Suspect: First look at new Channel 4 crime thriller with James Nesbitt

Channel 4 has announced a new crime thriller starring James Nesbitt.

Titled Suspect, the eight part series from Eagle Eye Drama (Before We Die, Professor T) is an adaptation of the original Danish series Forhøret by Christoffer Boe and Miso Film.

The drama’s cast will feature James Nesbitt (Bloodlands, Cold Feet), Joely Richardson (The Tudors, Nip/Tuck), Anne-Marie Duff (Sex Education, Shameless), Richard E. Grant (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Hang Ups), Ben Miller (Professor T, Bridgerton), Niamh Algar (Deceit, Censor), Antonia Thomas (The Good Doctor, Small Axe), Sacha Dhawan (The Great, Doctor Who), Sam Heughan (Outlander, Party Animals) and Imogen King (Clique, Hotel Portofino).

A synopsis shares: “When veteran detective, Danny Frater (played by James Nesbitt), turns up at a hospital mortuary for what he thinks is a routine ID check on a young woman’s body, he gets a devastating shock; the corpse turns out to be his estranged daughter, Christina (played by Imogen King).

“Danny is traumatized by the news that according to the post-mortem report, she’s taken her own life.

“Danny and Christina had a complicated father-daughter relationship in recent years, but he refuses to accept that she would have ended her own life. He sets out on a mission for the truth, retracing her last days and hours, in an agonising crusade to discover what really happened to his only child.

“Through a series of intense exchanges with those closest to Christina – her partner, Nicola (played by Niamh Algar), her best friend, Maia (played Antonia Thomas), her business partner, Jaisal (played by Sacha Dhawan), her godfather, Ryan (played by Sam Heughan), her mentor, Harry (played by Richard E. Grant) and finally her mother, Susannah and Danny’s ex-wife (played by Anne-Marie Duff) – Danny learns about his daughter’s descent into delinquency.

“He is forced to confront his own failings as a father whilst struggling to make sense of a mass of contradictory testimony and circumstantial evidence, and he must decide who, if anyone, is responsible for Christina’s death and what he’s going to do about it.

“Also appearing in the series is Jackie (played by Joely Richardson), the pathologist who carries out the post-mortem on Christina’s body and Richard (played by Ben Miller) Danny’s Detective Superintendent boss.”

Each episode will be a two-hander between Danny and another character.

James Nesbitt said: “The calibre of the actors is amazing and they came so prepared. They were also incredibly supportive and protective of me, I think instinctively, because they knew I was taking on a fairly big responsibility. It was a beautifully collaborative experience.”

He added: “I could relate to Danny, with his flaws, vulnerabilities and the devastating situation he faces, from the very first moment I picked up the script.

“Each episode of Suspect is an intensely theatrical double-hander, a psychological battle of wits between Danny and another character who may know something about his daughter’s untimely death.”

Suspect is coming soon to Channel 4 and All 4