On the set of His Dark Materials, the BBC’s arresting adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novels, the word is that Ruth Wilson, as Mrs Coulter, was genuinely frightening – when she dropped out of character to start chatting, the relief was palpable. Pullman’s villain starts this third season in a characteristically dark place: she has found a way to keep her daughter close, but only by drugging her.
“The relationship is so damaged,” Wilson says. “That is her only possibility of being able to act as a mother. And there’s some desire to keep Lyra young and innocent. Mrs Coulter’s desire, really throughout the whole series, is to prevent people from becoming adults.”
