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Like a lot of people, actress Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve) had some downtime from working because of the pandemic. And, it seems making the return to set took some getting used to, which she talks about in a new interview with the RadioTimes.

She joins Tchéky Karyo for the second season of Baptiste, which is a spinoff of the crime drama The Missing (2014-2016). Karyo reprises his role of Julien Baptiste, a French detective, which will premiere in the U.K. on July 17 and in the U.S. on October 17.

Shaw is set to portray a British Ambassador, named Emma Chambers. She finds herself in a very distressing situation, when her family disappears while on vacation in Hungary. Baptiste steps in to help find her missing husband and two sons.

The storyline itself sounds like a lot for one to take on, but Shaw goes one step further, talking about what it was like filming.

When speaking to the RadioTimes, she says, “Going back into it, the first week was hell on Earth because we’d all spent six months doing other things, not least not getting up at 4am in the morning."

That is very a early start time, coming off quarantine or not. But, we suppose actors are conditioned to rising early during normal times.

It seems she got her footing, though, going on to say, "It was really the first week, but by the second week, I felt we were absolutely back in that world and the thing is so magnificently well-written that it is joining the incredibly tight dots that are placed in front of me, so I feel very much back into it again.”

Shaw elaborates on her character and what we can expect, saying, "She is surprised endlessly by how the world turns. It’s almost inconceivable the kind of pressure she has to take on and live with and I found that very, very challenging."

The first season of Baptiste is available for streaming over at Amazon Prime. Season two will premiere on BBC iPlayer in the U.K., and via PBS in the U.S.

Of course, this has us missing Shaw as Carolyn Martens in Killing Eve. You can catch-up on seasons one through three over at BBC America, with a fourth and final season in the works. 

Do you appreciate Fiona Shaw's forthcomingness?