“A character I haven’t seen before”: Down Cemetery Road star Emma Thompson describes how Zoë is different from her other roles

Apple TV's Down Cemetery Road premiered on October 29, 2025, and has quickly become a popular show on the streaming platform. The show is adapted from author Mick Herron's novel series, and follows the story of Sarah, played by Ruth Wilson, an art restorationist who gets entangled in a conspiracy investigation after she begins looking for a missing girl. Herron is also the author of the novel series from which Apple TV's acclaimed spy-thriller, Slow Horses, is adapted.

Along with Wilson, the show also has found its Jackson Lamb counterpart in Zoë Boehm, played by Oscar-winner Emma Thompson. While her character is not as grumpy and hard-boiled as Gary Oldman's Lamb, she is still an unconventional and witty character. While talking to Radio Times, Thompson described Zoë as a "never-before-seen" character and also talked about her "fascination" with Wilson's Sarah. She stated:

"She’s a character I haven’t seen before on television."

More on this in our story.

Down Cemetery Road: Emma Thompson talks about her character Zoë Boehm

The story of Down Cemetery Road begins with a bang when a house in a quiet neighborhood explodes and kills two people, with only a young girl surviving. However, Sarah, who had met the girl after the explosion, goes missing, prompting her to hire a Private investigator. That's how Sarah and Zoë Boehm met and began looking into the disappearance of the girl, which might be linked to a wider conspiracy.

While talking about her character with Radio Times, Emma Thompson described her character as something she has never played in her long career. She described Zoë and said:

"I love Zoë, she’s this renegade punk, missile, rocket of a person. She’s probably got arrested development in various areas."

Apart from her own quirky personality, Thompson also shared that Zoë was fascinated by Wilson's character Sarah due to her determination to get involved in something that she might have never done before. As per the Academy and BAFTA Award winner, this fascination is something new that was being shown on television.

To add to her previous comment, she also stated:

"She’s very effective, and I like her fascination with Sarah. I like that she looks at Sarah and thinks this woman is not equipped to do this stuff, but she’s doing it anyway. That’s fascinating; she’s constantly being surprised by her road movie buddy. I thought that was something I hadn’t seen before."

Wilson added and described her character as unconventional, who couldn't fit into any particular genre, and was also relatable. She further described both the female characters of Down Cemetery Road as "rare and funny." She said:

"These are very unusual characters; Sarah doesn’t really fit into the genre. She’s a person like you and me, so there's something really fascinating and relatable about her - a twist on what we usually see on TV. They’re two amazing, eccentric female leads. It's really rare, unique and funny."

Along with Thompson and Wilson playing the eccentric leads of Down Cemetery Road, the cast also includes Adeel Akhtar, Tom Goodman-Hill, Tom Riley, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Darren Boyd, Sinead Matthews, and Adam Godley, among others.

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Also Read: Down Cemetery Road Episode 4 recap: Downey and Sarah's deadly road trip and C's ominous warning to Zoe

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