She Lies in Wait ITV Thriller Cast Revealed as Martin McCann Leads New Six-Part Drama
She Lies in Wait is ITV’s new six-part thriller starring Martin McCann. Discover the cast, story and first details as filming begins in Ireland.
ITV has revealed Martin McCann will lead its new six-part thriller She Lies in Wait, a murder mystery beginning with seven teenagers entering the New Forest in 2002 and only six coming back out.
More than two decades later, the discovery of missing 15-year-old Aurora’s body forces the surviving friends back into an investigation that could finally expose what happened during that summer.
The story begins in July 2002 when Topaz, Aurora, Callum, Benners, JoJo, Coralie and Brett go camping in Brinken Wood, part of the New Forest. Aurora mysteriously disappears without a trace, prompting an exhaustive police investigation and public appeals from her family, but the teenager is never found.
More than two decades later, Aurora’s body is discovered within a hollow deep in the forest, close to where the group had been camping. DI Jonah Sheens is assigned to investigate, forcing the surviving friends, now in their early 40s with successful careers, to confront the secrets they have carried since that night.
Martin McCann, whose credits include Blue Lights, Trespasses, Hostage and Say Nothing, takes the leading role as Jonah, an industrious and meticulous detective who lives and breathes his work. However, the apparently calm investigator is hiding secrets of his own, including a deeply personal connection to the case.
Ella Dacres, known for Last Resort and Paddington In Peru, plays enthusiastic new recruit DC Anita Hanson, while Stephen Tompkinson stars as experienced DS Donald Tudor. Anita has only just left uniform and is on her first day in CID when she is drafted into the investigation, where her willingness to defy Jonah’s authority and follow her instincts leads her to uncover his personal connection to the case.
The present-day group is played by Jemima Rooper as Topaz Keating, Al Weaver as Callum Dalton, Ben Bailey Smith as Brett Anderson, Bradley James as Daniel “Benners” Benham, Jade Harrison as JoJo Maggins and Olivia Mace as Coralie Ribbans. As the investigation develops, potential motives begin to emerge and questions are raised about a mysterious van Callum and JoJo spotted in Lyndhurst on the morning after Aurora vanished.
Screenwriter Ed Whitmore explained what drew him to Gytha Lodge’s novel:
“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.”
The six-part drama is adapted for television by Whitmore and directed by BAFTA award-winning Marc Evans, with Clapperboard Studios producing in association with STUDIO TF1.
Filming has now begun in Ireland, while a release date for She Lies in Wait has not yet been announced.
