Channel 4 has announced the impressive cast of its upcoming psychological thriller Hunting Alice Bell, which features stars of Death in Paradise, Sherlock and more. The six-part series, created by comedian David Baddiel with writer Peter Bradshaw and directed by Paul Walker (The Ex-Wife), is billed as a "psychological thriller built around a whodunnit with shades of family drama and social satire" and sees a woman's happy family life implode when she's accused of being the accomplice of a notorious serial killer.
I love a psychological thriller, and this one sounds seriously promising. Not only is the story teased as a "bold and provocative" drama about mistaken identity, but the cast, led by Nightsleeper's Alexandra Roach and Sherlock's Amanda Abbington, is brilliant.
HELLO!'s TV Writer Abby Allen is equally as excited. She said, "If you're a fan of psychological thrillers, Hunting Alice Bell sounds like the ultimate must-watch. Not only is the show directed by the Emmy-award winning Paul Walker, but it features a stacked cast including Amanda Abbington, Simon Pegg and Ralf Little."
© Denis Guyenon, BBCWhat is Hunting Alice Bell about?
The series centres around a woman named Alice Bell, a former nurse, and also the lover and accomplice of a notorious anaesthetist serial killer. She is presently living in Britain under a new identity. The synopsis continues: "When, online, Fran Da Silva is accused of being Alice Bell, her happy family life implodes in a wave of mob hate. Then she discovers she’s not the only woman to suffer this fate. Fran and the other accused women band together to fight back and clear their names. But as they battle to prove their innocence, what if one of the group is lying - and is the real Alice Bell…?"
It concludes: "It tells a story for our times: about misogyny, justice, the psychosis of the mob, and about how rumours spread and the devastating effects they cause. All within a story stuffed with cliffhangers, hunting the answer to one big question: who is Alice Bell?"
© Getty ImagesAccording to co-creator David Baddiel, the show is inspired by real cases of women in the UK "becoming terrorised by the local population after suspicions start of them being various national hate figures, secretly living in the community".
Explaining how the story became a series, he said in a statement: "Over time it developed into a six-part drama, and more focused on the way that this kind of destructive rumour-mongering, which can incite riots and mob rage, is now intensified by social media. Technology has created a whole new spin on the idea of mistaken identity. We are told that in the present culture, anyone can be who they want to be. But that also means that anyone can have who they are taken away from them: the hive mind can decide who you are. This happens to the five women in Hunting Alice Bell: in a world where identity is very fluid, they have lost control of theirs."
Meanwhile, Rachel Gesua, Senior Executive Producer at Clapperboard Studios, described the series as a "compelling drama". Rachel said: "Hunting Alice Bell is a story for our times, exploring what happens when the online mob come for a group of ordinary women and the devastating effect that can have. David, Peter and the writing team have created a bold and provocative drama, brimming with unforgettable characters and brought to life by the most extraordinary cast."
Who stars in Hunting Alice Bell?
The drama boasts an impressive cast of familiar faces, including Alexandra Roach (Nightsleeper), who leads the cast as Fran. She's joined by Amanda Abbington (Sherlock) as Julie, Emily Barber (MobLand, Bridgerton) as Vanessa, Toni O'Rourke (God's Creatures) as Ros, Christina Bennington (Halo) as Charlotte, Rudi Dharmalingam (The Lazarus Project) as Nick, with Ralf Little (Death in Paradise) as Graham Hunter and Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible) as Dr Jason Nash.
© ShutterstockA release date has yet to be announced.
