Irish writer Stefanie Preissner set herself the daunting challenge of bringing bestselling author Marian Keyes' beloved novels to life when she signed on to adapt the BBC's new six-part drama, The Walsh Sisters.
"You're not ambivalent about a Marian Keyes book," Steffanie told HELLO! in an exclusive interview. "You remember the first time you read it, where you were sitting, how you felt about it, probably what you were wearing and who you were dating at the time."
© CREDIT LINE:BBC/Cuba Pictures and Metropolitan Films/James PierceSet in Dublin, the drama follows the lives of five sisters, Anna (Louisa Harland), Rachel (Caroline Menton), Maggie (Stefanie Preissner), Claire (Danielle Galligan) and Helen (Máiréad Tyers ) as they navigate the highs and lows of their 20s and 30s.
Stefanie's experiences of miscarriage and motherhood
But despite the "heavy weight" of responsibility, Stefanie drew on her own personal experience of miscarriage and motherhood to connect with each of the characters in the story, which she says explores "timeless themes" such as heartbreak, grief and motherhood.
© BBC/Cuba Pictures and Metropolitan Films/Enda BoweThe 38-year-old mum-of-two, who also stars in the series, particularly empathised with her own character Maggie, who is desperately trying for a baby in the series. "Maggie and I overlap on a Venn diagram. I have had five miscarriages, two failed IVF attempts and, like Maggie, have had to introduce a sex schedule into my marriage in order to try and get pregnant," said Stefanie.
"I've spent time on those trying-to-conceive websites, on those boards where people are anonymous and trying to seek support because nobody in their family knows what they're going through, and I feel like that's very relatable to more people than will admit it."
"I found the maternal load and the expectation on mothers to be absolutely barbaric."
The show also depicts the struggles of motherhood through Claire (played by Danielle Galligan), a single mum going through a divorce—a character with whom Stefanie also resonated.
"Claire's storyline is probably the one that's closest to my heart because I eventually did manage to have children and I found the maternal load and the expectation on mothers to be absolutely barbaric," she said.
© CREDIT LINE:BBC/Cuba Pictures and Metropolitan Films/James Pierce"I think that motherhood is a relationship and fatherhood is a relationship. The expectation on those two things is completely not the same and it should be. It's not fair," she continued. "I'm really excited about starting that conversation with Claire."
Tackling addiction
Meanwhile, Stefanie's co-star Caroline Menton, who plays Rachel, said she hopes audiences will relate to her character's struggle with addiction. "She struggles massively with her mental health, and I think some people are better at masking that than others," said the Irish actress.
© CREDIT LINE:BBC/Cuba Pictures and Metropolitan Films/Enda Bowe"She comes from a relatively good background, and she's not had anything massively traumatic happen to her. Addiction can affect anyone. It doesn't matter where you've come from, or your economic situation. I hope people might have a bit more compassion for people struggling with addiction."
The Walsh Sisters will be released on BBC iPlayer at 6am on Saturday 21 February, and will air on BBC One from 9:15pm that night.
