BBC One has released a number of first look images from their upcoming six-part gothic thriller, starring Ruth Wilson and Daryl McCormack.
Written and created by Joe Murtagh, The Woman in the Wall follows Lorna Brady, played by Ruth Wilson, a woman from the small, fictional Irish town of Kilkinure who wakes one morning to find a corpse in her house.
Chillingly, Lorna has no idea who the dead woman is, or if she herself might be responsible for the apparent murder. That’s because Lorna has long suffered from extreme bouts of sleepwalking ever since she was ripped from her life at the age of 15 and incarcerated in a convent.
There, Lorna gave birth to her daughter Agnes, who was cruelly taken from her and whose fate Lorna has never known.
Unluckily for Lorna, Detective Colman Akande, played by Daryl McCormack, is now also on her tail, for a crime seemingly unrelated to the body she has discovered in her house. The ambitious Colman quickly rose through the ranks of the Garda Síochána thanks to his natural aptitude. His scathing wit hides a quiet sadness, and when he meets Lorna Brady, he finds himself forced to confront his own haunting secrets.
As Colman searches for a murderer and Lorna searches for her daughter, their paths collide in ways they could never have anticipated. Lorna’s search for Agnes will take her deep into her own past and to the heart of Kilkinure’s darkest secrets, as she and Colman seek the answers they each so desperately need.
What is the mystery of The Woman in the Wall?
Described as distinct, stirring and revelatory, The Woman in The Wall is a gothic detective story shot through with dark humour and elements of psychological horror, which follows a pair of forgotten and unlikely protagonists searching for the answers they so desperately need in a place where they have been long buried.
Sensitively crafted, the fictional drama series will examine the legacy of one of Ireland’s most shocking scandals, the inhumane institutions known as The Magdalene Laundries.
The Woman in the Wall was made on location in Northern Ireland with funding from Northern Ireland Screen and produced by Motive Pictures and will air on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK and on Showtime in the US.
The six-part series was written by Joe Murtagh, directed by Harry Wootliff and Rachna Suri and produced by Susan Breen. Executive producers are Simon Maxwell, Sam Lavender, Joe Murtagh, Ruth Wilson and Harry Wootliff, with Lucy Richer for BBC.
The Woman in the Wall will air on BBC One