US miniseries 'Big Little Lies' took America by storm during its short run on HBO, and its now made the move to the UK, airing on Sky Atlantic and telling the story of a group of women trying to progress and navigate through their complicated and twisted lives.

Alexander Skarsgard plays the abusive Perry in 'Big Little Lies'Alexander Skarsgard plays the abusive Perry in 'Big Little Lies'

Based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, the miniseries was created and written by David E. Kelley, with Jean-Marc Vallee serving as director. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoe Kravitz make up the leading female cast in the series, while Alexander Skarsgard, Adam Scott, James Tupper and Jeffrey Nordling star opposite.

One of the most compelling and hard-to-watch relationships throughout the series was that of Kidman and Skarsgard's characters; married couple Celeste and Perry Wright. Clearly in love, but struggling to maintain a healthy marriage thanks to the domestic, often very physical abuse in their relationship, the pair shared some dramatic and volatile scenes.

Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard star in 'Big Little Lies'Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard star in 'Big Little Lies'

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about filming some of those more violent scenes in the series, Skarsgard admitted that they were "really tough to shoot".

He added: "The scenes were emotionally and physically so draining. They're incredibly hard to shoot. It was more about getting to know each other and spending time together and working on that trust. And talking about their relationship and figuring out the nice part about these characters and how they connect and why they fell in love, what's holding them together. We wanted to find that. We played the whole scene from beginning to end."

Shailene Woodley and Reese Witherspoon also star alongside KidmanShailene Woodley and Reese Witherspoon also star alongside Kidman

Noting that they were "very primal in a way" and "some of the toughest scenes" he's ever had to shoot, it's clear that there would have been an uncomfortable air on the set during the filming of these domestic violence scenes. They were done however to bring the spotlight onto one of society's underlying problems; that of domestic abuse.

What's great to see is that these scenes can be done on television without appearing exploitative. If shining a light on this issue even helps one person in a violent relationship come forward and get out of that situation, then those behind the series have surely done their job.

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'Big Little Lies' continues on Sky Atlantic in the UK.