Apple Tree Yard starts on Sunday! [MNHQ message: No spoilers please, including what happens in the book!]

[Destinysdaughter]

I really enjoyed the book so looking forward to this. It's in 4 parts with Emily Watson playing the main character and Ben Chaplin as her lover. BBC1 9pm

Good article about it here.

www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/14/emily-watson-apple-tree-yard-middle-aged-women-infidelity-sexuality#comments

Growing up, going to prison was one of my greatest fears. This programme is really tapping in to that, so I'm glad we've not seen any of her experience behind bars

Viv, I've been having the same thoughts too. I don't think I'd survive being locked up. That & being hung

The holding cell at the Old Bailey sounds a lot more grim and oppressive in the book than we're getting to see in the programme.

Mark is as we were told in ep 3- a former cop who failed selection for MI5. There is no undercover role for him. His work is rather mundane as was hinted at last night. In fact if you look at what his title was (as he said to her), that's what his work is.

Can't find BC attractive at all. I think it's his hair. It's far too dark and "flat" - the colour looks flat I mean. It looks dyed.

We were discussing plot twists Polly

I'm actually dreading this tonight. She'll be found guilty of murder, he'll be dealt with gently and I'll go to bed feeling angry and annoyed. I bet they show the tape of the Apple Tree Yard encounter in court too to humiliate her further. Nice supportive (albeit a bit philandery) husband will shake his head and abandon her.

And this is entertainment

yoksha I don't think anyone would survive being hung... And we don't have the death penalty any more

Someone did survive being hung in the 17th century - a servant girl who was condemned for infanticide after she miscarried. There's a superb YA novel about her by Mary Hooper, Newes From The Dead.
(Apologies for the digression. Couldn't resist the opportunity.)

Just read the spoiler thread and put yourselves out of your misery

Really? user, wouldn't want to accuse you of pointing out the obvious. It's a hypothetical response on my fears.

I am liking the changes they have made from the book

What doesn't come across so much is how much she is excited by him being a spy, in the book you feel it drives her feelings for him more

Pah, there's me saying I was dreading watching it; now events have conspired against me and I probanly can't watch it anyway so I'm not pleased! I'll have no fingernails left soon!
The spoiler thread, Polly? Never!

perhaps Yoksha meant that even if the actual neck breaking part of being hung didnt kill her then the stress of being sentenced to hang would?

Reminds me.... other day I told my other half about a man who was injured falling from a building, he said 'but it's not the falling that kills you it's the landing' and seemed surprised when I laughed

I worried about lots of things when I was a child, but I dont recall worrying about prison!

That sounds interesting Countess I might check it out.

Sorry if I sounded like and was being a dick yoksha I think I just thought it was strange to be scared of something that can't happen. I can understand being terrified of prison though, it's possible one may end up in prison one day for whatever reason.

I'm pretty certain Yoksha was carrying on from "one of my greatest fears" when she said "and being hung", rather than saying that she didn't think she'd survive being hung.

How on earth did the police know where to go to arrest her? Surely they would have gone to her house and had to return there until she was home.
I'm quite liking this but just hope that it has a decent end, unlike most British tv drama I seem to watch.

"What doesn't come across so much is how much she is excited by him being a spy"

We did get some of that. The childish "I'm fucking a spy" in her head.

"I think I just thought it was strange to be scared of something that can't happen. "

It could happen to you if you committed a crime in a country that still has the death penalty.
I'm also terrified of ending up in prison. I'm quite law abiding so not sure why I worry so much that it'll happen.

Another rape myth was covered in last nights episode. Yvonnes daughter saying to her that she had a "responsibility" to report because she had a duty to other womens safety.

So glad that a prime time TV drama is drawing attention to the fact that so much of the onus, responsibility and blame is still on women.

Maybe it will make some question their victim blaming ways.

Not sure if I'm looking forward to tonight's episode want to find out what happens but pretty sure I won't be pleased with outcome. Dh is away so going to have to watch on my own .

On the prison fears I can honestly say it has never once entered my head that I could end up in one and that's despite being arrested in US for underage drinking. I was 20 and pretending to be 21

I wasn't surprised that he doesn't work for MI5. Anyone who did wouldn't want to hint at the fact would they? Particularly to a lover. It just doesn't ring true. A good spy would blend in and never be suspected of their true job, surely?

His defence is that he has a personality disorder - so he's probably a pathological liar amongst other things.

Fancy getting arrested by Dave Coaches

I think she's going to pull something out the bag to get him sent down