What would YOU do if your life was stolen from you?

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What would YOU do if your life was stolen from you? That’s the premise of new Martin Compston thriller Our House about a mother who comes home to find it’s no longer hers – and her husband and children are missing

  • ITV thriller Our House stars Martin Compston and Tuppence Middleton
  • Middleton’s character Fi comes home to find it’s sold and her family is missing
  • EXCLUSIVE clip shared with Femail offers a first look at the drama

By Stephanie Linning For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:


Imagine coming home to discover it has been sold without you knowing. Strangers have moved in, and your possessions, furniture, and family are nowhere to be seen. 

That is the premise of new psychological thriller Our House, which starts tonight on ITV. 

Fiona Lawson (Tuppence Middleton) walks through the front door of the home she shares with her estranged husband Bram (Line Of Duty‘s Martin Compston), and believes there has been a huge mistake. 

As seen in a clip shared exclusively with FEMAIL, Fiona flashes back to the moment she and Bram came to the agreement to maintain their family home for the sake of their children after their split.

Martin Compston

Psychological thriller: Tuppence Middleton (left) and Line Of Duty’s Martin Compston (right) star in ITV’s Our House about a woman whose life crumbles around her

They were trying an arrangement known as ‘bird nesting’, where children of a divorce continue to live at the family home and the parents take it in turns to stay with them, much like birds minding a nest. 

And yet something has gone badly wrong. After coming home to find her home is no longer hers, Fiona spirals into a panic which worsens as she realises she can’t reach Bram, or the children. 

With her life shattered, she realises the secrets and lies have only just begun. 

The series intertwines the present day with flashback scenes, like the one above, that chart Fiona and Bram’s life together, their separation and their new relationships with Toby (Rupert Penry-Jones) and Wendy (Buket Komur).  

Fi forms a new romance with a charmer called Toby after her marriage to Bram breaks down. Pictured: Rupert Penry-Jones as Toby with Tuppence as Fi Lawson

Fi forms a new romance with a charmer called Toby after her marriage to Bram breaks down. Pictured: Rupert Penry-Jones as Toby with Tuppence as Fi Lawson

‘Birdnesting’: The VERY modern living arrangement at the root of the ITV drama 

‘Birdnesting’ sees the divorcing couple maintain joint ownership of the family home and keep it as a base for their children. 

While a traditional divorce arrangement requires the children to shuttle between their parents’ homes, often leading to emotional upheaval, as well as practical issues like lost PE kits, in ‘birdnesting’, it is the parents who do the shuttling. 

Each spouse spends time at the family home with their children and then leaves for a separate property, while the ex-spouse takes their place.

Supporters of birdnesting – so-called because bird parents take it in turns to look after their young in the nest – argue it creates greater stability for the children and can alleviate conflict between the divorcing couple, and the family as a whole. 

However it also comes with significant emotional and financial drawbacks that many lawyers believe make it unrealistic as a long-term solution, although it might help with families transitioning to life after divorce.

It emerges that Fiona had caught Bram with her best friend in the garden shed. 

Yet the truth behind Fi’s misfortunes is more complicated than it appears.

And Martin Compston has revealed his character Bram, though very impulsive and appearing to be the likely culprit for the catastrophe, may not be the villain he first appears to be.

‘The script is full of bad sliding doors moments, as in, ‘If somebody hadn’t done that, then things would’ve been fine,’ Martin, 37, best known for playing DI Steve Arnott in Line Of Duty, told Weekend Magazine

‘And that’s a great part of the drama. There’s a sense that things spiralled out of control for Bram and we feel sympathy for him along the way. 

‘Hopefully I’ve tried to make him a bit of a lovable rogue who’s always going out to seek out a bit of danger.’

Meanwhile Tuppence was drawn to the idea that Fiona’s seemingly perfect life is anything but. 

‘She has this seemingly “together” life but she’s been going through some difficulties,’ Tuppence said. 

‘The story is told in present day and flashback, seeing the breakdown of her relationship with her husband, her meeting a new partner and then this present-day storyline where she’s confronted with the idea that she might lose her house and everything that’s important to her.

‘She’s someone who a lot of people would look up to,’ continues Tuppence. 

‘Her house is beautiful and she has this seemingly perfect relationship and family, and then it all goes horribly wrong.’

A twisty thriller, Our House is full of big surprises, promises Tuppence. 

‘Although it’s in a contemporary setting, it has that sort of Hitchcock feel about it – ordinary life becomes a sort of mystery that unravels slowly, and then has this big, dramatic finale,’ she said. 

Beneath the surface: Martin Compston has revealed his character Bram, though very impulsive and appearing to be the likely culprit for the catastrophe, may not be the villain he appears

Beneath the surface: Martin Compston has revealed his character Bram, though very impulsive and appearing to be the likely culprit for the catastrophe, may not be the villain he appears

Our House begins tonight at 9pm on ITV