British actress reveals why she fell in love with Wales while filming BBC drama
Amelia Jones
An actress from the BBC’s new psychological drama has revealed how a quiet stay on a working farm in Wales became the perfect antidote to filming the new thriller.
While shooting The Rapture across south Wales, Queen Charlotte actress India Amarteifio spent months living with a family on a working farm near Cowbridge. She says it was an experience that left such an impression she “literally can’t wait to go back.”
The psychological thriller, adapted from Liz Jensen’s bestselling novel, follows forensic psychologist Gabs Fox as she becomes fascinated by a teenage patient who claims she can predict the future.
Talking about filming the series on The One Show alongside her co-star Ruth Madeley, Amarteifo said she stayed on a farm. After long days on set, the actress found herself surrounded by fields, stables and cows, something she said helped her switch off from the psychological drama.
She added: “It was amazing. I stayed on a working farm with a lovely family in Cowbridge. I literally can’t wait to go back. I stayed with an amazing family. It was really lovely there.”
Describing why the Welsh countryside meant so much during filming, she said: “It’s so peaceful. I really utilised the stables and the cows. Just being able to look at a vast horizon at the end of the day was beautiful.
“It’s really important to ground yourself after a series that’s so laden with quite dark material, so I was really, really lucky.”
She also joked that the surroundings were in stark contrast to the conditions on set. Although The Rapture is set during an intense heatwave, the cast actually spent weeks filming in south Wales during October and November, often wearing summer clothes in near-winter temperatures.
She said: “It was October and November in Wales. We were sat in shorts and a vest. We had heat packs galore everywhere.”
She added: “Some of the scenes that have come out, I’m so confused as to how it looks 40 degrees when I know it was raining on that scene.”
The Rapture continues weekdays on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer here.
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