UNDERCOVER operation

ROSE AYLING-ELLIS and CHARLOTTE RITCHIE introduce their high-stakes thriller

- IAN MACEWAN

CODE OF SILENCE NEW SUNDAY & MONDAY, 9PM. ITV1 DRAMA (BOX SET. ITVX)

Following an acclaimed performance in BBC1's deaf-led revenge thriller Reunion last month, Rose Ayling-Ellis now takes the central role in ITV1's new crime drama Code of Silence.

Written by Catherine Moulton, drawing on her own experiences with lip-reading and hearing loss, the six-part story sees former EastEnders star Rose play Alison Brooks, a cash-strapped young woman who works in the canteen of a Canterbury police station.

Dreaming of a more interesting life, and tired of being underestimated because she is deaf, Alison jumps at the chance to challenge perceptions when DS Ashleigh Francis (Ghosts' Charlotte Ritchie) calls upon her impressive lip-reading skills to assist in an ongoing investigation.

Here, Rose, 30, and Charlotte, 35, give their take on the series, which also features Doc Martin favourite Joe Absolom...

What was it like working together for the first time?