Here’s a trailer for David Baddiel and Peter Bradshaw‘s upcoming Channel 4 thriller drama Hunting Alice Bell.
The six-part drama stars Alex Roach (Nightsleeper), Amanda Abbington (Sherlock), Emily Barber (MobLand), Toni O’Rourke (God’s Creatures), Christina Bennington (Halo), Rudi Dharmalingam (The Lazarus Project), Ralf Little (Death in Paradise) and Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible).
The trailer begins with Pegg, who plays serial killer anesthetist Jason Nash, peering at a screen as a Channel 4 news story reports that the new identity of his former girlfriend and accomplice, a nurse named Alice Bell, has surfaced online. A video sees a masked vigilante say to camera, “We are going to make her pay.”
Shots then show the lives of five women all identified as Alice disrupted as vigilante groups storm their homes. “I’m not her!” cries one of them, Fran Da Silva, played by lead actress Roach. Da Silva discovers she is not the only one suffering her fate and the women band together to clear their names.
However, much like a Traitors round table, none can be sure all the others are innocent. “The most important thing is we trust in each other,” says Barber’s Vanessa during a tense conversation as the women sit in a circle. Christina Bennington’s Charlotte laughs, while another potential Alice says, “But see, my friends want to know if you’re Alice Bell.”
Comedian and writer Baddiel created the series with journalist and screenwriter Bradshaw, with Polly Buckle and Kate Verghese co-writing alongside them. Paul Walker directed all episodes.
Baddiel has said the idea for Hunting Alice Bell came from real cases of UK women who were terrorized by the general public over suspicions they were national hate figures secretly living in the community.
Clapperboard Studios produced the show in association with distributor Sphere Abacus, which has international distribution rights and sold the drama to Channel 4. Exec producers are Mike Benson and Rachel Gesua for Clapperboard, David, Bradshaw, Buckle, and Sphere Abacus’s Jonathan Ford and Will Stapley. It is produced by Tamryn Reinecke.
Here’s a selection of images.
Julie (Amanda Abbington), Fran (Alexandra Roach), Charlotte (Christina Bennington), Vanessa (Emily Barber) and Ros (Toni O’Rourke)
Channel 4/Sphere Abacus/Clapperboard Studios
Jason Nash (Simon Pegg) in prison
Channel 4/Sphere Abacus/Clapperboard Studios
Graham (Ralf Little)
Channel 4/Sphere Abacus/Clapperboard Studios
Fran (Alexandra Roach)
Channel 4/Sphere Abacus/Clapperboard Studios
Fran (Alex Roach) and Nick (Rudi Dharmalingam)
Channel 4/Sphere Abacus/Clapperboard Studios
