The Thrilling World of ‘The Au Pair’ with Kenny Doughty
“When a man in a TV drama suggests to his wife that they should hire an au pair, you just know it’s going to lead to chaos, right?” chuckles Kenny Doughty. Yet he believes that’s just one of many unpredictable twists in Channel 5’s captivating four-part thriller, The Au Pair. Doughty takes on the role of Dr. Chris Dalton, a successful paediatrician navigating the complexities of family life after the tragic death of his first wife four years prior to the series’ start.
Now married to Zoe, played by Beyond Paradise’s Sally Bretton, Chris is striving to raise his reluctant teenage daughter and young son in their idyllic Cotswolds home. Faced with the emotional toll of a miscarriage and an overwhelming workload, Zoe decides to bring in Sandrine (Ludmilla Makowski), a charming yet cunning French au pair who quickly begins to unravel their seemingly perfect family life.
Speaking from his countryside home near Bath—his muddy golden retriever, Amber, occasionally stealing the spotlight—Doughty, 49, confesses that he was immediately drawn to the script’s deliciously melodramatic elements. “It transported me back to the thrillers of the 1980s—films like Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction. Not so much due to the rivalry between two women, but because every character, except for Zoe, harbors a secret. Each episode features a twist that propels the narrative in unexpected directions,” he explains.
This role marks Doughty’s first television appearance since leaving his long-standing position as DS Aiden Healy, the dependable sidekick to Brenda Blethyn’s Vera in ITV’s Vera. “It was incredibly liberating to portray a character with such a dynamic narrative arc after spending eight years in a consistent role,” he reflects.
When Doughty departed from Vera, he also deleted his Twitter account, prompting some speculation about his reasons for leaving. However, his decision was rooted in a deeply personal context—his stepfather’s terminal cancer diagnosis. “Steve was an extraordinary man, and I was proud to call him my ‘dad’ rather than my stepfather,” Doughty shares. “He was a lecturer in agriculture when he met my mother and played a crucial role in shaping me into a better man. It was a straightforward decision to leave work and spend those final six months with him. Together, we built a wooden house near their home in Ireland, where he imparted his knowledge of woodwork and carpentry.”
Doughty credits Steve with helping him embrace his own role as a stepfather to Frankie, the teenage son of his second wife, Shetland star Ashley Jensen, whom he married in 2023. Frankie’s biological father, actor Terence Beesley, sadly passed away by suicide in 2017. “I don’t see a clear distinction between being a step-parent and a parent,” Doughty asserts. “In both scenarios, you’re invested in raising a child. I cherish Frankie as if he were my own son.”
He acknowledges that, similar to Zoe in The Au Pair, he has experienced personal growth while adjusting to a pre-existing family dynamic. “Before becoming a stepdad, I often found myself uncertain about my views and the reasons behind them,” he admits. “In the acting industry, many individuals share similar perspectives, and it’s easy to conform. However, with a child, you must articulate why you hold certain beliefs.” A warm smile crosses his face as he ruffles Amber’s ears. “It has truly made me a better person.”
Doughty was born in Barnsley in 1975, raised against a backdrop of miners’ strikes and factory closures. His single mother, whom he describes as his rock, raised him after his father abandoned the family when he was very young. “My dad was a heavy drinker and gambler—pretty cliché, really. He could also be quite physical when drunk,” Doughty recalls.
Growing up without a father figure, he learned the value of hard work from the older generation of actors he had the privilege to work with, citing names like Anthony Hopkins, Richard Attenborough, and Brenda Blethyn. “They’re all incredibly dedicated to their craft. I often found myself reminding some of the younger actors on the set of Vera that it’s not about the hotel, the breakfast, or the car,” he notes.
He speaks highly of his mother’s tremendous resilience. “She lost her own mother as a child and left school at 15 without qualifications, but after the divorce, she educated herself and eventually earned a BA in English literature. She became a highly successful businesswoman and started mentorship programs for her community,” he reflects proudly.
However, Doughty’s childhood was fraught with challenges as his mother worked tirelessly to lift them out of poverty. “I absolutely hated school,” he admits. “If kids found out you didn’t have a dad at home, it felt like an open invitation for bullying. It was tough to handle. Schools kept closing, so every time I transferred, I tried to reinvent myself, but somehow, someone always learned my story. Or I’d stand up for another kid being bullied and end up facing the consequences myself.”
His two sanctuaries were karate—at a club run by former miners—and drama. “I performed in my first school play at age 11,” he recalls. “It was called Children of the Dark, about children trapped underground during a mine flood.” Adopting a high-pitched Yorkshire accent, he adds, “I played little Thomas Moorhouse, and all I ate was candles while hoping someone would rescue me!” He laughs, “There was a sense of freedom in it, escaping myself and the normal life. It helped me gain confidence, allowing me to hide within a story and avoid the playground during lunchtime because I was rehearsing.”
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It was Doughty’s mother who discovered the advertisement for Manchester Youth Theatre in their local newspaper, which set him on the path to realizing his dream of becoming an actor and discovering the existence of drama schools. Winning a grant-assisted place at London’s Guildhall School of Drama was just the beginning; he still faced financial challenges for rent and living expenses. Determined, he wrote to over 500 potential sponsors before a serendipitous meeting with a philanthropic American changed his course.
“We struck up a conversation while admiring paintings at Hardwick Hall,” he reminisces. “He invited me to dinner in London. I was only 17, and my mum warned me to be cautious. I reassured her, saying, ‘I have my black belt!’ He treated me to a meal at the Savoy, where I was clueless about how to eat partridge. Dressed in jeans and an old jacket, he generously gave me £400 in cash to buy a suit. Naturally, I didn’t buy a suit; I gave the money to my mum instead. He told me he didn’t want my dream to fade away just because I couldn’t afford it, and he funded me with the condition that I never reveal his identity publicly.”
Although he prefers not to delve too deeply into politics, Doughty was taken aback by playwright James Graham’s revelation at last year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, noting that only eight percent of individuals working in film and television come from working-class backgrounds. “I thought about the kids today who can’t even afford the train fare from Yorkshire for auditions,” he says earnestly. “I’m not complaining about the presence of too many privileged actors—far from it. However, I firmly believe that everyone deserves equal opportunities in life.”
‘The Au Pair’ premieres tonight at 9pm on Channel 5
