A dead body on a beach, an intense Christian group, a detective going back to his roots – it all adds up to e

She’s best known as Eastenders’ glamorous Angie Watts, but Anita Dobson’s latest role as Grace Stephenson, the repressed wife of a Christian sect leader in ITV’S new crime drama The Long Call, is as far removed from that as it’s possible to be – and she embraced it.

‘I loved being her,’ says Anita, 72. ‘I loved her awful clothes, her grey wig, and the fact I was stripped bare with no make-up. I felt free in a strange way.’

The Long Call, an eerie murdermystery set on the north Devon coast that’s airing over four nights this week, is adapted from novels by Vera creator Ann Cleeves.

The man responsible for keeping Grace subdued is her husband Dennis (Martin Shaw), the leader of fictional Christian organisation the Barum Brethren, which allows its members no money or luxuries. Warm and charismatic on the surface, Dennis has a darker side and enjoys complete control over the Brethren – and his wife. ‘She’s repressed by him,’ explains Anita. ‘Grace doesn’t really know how she feels about anything or how to form proper relationships.’

The sect forms one of the two major storylines in The Long Call (a term used to describe the herring gull’s cry). The other is a murder investigation after the body of a man is found on a beach. Connecting the two strands is DI Matthew Venn (Fleabag’s Ben Aldridge), who was brought up within the Barum Brethren before a dramatic parting of the ways. Now, after returning to Devon, he becomes involved with the sect again when his father dies, while also leading the hunt for the killer of the man found on the beach.

‘Matthew called the Brethren and its teachings utter madness and turned his back on them as a young man,’ says Ben. ‘Returning to his roots 20 years on awakens many ghosts.’

While working on the murder inquiry with detective Jen Rafferty (Doctor Who’s Pearl Mackie), Venn is also reacquainted with his mother Dorothy (Juliet Stevenson), a devout member of the Barum Brethren. ‘She’d made it clear to him 20 years before that without belief he could no longer

be a part of the Barum community,’ says Ben. ‘But Matthew discovers that his mother is proud of what he’s achieved as a detective, and that helps them rebuild their relationship.’

Ben’s links to his character are deep. Both he and Venn are gay, and both hail from Devon. Even more spookily, they were both brought up as evangelical Christians. ‘My story and Matthew’s are so similar I felt slightly paranoid, like someone had been spying on my life!’ says Ben.

Anita confesses she didn’t know Christian communities such as the one in the drama existed before taking this role. ‘Learning more about them was almost like lifting the corner of a carpet, peeking under, then shrieking and dropping it again!’ n

Tim Oglethorpe