BBC and SHOWTIME have released first-look images for the brand new 6x60’ gothic thriller The Woman in the Wall led by BAFTA award-winner Ruth Wilson (Mrs Wilson, The Affair, Luther), co-starring BAFTA nominee Daryl McCormack (Good Luck to You Leo Grande, Peaky Blinders, Bad Sisters) and written and created by Joe Murtagh (Calm with Horses). The series is produced by British independent production company Motive Picture, backed by Fifth Season. The sensitively crafted, fictional drama series examines the legacy of one of Ireland’s most shocking scandals – the inhumane institutions known as The Magdalene Laundries.

Lorna Brady (Wilson) is a woman from the small, fictional Irish town of Kilkinure who wakes one morning to find a corpse in her house. Chillingly, Lorna has no idea who the dead woman is, or if she herself might be responsible for the apparent murder. That’s because Lorna has long suffered from extreme bouts of sleepwalking ever since she was ripped from her life at the age of 15 and incarcerated in a convent. There, Lorna gave birth to her daughter Agnes, who was cruelly taken from her and whose fate Lorna has never known.

Unluckily for Lorna, Detective Colman Akande (McCormack) is now also on her tail, for a crime seemingly unrelated to the body she has discovered in her house. The ambitious Colman quickly rose through the ranks of the Garda Síochána thanks to his natural aptitude. His scathing wit hides a quiet sadness, and when he meets Lorna Brady, he finds himself forced to confront his own haunting secrets.

As Colman searches for a murderer and Lorna searches for her daughter, their paths collide in ways they could never have anticipated. Lorna’s search for Agnes will take her deep into her own past and to the heart of Kilkinure’s darkest secrets, as she and Colman seek the answers they each so desperately need.

What is the mystery of The Woman in the Wall? Distinct, stirring and revelatory, The Woman in the Wall is a psychologically and emotionally compelling detective story shot through with dark humour, coming soon to BBC One and iPlayer in the UK. The series was made on location in Northern Ireland with funding from Northern Ireland Screen. It will later air on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME in the US and exclusively on Paramount+ in Canada, Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and South Korea. The series will be distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution in additional international markets.

Made by Motive Pictures for BBC and SHOWTIME, The Woman in The Wall is written by Joe Murtagh, directed by Harry Wootliff and Rachna Suri, with Susan Breen as producer. Executive producers are Simon Maxwell (Get Millie Black, Deep State), Sam Lavender (Saint Maud, The Lobster, ’71), Joe Murtagh, Ruth Wilson and Harry Wootliff, with Lucy Richer for BBC.