Kate Winslet in I Am Ruth

Writer-director Dominic Savage’s female-led anthology series I Am has attracted some of Britain’s best actresses – previous episodes have featured Vicky McClure, Samantha Morton, Suranne Jones, Gemma Chan, Letitia Wright and Lesley Manville.

For the latest edition though, he’s pulled off arguably his biggest coup to date as he collaborates with Kate Winslet on I Am Ruth.

She first made the critics take notice in 1994 with her extraordinary film debut in Heavenly Creatures, made when she was still in her teens. The following year, she gave an Oscar-nominated performance in Sense and Sensibility, and then became a global star with the blockbusting Titanic.

She went on to win an Oscar for The Reader (it was her sixth nomination – she’s since had a seventh nod for Steve Jobs), and her trophy cabinet also contains three Baftas, five Golden Globes and two Emmys, the most recent of which she won for the hugely acclaimed TV series Mare of Easttown.

Yet despite all that, it seems she’s the one who feels lucky to be working with Savage.

Winslet says: “The collaborative and sensitive way in which Dominic Savage goes about creating and filming each episode of ‘I Am’ is challenging, rewarding and completely immersive. The actors become these roles, and there is simply no room for pretending. It’s a working environment that any actor would give anything to be a part of, and I can safely say with my hand on heart that I will never forget the things we learnt as we made this piece.”

She adds: “The low key, quiet nature in which we put this together is how I aspire to work all the time. Often creative environments can be big and overwhelming, but part of Dominic’s directorial process is to keep things to a bare minimum and just focus on the actors and the world we are creating alongside him, and with his unwavering support. It was a privilege and an inspiration to work with Dominic Savage. He’s simply extraordinary.”

The story they’ve come up with together reflects the mental health crisis affecting young people in Britain.

Winslet plays Ruth, a loving mother whose teenage daughter Freya is struggling to deal with the pressures of social media. If you think that the Ruth and Freya really do look like they could be related, that’s because the teen is played by Winslet’s real-life daughter Mia Threapleton.

And despite the starry nature of the cast, Savage believes it’s a drama that will strike a chord with many viewers.

He says: “Collaborating closely with the incredible Kate Winslet to bring this important story surrounding child mental health to the screen has been an absolute highlight of my filmmaking career. It encapsulates everything that I love about making drama – experimental, raw, instinctive, with fearless acting, and above all, about something that affects all of us in some way. I believe that many parents and children will relate to our story of immense difficulty and hope.”