Keeley Hawes is seen beaming at her husband Matthew Macfayden in exclusive behind-the-scenes snaps from their new ITV drama Stonehouse.
The actress, 46, shared a moment with her real-life spouse, 48, before having a giggle with their co-star Emer Heatley on the set of the three-part show which is set to hit screens on Monday.
It is a pivotal scene from ITV’s flagship new drama, about a high-flying minister in Harold Wilson’s Labour Government, who attempted to fake his death after acting as a spy for the Czech Secret Service.
Real life husband: Keeley Hawes is seen beaming at her husband Matthew Macfayden in exclusive behind-the-scenes snaps from their new ITV drama Stonehouse
Starring Succession star Matthew, 48, and his Bodyguard actress wife Keeley, as John Stonehouse and his spouse Barbara, it dramatises the moment in 1974 when the MP for Walsall North was arrested in Australia.
In exclusive photographs McFayden and Keeley, who also played husband and wife in the 2007 black comedy Death at a Funeral, are having a picnic with Stonehouse’s mistress Sheila Buckley, played by Emer.
Filmed in Malaga, Spain, during the winter months, the trio are wrapped up against the cold when they are not shooting. The tension between wife and mistress is palpable as they argue over sandwiches and sausage rolls.
Close: The actress, 46, shared a moment with her real-life spouse, 48, before having a giggle with their co-star Emer Heatley on the set of the three-part show which is set to hit screens on Monday
But despite the tense scenes, the trio looked in great spirits as they chatted and smiled in between takes.
The scene ends with Stonehouse storming to the edge of a cliff saying: ‘Leave me alone Barbara. Stay back. I’m warning you Barbara if you don’t leave me alone, I’ll…’
‘What?’ replied Barbara, laughing. ‘What will you do? Tell me… You do love your melodramatic gestures, don’t you John?’
On-screen: The John Stonehouse affair is being recreated by ITV with Matthew (centre), playing the disgraced Labour politician (Matthew’s real-life wife Keeley plays the MP’s wife Barbara (right) while Emer Heatley plays his secretary Sheila (left))
Drama: It is a pivotal scene from ITV’s flagship new drama, about a high-flying minister in Harold Wilson’s Labour Government, who attempted to fake his death after acting as a spy for the Czech Secret Service
The three-part series opens with McFayden striding out of his hotel in Florida in a pale blue suit before he swims out to sea. The image was also filmed in Malaga.
In another behind-the-scenes image, Stonehouse is being asked by Wilson, played by Kevin McNally, if he would represent the Government on election night, waving the flag for the Labour party.
John Stonehouse had abandoned Barbara, and their three young children, Jane, Julia, and Matthew, vanishing from Miami Beach, after swimming out to sea, leaving a pile of neatly folded clothes, and hopping on a plane to Australia, to start a new life.
Scenes: In exclusive photographs McFayden and Keeley are having a picnic with Stonehouse’s mistress Sheila Buckley, played by Emer
In character: Keeley looked great in her retro costume as she filmed alongside her husband and co-star
Awkward: The tension between wife and mistress is palpable as they argue over sandwiches and sausage rolls
But he was arrested by police in Melbourne – after being mistaken for Lord Lucan – and was deported back to Britain to face trial for 15 charges of forgery, theft, and fraud. He was convicted in 1976 and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Actor Matthew and his wife Keeley have been married for 18 years and Keeley said they had to cast aside the familiarities of their real-life happy marriage to play the parts.
The actress insists their union is the complete opposite to that of politician John and Barbara.
In between takes: Filmed in Malaga, Spain, during the winter months, the trio are wrapped up against the cold when they are not shooting
Good mood: But despite the tense scenes, the trio looked in great spirits as they chatted and smiled in between takes
Dramatization: The three-part series opens with McFayden striding out of his hotel in Florida in a pale blue suit before he swims out to sea. The image was also filmed in Malaga
She told the Mirror: ‘We have worked together before, but not for several years. And so when this came up, it seemed like the perfect project on so many levels really, mostly because the Stonehouses are so different to Matthew and I and to our relationship.
‘So it’s nice to see us, I think, and interesting for people who may know that we are married to see us as the “other” couple.’
She told Matthew: ‘It was really wonderful. It was very jolly, wasn’t it?’
He responded: ‘Yeah, it was very difficult working with Keeley.
Telling the tale: Stonehouse tells how the former cabinet minister in the Wilson government faked his death in 1974 and ran off with his secretary Sheila Buckley (John Stonehouse pictured in 1981)
‘She’s… it was hard. It was hard. No, that’s a silly answer. It was joyful working with Keeley. It was nice, wasn’t it?’
Matthew and Keeley met on the set of drama Spooks in 2001 and later starred in 2007 comedy Death at a Funeral together.
They share children Maggie, 18, and Ralph, 16, together.
Stonehouse begins on ITV at 9pm on Monday January 2 and will be aired over the following two nights.
Love: Matthew and Keeley met on the set of drama Spooks in 2001 and they went on to marry in 2004 (pictured in October 2021)
Source: | Dailymail.co.uk