Nicola Walker Talks Breaking the Rules with 'Annika'

Nicola Walker’s exit from Unforgotten at the end of Season 4 was quickly soothed by the announcement she was leading a new detective series, Annika, where she played the titular DI Annika Strandhed, a wry, speedboat-driving book nerd just hired as the lead of Glasgow’s Marine Homicide Unit. Season 1’s arrival in 2022, first on PBS Passport for members and then on linear that fall, introduced the character as a woman juggling a new city, a caseload as large as her to-be-read pile, and a rebellious teenage daughter who was less than thrilled with the relation from Stockholm to Scotland. 

With Season 2 now underway on PBS’ Masterpiece and all six episodes streaming on PBS Passport, viewers are again plunged into the world of crimes on water as Annika and her team work to solve a new set of cases. Walker is once again joined by Silvie Furneaux (Vigil) as her daughter, Morgan, plus Katie Dickie (Game of Thrones) as boss DCI Diane Oban, Jamie Sives (Guilt) as DS Michael McAndrews, Katie Leung (Roadkill) as DC Blair Ferguson, Ukweli Roach (Grantchester) as DS Tyrone Clarke, and Varada Sethu (Mrs Sidhu Investigates) as DC Harper Weston, the newcomer to the team.

With the new season featuring Annika trying to work up the nerve to admit that her long-buried secrets are about to force her work life and home life to collide in a very uncomfortable way, Walker sat down with Telly Visions to discuss her quirky character, breaking the fourth wall, the fun of filming straight to camera, and what she hopes viewers will take away from the new show.

Telly Visions: We’re in a real golden age for crime dramas led by rich, complicated female characters. What is it about this genre, do you think, that’s made it a home for such strong women?

Nicola Walker: The police genre has been dominated by male characters for a long time, and I think it’s fantastic that we’re balancing it out now. I think the genre naturally allows for complicated, interesting female roles, and we believe that a woman could have risen in the ranks to a position of authority. It helps that the audience demographic of crime shows has a high proportion of female viewers, and that audience is driving the desire to see great female leads in the genre. 

TV: Many viewers may not know that Annika originally began its life as a radio drama. What was the most challenging thing about updating your performance for the TV version of her story?

NW: The trickiest thing about moving from radio to screen was maintaining the sense of an intimate relationship with the viewer. With the radio show, Annika was the only voice you heard; she would relate to other characters, but you only heard her side of things. Then, we had sections where she spoke directly to the listener, which worked brilliantly on radio because that is the nature of the medium. When [series creator] Nick [Walker (no relation)] came to adapting the show for TV, he immediately decided to break the fourth wall so Annika could still speak directly to the audience.

TV: Annika is generally a straightforward character, and she regularly talks directly to the camera to tell you what she’s feeling all the time. Is that lack of artifice easier or more difficult for you to play as an actor?  

NW: I love acting down the barrel of the lens; it feels transgressive and playful because, as an actor, you’re just not meant to do it usually. Annika is a rule breaker, so it feels right that she breaks the rules by looking down the lens! We laugh a lot on set when we’re doing those segments, and it gave me a uniquely close relationship with my directors and our camera team. 
 
TV: Annika is a wonderfully literary show — if you were going to use a piece of classic literature as your guidebook to life, what would it be?

NW: I couldn’t pick one book to guide me through life. Can I have the works of Angela Carter, Flannery O’Connor, Toni Morrison, and Ali Smith? I think they would see me right through most of life’s eventualities.
 
TV: Annika and Morgan have an occasionally challenging relationship onscreen — do you think it’s important to show them working things out rather than constantly being at odds?

NW: I love Annika’s relationship with her daughter; it seems real to me — full of love and the push and pull of a teenager growing up. Silvie and I have a brilliant relationship on and off camera. She is so good. I love that in this second season, Annika really has to start being honest with her, and treating her as an adult. But you can see she desperately wants to hold on to her because, for 16 years, it’s been the two of them against the world.

Annika Season 2 continues with new episodes every Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on most PBS stations through November 19, 2023. (As always, check your local listings.) Annika Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming with all episodes on PBS Passport for members.