Without You (2012–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Episode #1.1 - full transcript

Happily-married teacher Ellie Manning is devastated when two policewomen tell her that her husband Greg has been killed in a car crash,the more so on learning that he had a glamorous passenger,events organizer Milena Livingstone,who died with him. Ellie seeks out Milena's cold widower Hugo,who believes that the dead couple were having an affair but Ellie is not convinced and later refutes similar suggestions from friends and family. She is however suspicious of Milena's appearance in her husband's life and becomes obsessive in trying to prove that they were strangers. Posing as her friend Gwen she engineers a meeting with Milena's business partner Frances.

And I miss you...

Greg, hang things up.

Morning.

Sleeping Beauty.

Don't be late tonight, will you?

I won't.
What time do you think?

Seven? Latest.

It's Day 13.

Oh, my God.
Call the ovulation police.

Shut up. We've got to have sex again
tonight.

You know, you make it sound
so romantic.



Well, we'll just stop, then.

Jellie, I was joking.

Relax.

I'm going to make us
a nice big fire.

Boy scout.

You'll love it.

Be home at seven on the dot.

Scout's honour.

And I'm going to be ready
for action.

Come here.

I've got to go.

I'll wear my fancy new underwear.

Yeah, so will I.

Hey... recycling.



Oh, bugger off.

Good morning, Tia.
Good morning, Miss Manning.

Good morning, Arthur.
Good morning, Miss Manning.

Good morning, Jack.
Morning.

Good morning, Lottie.
Morning, Miss Manning.

Good morning, Alfie.

Good morning, Alfie.

Good morning, Miss Manning.

Would you like to be my helper?

We're going to read
Guess How Much I Love You.

Here. Hold that.

He wanted to make sure that
Big Nutbrown Hare was listening.

'Guess how much I love you?' he said.

'This much,' said Little
Nutbrown Hare,

stretching out his arms
as wide as they could go.

Big Nutbrown Hare
had even longer arms.

'But I love you this much,' he said.

Hi, love. It's me. Are you there?

I'm here. I'm here. Hi.

Sorry, I was upstairs. How are you?

Yeah, I'm good. Listen, I'm going to
be late tonight.

Oh, no. Please don't say that.
You promised.

Yeah, I know I did, but something's
come up.

Why can't Joe do it?

I'm sorry, love. Ellie?

I'm still here, it's just...

Ellie... It really feels like
I'm the one making all the effort.

I'm sorry.

Well, nine at the latest,
or don't bother coming home.

Did you forget your keys?

Mrs Manning?

Yeah?

You are Gregory Manning's wife?

What's happened?

We're very sorry, but your...
your husband...

has been involved
in a fatal accident.

He was driving a burgundy
Ford Focus,

registration number November Uniform
Zero Two Alpha Oscar Papa.

This is your husband's car?

Your husband's car left the road
and subsequently caught fire.

Do you understand what I've said,
Mrs Manning?

I'm sorry...

but your husband is dead.

Can I get you a glass of water?

There was a passenger in the car,
who also died.

A woman.

What?

We have yet to identify her.

We thought at first it might be
his wife, you, but...

obviously...

Do you have any idea
who it could be?

I don't understand.

A colleague from work, perhaps?

Can we call someone to be with you?

Can we call your parents?
A friend, perhaps?

You shouldn't be alone, Mrs Manning.

Gwen. I'll call Gwen.

Are you sure there's nothing else
that we can do for you?

I'd like to be on my own.

Hi. You've reached Gwen's phone.
I'm not here right now.

Oh, no.

Greg?

Greg!

Hiya. Sorry we're not in.
Leave a message for Ellie or Greg.

Hi, Ellie. Did you ring? It's Gwen.
You're screaming, aren't you?

Are you and that husband of yours
fornicating again?

Anyway, I'm in, all on my own.
Give me a call.

I am so sorry.

Alison and I just heard.

The police called me.

Oh, Jesus, Ellie.

He called me at six, saying he'd be
late because something had cropped up
at work.

The last thing I said to him was,
'Don't bother coming home.'

Then he sent a text at 6:30.
I've only just got it now.

Look. I think he's saying sorry
because he's going to be late, but...

Five sorrys. That's a lot of sorrys.

Did the police tell you
there was a woman in the car?

Yeah.

Was it Tania?

No. I spoke to her this morning.
She's fine.

You know she irritated
the hell out of Greg.

I don't know anything any more.

Were you er... having a bad patch?

No, we were...
we were trying for a baby.

What cropped up at work, Joe?

Did something crop up or...
Was he even at work?

I don't... we were working on
separate accounts yesterday.

Was he having an affair?

He adored you.

That's not the question.

No. No.

No.
No?

He could have been.

No.

And there was...

Also, there was someone else
in the car. A woman.

We don't know.

I'm so sorry.
I know how much you were...

He loved you so much.

I have to go. There's someone else
on the line. It might be the police.

All right, love. I'll call you soon.

Bye-bye.

I've rung the school for you.
The secretary was devastated.
She's speaking to the head.

I've rung Fergus and Gemma.
They're ringing round for us.

What about Greg's parents?

I've done it.

Bad?

He was their only child.

I don't think Kitty
ever liked me much.

Here, let me do that, love.

I can't -
Come on. It's all right.

Do you think I should have worn
all black?

No, love.
I'm sure there are no rules.

I saw my mum when she was dead.
I didn't see my dad. I was too young.

Three dead people by the age of 34 -
that's not bad, is it?

I don't like 'em.

Poor baby.

I must have done something really bad
in a former life.

No, no. No-one deserves this.

No.

It might not be him.

What?

They might have got it wrong.
It might not be him.

Oh, darling.

I should warn you, his face
has been partially burned.

Mrs Manning.

Is this your husband,
Gregory Manning?

Can you confirm -
Yes, it is.

Would you like some time alone?

Yes, please.

The woman who was...

who was in the car with him...

is she here too?

Yes, her husband came
just before you.

What's her name?

Livingstone.

Milena.

That's her. She's older than me.

She doesn't look like Greg's type.
She's the complete opposite to you.

Do you know her?
Never heard of her.

A party planner.

Simply Milena, Events Manager.

Coffee.

Thanks, Fergus.

Did he ever talk to you about her?

No.

Must have met through work.

Ellie, it doesn't really matter
who she is or was.

Did Greg mention her to you?

Don't protect him.

I'm not protecting him.
I don't know who she is.

And this is not going to
help bring him back.

All right? I'm very sorry,
I just don't care who she is.
I just care about Greg.

He's my best friend. He's actually
like part of me, Ellie, and I really
want to hold onto that.

Well, I have to know. I'm his wife.

Hiya. I'm sorry I'm late. I just
had to take Gemma to the hospital.

Is everything all right?

Yeah, yeah. It's just her scan.

You can't miss your baby's scan.

No, it's fine.
It's just a follow-up.

It's him.

It's the husband.

The court is now open.

OK.

Come on.

I was called to Portend Way
because a member of the public
reported a fire there.

Can you describe the location?

It's pretty derelict.
Used to be an industrial estate.

So it's not a busy road
at that time of night?

No. It's a no-through road.
It's normally deserted.

Except for kids joy-riding,
you know.

And the occasional couple shagging.

Courting.

Did you get some idea
of how the accident happened?

The car must have lost control,
come off the road, gone down
the embankment,

and burst into flames.

Why would the car have lost control?

Portend Way goes straight and then
suddenly curves to the left.

It's not very well lit.

If a driver wasn't paying attention,
say he was chatting to his
passenger,

he could easily hit trouble.

The car was still in flames
when we arrived.

We could see the driver was dead
straight away.

Oh, my God.

Mrs Manning,
we can take a break, if you wish.

Dr Mackay, you carried out
the post-mortem examination

on Mr Manning and Mrs Livingstone.

The police report stated
that the two people in the car
were not wearing seat belts.

The injuries were consistent
with that.

He always wore a seat belt.

He'd never not wear a seat belt.

Of trauma.

Mrs Manning, do you have something
to add?

My husband was a very careful driver.

He would always have worn
his seat belt.

He didn't even break the speed limit.

No, he would have always worn
his seat belt.

Mrs Manning, the tragedy is that we
can all be careful drivers,

but it only takes one
careless moment.

He would have always worn
his seat belt.

The crash and the fire
were not simultaneous?

No, I think the crash happened
first. There were severe injuries
to the head,

multiple fractures of the skull
and severe damage to the soft tissue
of the brain.

The fire happened afterwards.

It is your belief
that the fire...

I took blood samples from both
parties and both tested negative
for carbon monoxide.

It may be of some comfort to the
families to know...

that the deaths must have been all
but instantaneous.

If there are no objections,
I'd like to record a verdict
of accidental death

in the case of Gregory Wilson
Manning and of Milena Livingstone.

The deaths can now be registered
and the bodies released for burial.

The court will rise.

Mr Livingstone,

I really need to talk to you.

I'd rather not. Excuse me.

Please.

I'm sorry for your loss.

It's all right, love. Come on.

Come on, Greg.
Who were you in contact with?

Christine?
Sorry?

I'm Greg's wife.

Fergus told me about...
about what happened.

I can't get over it.
I keep seeing him.

Were you having an affair
with my husband?

What?
I read your e-mails.

We were running mates.

You asked him how things were
at home.

And talked about his gorgeous knees.

We used to talk about our injuries.
I don't know, we joked.
It was just banter.

We were friends.

He invited you to our wedding
and you cancelled.

I was ill, I think. Ellie...

I'm in a relationship.

How can I believe you?

I need to know if he had affairs.
If he had one with you,

it'd make it more likely that he had
others, wouldn't it?

I don't know why, cos I've done
nothing wrong, but I feel...

the most terrible shame.

Listen to me. I don't know
if Greg had affairs.

But I do know he didn't have one
with me.

I give you my word.

Was the sex dirty, was that it?

I'm really trying to keep faith
with you, but it's very hard.

Hey, Jellie, do you remember
that night we met?

Saracen's Head, pub quiz night.

We were on opposing teams.

I was on the winning team.

I really let the team down
that night.

You know why?

I took one look at you...
I turned to Fergus and I said...

'That's the girl
I'm going to marry.'

You, on the other hand,
you didn't even notice me.

I did. I thought you were funny.

No. You didn't fancy me, though.

You see?

I just took a bit of time.

I was a slow burn with you.

You were.

How did you know I was the girl
you were going to marry?

I just knew.

When you met Milena, did
you take one look at her

and say, 'That's the
girl I'm going to shag?'

Thank you.
Bye.

Cheers.
You're very welcome.

I don't know. So much choice
for something you burn.

Woven willow?

Greg would not have been seen dead
in a basket.

Ellie, you made the right choice.

Traditional.

Taxi.

Now, are you sure you're all right
on your own?

Yeah. Sure.

It's another thing done.

41, Ferndale Road, please, mate.

Actually, can you take me
somewhere else, please?

You just tell me
where you want to go, love.

How did you get my address?

It was in the coroner's report.

Come in.

This way, please.

What is it you want to know?

Was your wife having an affair
with my husband?

It would seem that way.

Did she tell you about it?

No. She had the good grace not to.

You're all right with that?

Milena's a beautiful woman.
Men desire...

desired her.

I never expected exclusivity.

My marriage wasn't like that.

Yet here we are
in the same situation.

Everyone has secrets, I'm afraid.

It would be naive to think
otherwise, wouldn't it?

Nobody can ever know absolutely
what's going on is someone else's
mind.

So you just accept it?

There's something not right about it,
don't you think? There's...

There's just something...

It's not right.

What other explanation
could there be?

They could have been in the car
for a different reason,

doing business -
Business?

Strange place to do business.

All I know is that Milena's dead.

Killed in a tragic accident.

You must miss her a lot.

No-one could force my wife to do
anything she didn't want to.

If she went with your husband, it
was because she decided to be there.

Now, I'm very busy.

When's her funeral?

It was last week.
We buried her last week.

That was quick.

Greg's isn't until Friday.

Anyway,

I'm sorry.

Yes. I'll show you out.

I've brought you a sleeping pill.
I figured you could use one.

Didn't have you down
as a pill-pusher.

There are some perks to working
in a hospital. One won't hurt you.

Here.

Thank you.

Once the funeral's over,
you'll start to feel better.

Good God. I look terrible.
No wonder I'm single.

You're beautiful, you know? You're
going to have them queuing up.

Don't.

What?

He's still here.

Of course he is, love.

Couldn't possibly
think of anyone else.

No, I don't mean now. But you will.
You'll be fine.

I promise.

I was called to Port End
Lane because a member of the
public...

a passenger in the car.
It was a woman.

Were you having a bad patch?

Not wearing seat belts.

A no-through road.
It's normally deserted.

We thought at first it might be
his wife - you. But...

the occasional couple shagging.

Shagging.

..A bad patch...
..seat belts...

might be his wife.

Portend Way, please.

The car must have lost control,
come off the road, gone down the
embankment and burst into flames.

If the driver wasn't paying
attention...

Sweetheart.

The sun's come out.

We're going to get through this. OK?

Hi, Alison.

You'll be all right, you know.
You will.

You will.

So sorry.

Sorry about your loss.

So sorry. We're all thinking of you.

Hey.

Hi.

It's not long now, is it?

It's a couple of weeks.

I'm so sorry, Ellie.

I loved Greg, you know.

I know.
He was so funny.

See Tania's dressed
for the occasion.

Who's that?
Greg's PA at work.

Excuse me.
It's his... it's his parents.

Ellie.

Are you all right, chicken?

I'd forgotten how much
he looked like you.

Where are you staying?

Hotel.

You know you could have stayed
with me.

Kitty didn't think
she could bear it.

Hello, Kitty.

If only he'd been on his own.
You must be tormented by it.

His mother was very affected.

Particularly the circumstances.

It wasn't my fault.

What?In case you think I failed him
as a wife, I didn't.

I loved him. I didn't fail him.

I didn't say that.
I didn't say anything.

Paul, what is she accusing me of?

That was very unkind, Ellie.

Hi. I'm Gwen. We met at the wedding,
actually. I'm so sorry.

Mrs Manning...

Marjorie Sutton.
You have my sympathy.

I was a client of your husband's.

In fact, he rang me
the day of the accident.

He was a very dear young man.

Funny and warm.

Patient.

He was, wasn't he?

He always took time to explain
things to me. Not all accountants
are like that.

Oh, God.

My dear, you must be feeling
terrible.

Just take some deep breaths now.
That's all you can do.

It's all right.

Take care.

Well, it was a good turnout today,
wasn't it?

Not many people came back.

That's probably a good thing.

Less washing up for us to do.

Did you see Hugo Livingstone?

What? Milena's husband.
He was hanging round outside.

Are you sure?
Positive.

I didn't see him.
He was there.

Does it all the time.

I'm not feeling too great.
Do you mind if I go and lie down?

No. We can clear all this up.

Come on. I'll get these ones.

OK. I'll take these.

I can lie in the middle now.

Take up as much room as I want.

You always take as much room
as you want.

You should have been there today.
You'd have laughed.

Your dad sang at the top
of his voice.

Totally tuneless, wasn't it?
Mm-hm.

Tania cried more than anyone.

That doesn't surprise me.

There were loads of people from uni
there. Remember Sam Wyers? Made it
all the way from Scotland.

Good man.

Does he have any hair left?

No, not much.

Not as much as you.

Excellent.
That's what I want to hear.

You wouldn't want to hear what they
said about you as a decorator.

Well, it's too late now.

So many people loved you, you know.

None more than you.

No.

Who am I going to talk to,
now I don't have you?

I told you everything.

There just must be another
explanation.

Greg just wasn't like that.

You do not die in Lovers' Lane with
a complete stranger, do you?

I just feel so sorry for her.

He was distracted at work.
I thought it was the stress
of trying for a baby.

I just don't think his heart
was in it.

I liked Greg, but I always had
reservations about him.

As far as I'm concerned, there's
only one thing men think with.

We all know what that is.

Alison...
What?

Oh, God.

I don't know who you are anymore.

Why did we always go on holiday
in the rain?

I arranged it specially,
cos you looked so good in a cagoule.

Don't make me laugh and think
everything's fine. I don't know if I
believe in you. Did you hear them?

Thank God she didn't get pregnant
and have a baby. Can you imagine?

Come on. Don't say that.

Go away. Just go away.

Go away!

Go.

There you are, love.
I've been looking for you.

Ellie, are you OK?
Look.

It's lovely.

I've always wanted a rocking horse,
ever since I was a kid.

We saw it in an antique shop
one Sunday.

He was going to buy it for me,
but I was...

very sad that day.

I'd just started my period.

He must have gone back
and bought it for me.

That was nice of him.

Don't you see what this means?

It means he loved me.

Oh, darling. It's just a toy.

No, it's not. It's more than that.
It's a labour of love.

And it means...
it means that he loved me.

I'm sorry, but he could have been
working on it cos he felt guilty.

No.

If you all don't want to believe
in him, then that's fine. But I do.

He was my husband. Mine for 12 years.
12 good years.

And I choose to believe in him.

All right.

How are you?
All right, yeah. Sorry about that.

Didn't mean to scare you. I rang the
bell a few times, but...

I was miles away.

Hey, this is my wife.

This is my wife.

It was a beautiful day, wasn't it?

Yeah, it was.

And your best man speech
was brilliant.

I think Greg got more laughs.

He did that lovely bit about
your mum and dad's pub, as well.
Was it the Hope and Anchor?

Yeah. He said he was going to be
my hope.

My anchor.

Listen...

I've er... got the afternoon off.

Thought maybe we could go
for a drive,

and perhaps we could er...
scatter the ashes.

No. I'm not ready.

I want him here with me.

We're a bit worried about you,
Ellie.

Why? I'm feeling great.

Look at this place. It's a dump.

I feel great because I know he
wasn't having an affair.

Right.

Men are very different to women,
Ellie.

I'm very sorry, but sometimes
we just think with our dicks.

I know.

He is so outrageous.
Can you believe it?

I know. I didn't know what to do.
Yeah.

We're an accountancy firm,
not a dating agency.

Tania.

I'll call you back.

Ellie. How are you?

When the police said there was
a woman, I thought it was you.

Oh, my Christ.
Thank God it wasn't, eh?

I mean... I really liked
Greg, but I would never

go for him in that way,
not in a million years.

I know he felt exactly the same.

I need you to do something for me.

I want access to all Greg's
appointments, e-mails, social events,

everything that happened in the last
month of his life.

And while we're at it, this is a copy
of the last e-mail Greg received.

It was from you.

He was asking you to look into
a query for him.

Do you know what it's about?

I don't know.
I'd have to look it up.

Can you do that for me?

I'll have to check all this
with Joe.

You can check right now.

Hey, Ellie. All right?

What is it you need?

I want to know if Greg ever crossed
paths with Milena Livingstone.

I know this is important to you.

The problem is, we have
confidentiality issues.

Our clients -
That's all right.

The only people I'm interested in
are dead.

All right.

Will you give her
whatever she needs?

Come here.

You know Greg loved you.

And maybe he made a mistake.

But that doesn't diminish
what he felt for you.

Did he?

Did he make a mistake?

I don't know.

Come on. You spent more time
with him than I did.

You saw him every day. All I know is
that he was working late every night,

he was getting up early
and then he was showering for...

He always spent such a...

a long time in the shower.

I used to tease him about it.

I can take it, you know.
I'm stronger than you think.

If you had to bet on it,
what would the odds be?

Sweetheart, there's no point
in torturing yourself.

I mean, it would be impossible
to prove or disprove, wouldn't it?

I don't know.

I've been able to block out
most of the day from the timings
of his e-mails,

and there's receipts from garages
and shops - they always give a time.

It's pretty much everything he did
for the last month of his life.

Blimey. You've been busy.

It's very er... neat.

Look at the chart. Look at it.

It shows him working very hard.

It shows him travelling,
eating, staying in with me.

Where's the part
where he was having an affair?

Ellie, I'm not a therapist,
but isn't denial a part of
the grieving process?

No, I'm not in denial about this.
Please.

Don't you think it would have been
easier if I'd found just one deleted
e-mail or a receipt in his pocket?

I didn't find anything.
There is nothing.

OK. What do you want me to say?

I want you to be on my side.
You're my best friend.

Gwen, please. Just try and
understand. Just try.

I do. I understand you wanting to
know, but... what do you intend
to do with it?

Hang it on the wall?

Invite all your neighbours round?

No. I haven't finished January 12th.
But when I have, I'm going to take it
to the police.

Why?

To prove they didn't even know
each other. They're going to have to
reopen the case.

OK, look, I can see you've worked
really hard on this.

But it means nothing.

The police aren't interested whether
Greg was having an affair or not.

As far as they're concerned, both of
them just died in a car accident.
End of.

What were they doing in the car
if they weren't having sex?

OK. Look at January 4th, right?

He went to the garage
then he went for lunch.

Who's to say Milena wasn't with him?
Unless you know where Milena was,
all of this is pointless.

You know what I think? I think you
need a good night's rest.

Once you start sleeping and eating
properly, none of this will matter.

Yeah, you're right. You're right.
How can I find out about her if I
haven't got any access to her life?

Good girl.

I'll go and make us Gwen's
legendary lasagne.

What are you doing?

I'm sorry, I was going to ring
the bell, but erm...

I wasn't sure if this
was the right place.

I didn't think anyone was in.

Well, looks like we're in.

Yeah.

I'm looking for a company called
Simply Milena.

Actually, it's Milena I'm here about.

You wanted to see Milena?

Yeah. I'm a friend of hers.

Nobody's told you?

Told me what?

You'd better come in.

Sorry, what did you say
your name was?

Gwen. Gwen Abbott.

Frances, do you need some help
going through Milena's stuff?

You've been avoiding us. I rung you
every day. Where have you been?

Who the hell are you?
You're working at 6am for no money?

I'm a friend of Milena's.
I owed her a favour.

Must have been a big one.

It's easier to think I killed him
than to believe it was his fault.

There's some kind of cover-up
going on.

It wasn't an accident.