ITV’s Director of Drama, Polly Hill and Commissioner Nana Hughes have commissioned atmospheric thriller, She Lies in Wait (w/t) from the Jonah Sheens series of novels, created by Gytha Lodge, and adapted for television by screenwriter, Ed Whitmore (Grace, Memory of a Killer, Silent Witness, Manhunt).
Martin McCann (Blue Lights, Trespasses, Hostage, Say Nothing) will play the leading role of DI Jonah Sheens. Ella Dacres (Last Resort, Paddington In Peru) plays enthusiastic new recruit DC Anita Hanson and Stephen Tompkinson (The Fortune, Ellis) is the experienced DS Donald Tudor.
The ensemble cast also includes Jemima Rooper (Geek Girl, The Inheritance) as Topaz Keating, Al Weaver (Grantchester, Press) as Callum Dalton, Ben Bailey Smith (Andor, Black Mirror) as Brett Anderson, Bradley James (Underworld, Blood Wars, Merlin) as Daniel “Benners” Benham, Jade Harrison (Beyond Paradise, Insomnia) as JoJo Maggins and Olivia Mace (Eliminators, Dominion) as Coralie Ribbans, portraying the group in the present day, more than two decades after the events of that fateful summer.
She Lies in Wait (w/t) seamlessly blends the past and present day, as we’re introduced to seven teenagers, Topaz, Aurora, Callum, Benners, Jojo, Coralie and Brett, who go camping in Brinken Wood, part of the New Forest in July 2002. Only six teenagers emerge from the trip as 15-year-old Aurora mysteriously vanishes with no trace, instigating an exhaustive police investigation with public appeals by her family.
Flipping deftly between the timelines, the surviving teenagers, including Aurora’s sister Topaz, are now in their early 40s and successful in their careers. But what secrets do they harbour? They all claim to be innocent, but someone must surely be lying? Will the secrets of what happened that fateful night ever be known?
The six-part drama is directed by BAFTA award-winning Marc Evans (Mr Burton, Manhunt, Out There, Steeltown Murders) and produced by Clapperboard Studios (Girl Taken, The Serial Killer’s Wife, Cooper & Fry) in association with STUDIO TF1.
Clapperboard Managing Director Mike Benson (The Game, The Ex Wife) and Senior Executive Producer Rachel Gesua (The Game, Hunting Alice Bell ) are co-executive producers, and the show is produced by Myf Hopkins (Little Disasters, The Castaways).
Commented Nana Hughes: “She Lies in Wait (w/t), adapted from the novel by Gytha Lodge, is a perfect fit for television. We’re excited to be working with such a talented creative team in Ed Whitmore, Marc Evans and Clapperboard to adapt this exceptional book for the screen and introduce the brilliant characters to a whole new audience. And welcoming the exceptionally talented Martin McCann to the role as DI Jonah Sheens.”
Commented Mike Benson: “We’re delighted to be working with a brilliant team on the project, led by such smart and respected creatives in Ed, Marc and Myf. The scripts are so rich with intrigue and nostalgia and we were really thrilled the supremely talented Martin McCann agreed to lead the series as the complicated – and potentially compromised – Jonah Sheens. It’s hugely exciting to be working for the first time with the team at ITV and we can’t wait to bring the adaption of Gytha’s wonderful novel to our screens.”
Commented Ed Whitmore: “Seven teenagers went into the forest in 2002 but only six came out. When I heard the premise of Gytha Lodge’s She Lies in Wait I was hooked. But when I read the novel itself I was gripped, entranced and moved. Gripped by its vertiginous plot twists, entranced by its heady New Forest setting, and moved by its rich gallery of unforgettable characters. I was utterly certain this was a story I wanted to bring to the screen and in collaborating with Clapperboard Studios and director Marc Evans, I’m lucky enough to be part of a truly stellar creative team.”
She Lies in Wait (w/t) has now begun filming in Ireland.
Clapperboard is part of iZen and the wider STUDIO TF1 Group.
Jon Creamer
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