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The drama stars Douglas Henshall, Amy Nuttall, Denise Welch, Lewis Cope and Kevin Whately and is adapted from Graham Norton’s bestselling novel.

For Henshall, the production offered an unusual opportunity to build a character by deliberately limiting what he knew — a decision he had never made before, and one that became central to his portrayal of Robert Barrie.