Meet Vanessa Emme's 'zero filter' 'The Chelsea Detective' cop

Jun 24, 2023

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Vanessa Emme joins “The Chelsea Detective” as DS Layla Walsh, the new partner of bicycle-riding DI Max Arnold (Adrian Scarborough).

But being the newbie in a series now in its second season on Acorn TV wasn’t too difficult for Emme, a veteran of UK crimefighting procedurals including “Bloodlands” and “Dublin Murders” who said she “loves the genre” — but is also “a massive comedy fan.”

“What I particularly love about anything I watch is … when you get to know who’re you’re watching on screen, even if it’s driven very much by action or comedy,” she said. “Getting to peel the layers off of people on screen and the stories behind them is what I’m drawn to regardless of [the genre].

“That’s what I loved exploring with Layla and Max and the rest of the [‘Chelsea Detective’] team — who these people are inside aside from the serious crimes they solve.”

The four-episode second season of “The Chelsea Detective” picks up, thematically, from Season 1, with the dyslexic, coffee-drinking Max Arnold — who lives on a houseboat on the Thames — solving murders in the fashionable, wealthy area of West London. He’s now teamed with Layla, who’s not afraid to speak her mind — as did Arnold’s Season 1 partner, DS Priya Shamsie (Sonita Henry).

“I think she’s the visceral companion to Max Arnold’s cerebral approach,” Emme said of Layla. “She speaks her mind with practically zero filter and lacks patience for nonsense; she tends to roll her eyes at all the excess she witnesses … and definitely brings some judgment with her and keeps her private life very private.

“She’s very much married to her work and everything else sort of just fits in around that,” she said. “It’s really cool the way they introduce Layla to the series — from the get-go, you get a good sense of what her essence is, what she’s about, and that lands her strongly on her two feet at the precinct.

“It’s a really good starting point for the rest of the season.”

Emme said that one element, in particular, drives this season of “The Chelsea Detective.”

“What makes [the series] stand out to me is the juxtaposition of dry humor and the perfection of the Chelsea veneer against its serious and dark underbelly,” she said. “I love the fact that it allows space for lightness and humor to enter what is otherwise a very serious world.

“It really breathes life and energy into the show; the characters are so serious working on those cases and it’s our nature to inject humor where we can to relieve stress … it’s a part of [the show] that’s done very well.”

And, as the season progresses, viewers will see Max and Layla more in tune with each other’s quirks, Emme said.

“What’s lovely is that because these two characters are brand-new to each other you’ll see their relationship grow throughout the season, which I think is special and lovely,” she said. “They have good chemistry and work off each other well; there’s a natural human understanding between them.

“Their relationship definitely grows very strongly as a partnership, and I’m really pleased with that.”

Season 2 of “The Chelsea Detective” premieres Aug. 28 on Acorn TV.