Lauren Lyle (Outlander) is to star as Karen Pirie in ITV’s new cold case murder drama, based on award-winning author Val McDermid’s The Distant Echo. Adapted by Emer Kenny and filmed across Scotland, this new ITV drama series is from World Productions, the producers of Line of Duty and Bodyguard.
DS Karen Pirie is a bold character, a fearless Scottish investigator with an unshakeable desire for the truth. Other characters joining her will include Emer Kenny (Harlots, Save Me Too) as Karen’s friend River Wilde, Chris Jenks (Sex Education) as ‘Mint Murray’ and Zach Wyatt (Blithe Spirit) as DS Phil Parhatka.
The series is based on the first Val McDermid’s Karen Pirie novel The Distant Echo, with the initial episode focusing on Karen faced with reopening an historic murder investigation that has been the subject of a true crime podcast.
When all eyes fell on the Scottish university of St Andrews in 1996 after teenager Rosie Duff (Anna Russell-Martin, Casualty) was found brutally murdered, the three drunken students at the scene who claimed to have found her body were accused. But with no sufficient forensic evidence, the case fell through, and no charges were ever brought.
Twenty-five years later, someone seems to be risking it all to keep certain secrets hidden. Are the three men more guilty than they let on? How flawed was the original investigation? And can Karen now uncover the truth after all these years?
“I am completely overjoyed to be bringing the formidable force that is DS Karen Pirie to life through Emer Kenny’s slick adaptation. The world Emer has created using the backbone of Val McDermid’s much loved books is electrifying and hooked me immediately. I couldn’t ask for a more creative, supportive and energetic team to be joining. I’m so thankful to Val, Emer, World Productions and ITV for welcoming me wholeheartedly on board.”
Lauren Lyle
Karen Pirie first-look trailer
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