We filmed in the summer for a drama that is set in the summer. On many occasions you film dramas that are meant to be set in the summer and it’s actually winter when you are shooting. You are on a beach with shorts on and it is freezing. That’s when you really have to give it some serious acting.” strong>Where You've Seen Her Before: Blakley is known for her roles in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice as Charlotte Lucas; as Mabel Nesbitt in Gosford Park; and for her other MASTERPIECE roles, such as Agatha Redmond in Season 2 of Grantchester, Cynthia Lennon in Lennon Naked, and in Lark Rise to Candleford, Cranford and more.

Where You’ve Seen Him Before: Rea is best known for his work in such hit films such as The Crying Game; V for Vendetta alongside Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman; Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles alongside Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt; Citizen X, and more.In fact, Staunton and co-star Annis being involved were part of the reason that Rea was attracted to the project. “Francesca Annis and Imelda Staunton were already attached to this. Actors who I am very impressed by, fond of and know,” he explained. “The character of Mark was interesting and it had an intriguing surface of a functional family that turns out to be completely non-functional. I have a personal belief that most families aren’t functional. So, I’m quite happy to contribute to that propaganda.” a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/seven-intriguing-facts-flesh-and-blood-star-imelda-staunton/">Read our special feature all about Staunton here to learn more fun facts about the leading lady!

related_content_links_0_url: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/seven-intriguing-facts-flesh-and-blood-star-imelda-staunton/ Where You’ve Seen Her Before: Blakley is known for her roles in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice as Charlotte Lucas; as Mabel Nesbitt in Gosford Park; and for her other MASTERPIECE roles, such as Agatha Redmond in Season 2 of Grantchester, Cynthia Lennon in Lennon Naked, and in Lark Rise to Candleford, Cranford and more.

mp_sf_list_2_description:The Character: Veteran actor Stephen Rea plays Mark, Vivien’s new boyfriend, who shakes up the peace of her (somewhat dysfunctional) family with his arrival and their fast moving relationship. When the children and Vivien's neighbor raise some concerns about him, the question arises: who is Mark, really? strong>The Story: For Staunton, the series' storyline of a strong attachment to one's childhood home was one she could personally relate to. “I was raised above a hair salon in north London,” she explained. “I regarded that as home. We moved when I was 10 or 11. And for most of my adult life, probably until I had my own house and family, I dreamt about that house all of the time. Because I wanted to be there.”

related_content_links_1_url: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/flesh-and-blood-episode-1-recap/

Cast & Crew

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The Character: Claudie Blakley plays the oldest of Vivien’s three children, Helen, who is desperately trying to be as put together as she’d like everyone else to believe, and is trying to hold onto a career, marriage and family that are all shaken up at once. mp_sf_list_1_description:The Character: Francesca Annis, another Cranford star among the cast, plays Vivien, the widowed mother and matriarch of her family. When she introduces her three adult children to her new boyfriend, and shares with them her intentions of selling the family home and moving on with her life, they don’t exactly take kindly to…well, any of it. strong>The Story: As Vivien spends time throughout the series reflecting on her age and her life, Annis, too, spent time while working on the series reflecting on age and time. “What strikes me now is how varied one’s life and time can be. Which is wonderful,” she said. “You are not the same at 70 as you were at 50. It keeps changing. I always think that every decade there is a change in you. You change, your attitudes change, you change physically, you change mentally. That’s why it’s so important to live in the moment. There’s no good thinking ahead, it’s too abstract. And there’s no good thinking about the past because it’s gone.”The Character: Veteran actor Stephen Rea plays Mark, Vivien’s new boyfriend, who shakes up the peace of her (somewhat dysfunctional) family with his arrival and their fast moving relationship. When the children and Vivien’s neighbor raise some concerns about him, the question arises: who is Mark, really? The Story: For Staunton, the series’ storyline of a strong attachment to one’s childhood home was one she could personally relate to. “I was raised above a hair salon in north London,” she explained. “I regarded that as home. We moved when I was 10 or 11. And for most of my adult life, probably until I had my own house and family, I dreamt about that house all of the time. Because I wanted to be there.” strong>Cast Connections: Flesh and Blood was an exciting one for Annis, one with “lots of twists and turns…that made me laugh. And a couple of things that made me gasp.“ It helped, too, to have co-stars and peers she’d worked with or encountered before, and was happy to reunite with.