The Victim is a new four-part legal thriller created by Rob Williams (Killing Eve, The Man In The High Castle) and told through the eyes of the plaintiff and the accused. Set within Scotland’s unique legal system, the show, a STV Production for BBC One, asks, who is really ‘the victim’?

Today the BBC issues a first look image of the three lead actors, Kelly Macdonald, James Harkness and John Hannah.

Kelly Macdonald plays Anna Dean, whose nine year old son was murdered fifteen years ago. She is accused of revealing her son’s killer’s new identity online and conspiring to have him murdered. Has the anger of a grieving mother turned her into a criminal too? What is she capable of doing in her son’s name?

Hard working family man Craig Myers played by James Harkness is the victim of a vicious attack, after being identified online as a notorious child murderer. Should Craig keep his head down or try to prove his innocence? Is he simply the tragic victim of mistaken identity; or the dangerous killer he is suspected of being?

John Hannah plays DI Grover, an experienced detective investigating the attack on Craig and trying to discover who made the online accusation against him. Grover’s approach is clear: whatever Anna has suffered is immaterial - she has no right to interfere with the law. Somebody assaulted an innocent man and all those responsible must pay; mob rule is abhorrent to him - the police deliver justice, that’s what they’re there for. And, as we discover, he has a particular personal reason for pursuing this case - a reason that will also explain why he has recently been seconded to a different police force.

Opening on day one of a criminal trial in Edinburgh’s High Court, The Victim follows the legal proceedings, while also covering the events leading up to the trial. Craig and Anna are pitted against each other, but our sympathies will be divided. New potential suspects will be revealed and long buried secrets unearthed as the story builds to a final, devastating climax.