Olivia Colman joins the cast of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II starring Paddy Considine as Jack Whicher
BAFTA Award nominated actress Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur, Twenty Twelve, Rev) will co-star in The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II : The Murder In Angel Lane alongside Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum, Submarine, Red Riding), who returns to the role of Jack Whicher following the success of film drama The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, which aired on ITV in April 2011.
Produced by Hat Trick Productions, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II is based on the life and times of Inspector Jonathan ‘Jack’ Whicher, the real-life pioneering detective who worked in the newly established Detective Branch of the Metropolitan Police during the 19th Century.
In the new film Olivia plays Susan Spencer, who employs Mr Whicher as a private inquiry agent to investigate the savage murder of her niece, 16 year old Mary.
Also starring in The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II is William Beck (Casualty, The Agent, Hustle), who reprises his role as Chief Inspector Dolly Williamson, and Tim Pigott-Smith (Downton Abbey, Strike Back, The Hour) returning as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Richard Mayne. Shaun Dingwall (Above Suspicion, Summer in February, Rock & Chips) stars as Inspector George Lock and William Postlethwaite as Mary’s lover Stephen Gann.
They are joined by Mark Bazeley (The Body Farm, Accused, Mistresses), Sean Baker (Call the Midwife, Sparks and Embers, Silent Witness) and Alistair Petrie (Whitechapel, Ashes, Cranford).
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II films over the next four weeks in Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire and central London. The two-hour film is written by BAFTA award-winning Neil McKay (Appropriate Adult, Mo, See No Evil: The Moors Murders).
The fictional story draws upon historical research into the detective career of Jack Whicher, medical, legal and policing practices of the day and both the criminal world and the apparently respectable Victorian society into which his work led him.
The original film was based on the best-selling book by Kate Summerscale, which brought to light Inspector Whicher’s ground-breaking career as one of the world’s first detectives. Kate has given her blessing to the new film.
Hat Trick’s Head of Drama Mark Redhead (The Murder of Stephen Lawrence, Bloody Sunday, Bodies) will executive produce the film, Rob Bullock (Case Sensitive, Mutual Friends, Wild at Heart) will produce and Christopher Menaul (Prime Suspect, See No Evil: The Moors Murders, Zen) will direct.
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II was commissioned by ITV’s Drama Commissioning team, Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes.
Laura comments: “We’re delighted Paddy Considine has agreed to reprise his role as Jack Whicher, the most celebrated detective of his day. Neil McKay has taken the character and produced a gripping and compelling story”.
Mark Redhead adds: “After Jack Whicher left the Met, he continued with his vocation as a detective as one of the first so-called “private inquiry agents”. This story launches him into that career, and he becomes involved in a disturbing and puzzling murder case which brings him into conflict with powerful figures including his former colleagues in the Metropolitan Police.”
“When it’s murder, you want, more than anything else, to bring some kind of peace to those left bereaved by it. There can be no peace without the truth…” Inspector Jonathan ‘Jack’ Whicher
Source: itv.com – Olivia Colman joins the cast of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher