Abby Maitland

Abby Maitland
File:HannahPrimeval.jpg
First appearance	Episode One
Portrayed by	Hannah Spearritt
In-universe information
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Occupation	Zoologist

Abby Maitland is a fictional character played by Hannah Spearritt in the ITV sci-fi drama Primeval.

Characterization

The official site says that while Abby has a chronic fear of spiders she developed a love of reptiles when her parents took her on holiday to the Galapagos Islands as a child and has had a love affair with lizards ever since. Although she started university she later left after only one term when she got a job as a Zoo Keeper. Her hobbies include yoga (Ashtanga), karate, and kick boxing. She keeps gym equipment in her flat. The actress Hannah Spearritt also stated that Abby was abused as a child.

She openly admits to falling in love with the wrong type of men - moody and dangerous. She also appears to have her feelings hurt easily but struggles to remain upbeat and positive.She can also be remarkably deceitful in order to get her own way as she lies to the government and to her team mates about her experiences with spiders so they will take her with them and also makes a lie of omission by not telling anyone that Rex came back through the anomaly with Nick Cutter.

Character history

Pre-Crisis

She is a zoologist who first appears in the series when a small boy called Ben who alerts the zoo she works at about an escaped lizard he misidentifies as a modern day lizard named Draco Volans.

She later angers Cutter when she and Connor go off to find an anomaly by themselves but is allowed to stay because he admits he needs her skills. She later allows Connor to move into her flat on a purely platonic basis. She then remains as the team lab assistant and sidekick up until Episode Four when she is almost contaminated by a deadly parasite by a student friend of work/flatmate Connor Temple.

Her love/hate relationship with Connor then reaches a peak in Episode Five when she is enraged that he let everyone know that she's been keeping Rex in secret but later says that if he makes her breakfast on the weekends and does the washing up for a month then he can stay. She then admits that this compromise is really because she actually likes having him around. Connor then hugs her, prompting Abby to say she likes having him around as a friend, hinting that she is beginning to fall in love with him.

Post-Crisis

How Abby has been changed by the alterations in the timeline is unknown. Connor now has a girlfriend in this new timeline but how this affects their relationship is unknown. Connor's girlfriend, much to Abby's horror, hates lizards, and the two do not get along.

In Episode 7 Abby and Connor seem to have a much closer relationship than they did previously. This comes to the extent that Abby pays for Connor's slushie and lets Connor use her gun, even though there is a pack of Deinonychus on the loose. Abby has a much better flat in the second series, and the reptile species that she keeps includes Rex the Coelurosauravus, a corn snake, a milk snake, leopard geckos, bearded dragons and a boa constrictor.

In Episode 8, Abby is quietly jealous of Caroline Steel who Connor seems to have a relationship with. It is clear that Abby disapproves however, as she shows no sympathy when Connor has to leave for work or when he accidentally washes his number off. However, despite this she may well be getting romantically attached towards Connor herself, as in an interview with Adrian Hodges, he hints that Connor may get to kiss Abby.

In Episode 10, Abby is attacked by a futuristic Mer, and dragged through an anomaly to the future. Connor runs through, despite being injured, alone to help her, and tries to pull her over an overhang, and as he appears to be able to get her over, a massive Mer looms over them, preparing to kill them. Abby begs him to let her go and escape, but he refuses, finally bursting out, 'I can't let you go! I love you!' She would later confront him about the matter but at this point Caroline Steel comes for her date with Connor.