Apple Tree Yard: What you need to know about new Sunday night thriller

The TV version of Louise Doughty's hit psychological thriller Apple Tree Yard debuts on BBC1 on Sunday night and is set to get pulses racing.

Who's involved?

The four-part drama features big screen stars Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin. It's directed by Jessica Hobbs (The Slap), from a script by Amanda Coe, whose TV credits include Room at the Top and the biopic Filth: The Mary Whitehouse story.

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What's it about?

The story follows Dr Yvonne Carmichael (Watson), a successful, married geneticist who encounters an attractive stranger, Mark (Chaplin), in the House of Commons. When she embarks on a passionate affair with him, an unexpected event sets her life on a path to disaster

The series is based on Louise Doughty's best-selling 2013 novel of the same name, which executive producer Lucy Richer described as "impossible to put down".

It's a "chilling novel", says Stephanie Merritt of The Guardian, because of the "unsparing light it shines on our ability to deceive ourselves". She adds that "it's not a comfortable read, but it is entirely compelling".

What will the TV version be like?

Viewers have been told to expect "five minutes of explicit sex" in the first episode, which is screened after the 9pm watershed. Rebecca Hawkes at the Daily Telegraph says the story "raises important questions about the way society perceives women who openly enjoy sex – especially, perhaps, older women".

Watson told the newspaper: "Just the fact that the protagonist is a sexualised woman in her 50s is a good, feminist statement."

The Sun newspaper says it was given access to some "racy" scenes from the show, but notes that Watson refused to undress for the role.

"The first thing I told the director was that I would not do nudity. Not because I'm a prude, but I'm vain and way too old to be naked on screen," she said.

Nevertheless, viewers need only wait seven minutes into the first episode to witness the first passionate clinch between the two leads, with several further explicit scenes to follow.

Where can you catch a sneak peak?

The trailer shows a pensive Watson crossing London and then encountering the mysterious Mark. The tension is soon ramped up in a series of frightening encounters, with a final shot of Watson's character in handcuffs asking: "What have I done?"[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"106716","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

The teaser leaves viewers who haven't read the novel to wonder what has happened and what crime Yvonne has committed. For those who know the story, the pleasure will be in seeing how the dark tale unfolds on screen.

The first episode of Apple Tree Yard airs on BBC1 at 9pm on Sunday 22 January.