BBC One has announced brand new series Vigil from the makers of Line Of Duty and Bodyguard.
A teaser reveals: “The mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on-board a Trident nuclear submarine bring the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services.
“DCI Amy Silva leads an investigation on land and at sea into a conspiracy that threatens the very heart of Britain’s nuclear deterrent.”
Made by World Productions (Line Of Duty, Bodyguard), the six part series has been written and created by Bafta-nominated writer Tom Edge (Judy, The Crown, Strike) with episodes by Ed Macdonald (The End Of The F***ing World) and Chandni Lakhani (Dublin Murders). The fictional drama will be directed by Bafta-winner James Strong (Broadchurch, Vanity Fair, Liar) and Isabelle Sieb (Shetland, The Athena).
Confirmed for the cast are Suranne Jones (Gentleman Jack, Doctor Foster) as DCI Amy Silva with Rose Leslie (Game Of Thrones, The Good Fight), Shaun Evans (Endeavour, Whitechapel), Anjli Mohindra (Bodyguard, Bancroft), Martin Compston (Line Of Duty, Mary Queen Of Scots), Paterson Joseph (The Leftovers, Peep Show), Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Jamestown), Adam James (Belgravia, Doctor Foster), and Gary Lewis (His Dark Materials, Billy Elliot).
Suranne Jones said: “Tom Edge has created a thrill of a story, set in a world I knew nothing about. The cast and crew World Productions have put together to tell this story is so exciting. Amy Silva is a brilliantly complex character, thrown into a highly charged situation where her authority is weakened.
“We watch as she navigates her own personal trauma and loss, all at a time when she’s questioning her relationships and life choices. It feels fresh and relevant and I can’t wait to start filming.”
Writer Tom Edge added: “I’m completely thrilled to be making this series with the talented people at World Productions and BBC Drama. The ‘Continuous At Sea Deterrent’, better known as ‘Trident’, has been a contentious part of national life for half a century now, a stock of nuclear missiles kept hundreds of feet below the sea surface.
“But this world has rarely been explored on screen. I can’t wait to take a BBC One audience down with us, into the pitch-black icy waters of the unseen Atlantic, where tomorrow’s geopolitical struggles are already being played out.”
Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, commented, “Vigil is a fantastic, adrenalised thriller set in a shadowy world which has stakes for us all. We are delighted to be working again with World Productions and the exceptionally talented writer, Tom Edge to bring this exciting story to BBC One with an outstanding cast led by Suranne Jones.”
Simon Heath, CEO and Creative Director, World Productions said, “We’re thrilled that the first drama out of our Scottish office is such a timely and gripping idea, brilliantly executed by Tom Edge. We couldn’t ask for a stronger cast, led by the brilliant Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie.”
The six-part fictional drama series will be set and filmed in Scotland.
It will air in the UK on BBC One.
