ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill has commissioned four-part event drama, Six Four, created by BAFTA Scotland Award-winning screenwriter, Gregory Burke, and starring Kevin McKidd (Grey’s Anatomy, Trainspotting) and Vinette Robinson (Boiling Point, Sherlock, The A-Word), and produced by House Productions.

The drama will premiere on ITV’s brand new, free streaming service ITVX in 2023, before transferring to linear transmission months later.

Inspired by the best-selling novel Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama, the drama is set primarily in Glasgow, and is a dark and compelling story of kidnap, corruption, betrayal and an uncompromising search for the truth, when Chris and Michelle O’Neill’s teenage daughter goes missing.

Serving police detective, Chris, played by Kevin McKidd, is provided with a startling revelation about an infamous, unsolved case that once divided the police when a local girl called Julie Mackie disappeared. Now, reeling from the news that his own daughter has gone missing, Chris is approached by a journalist who tells him that fatal mistakes were covered-up in Julie’s disappearance. Revisiting the case, Chris uncovers a series of undeniable errors, corruption and unbridled ambition.

As Chris fights to make sense of what he’s discovered, his wife Michelle, played by Vinette Robinson, takes matters into her own hands in search of their daughter. Using skills she learned as a former undercover officer, Michelle takes ever-increasing risks as she follows a trail of clues into the criminal underworld she previously escaped from, where vice and extortion had the power to reach to the top of the political establishment.

While Chris and Michelle do everything they can to get to the truth, the daughter of the Justice Minister is suddenly kidnapped, just as the minister is on the cusp of achieving a political election victory. The kidnap has unnerving similarities to the Mackie case. Is the past repeating itself, or is the explosive truth of what really happened to Julie Mackie about to be revealed?

The cast of Six Four also includes Richard Coyle (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore), James Cosmo (The Bay), Alex Ferns (The Irregulars), Iona Anderson (The Long Call), Andrew O’Neill and Nilani Chetty.

Commented Kevin McKidd:

“I never take for granted the privilege of being an actor and the chance to become characters like Chris O'Neill, a hard-working serving police officer, whose teenage daughter has gone missing in Six Four. Greg Burke's scripts are real page-turners, as he keeps you guessing with every plot twist and turn. I'm delighted to be returning to my native Scotland and to be partnering Vinette Robinson as my on-screen wife, Michelle, and to be working with House Productions and ITV on what promises to be a compelling thriller.”

Commented Polly Hill:

“Six Four excitingly brings Kevin McKidd back to Scotland to lead this wonderful cast. Greg Burke’s scripts are brilliant – a compelling police investigation and the heart-breaking personal story of a runaway child. I’m delighted that ITVX and ITV is the home for this drama and to be working with Greg, Tessa and Juliette to bring this to screen.”

Gregory Burke is an acclaimed writer in film and theatre, whose credits include Entebbe starring Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl, Olivier Award-winning play, Black Watch, and BAFTA nominated film ’71, for which he won the BAFTA Scotland Best Writer Award in 2014. Burke is the creator and lead writer on Six Four, working with Clare McQuillan who will also write on the series.

Gregory Burke commented:

“I'm so excited to bring Six Four to the screen with the wonderful combination of House Productions, ITV and BBC Studios. At its heart, Six Four is a human story about two people under incredible amounts of pressure, who both choose to try and address their pasts. It is a story about how chance can define a lifetime, exploring the corruption that runs through institutions, and examining the secrets and monsters that lurk in every family.”

Of the project, acclaimed novelist, Hideo Yokoyama, said:

“I’m surprised and delighted in equal measure when people have found something universal in my work. That little boy who was so obsessed with the stories of Sherlock Holmes would be excited to hear about this. I offer my heart-felt gratitude to everyone connected with the production who decided to make this series and I can’t wait to see it.”

Executive Producers for House Productions, Juliette Howell and Tessa Ross, added:

“Hideo Yokoyama’s Six Four was a publishing phenomenon when it came out and Greg has brilliantly captured the essence of the thrilling rollercoaster of a story that so compelled all those readers of the original novel. In relocating the action to Glasgow, Greg has brought an intricate knowledge and real sense of place of that beautiful city, immersing us in a visceral and gut-wrenching journey, experiencing everything right alongside Chris and Michelle as they desperately try to find their missing daughter.”

The director on Six Four is Ben A. Williams (Sherwood, Baghdad Central) and the producer is Clare Kerr (Karen Pirie, The Nest). Gregory Burke will be an Executive Producer and Juliette Howell, Tessa Ross and Molly Bolt are Executive Producers for House Productions. Polly Hill will oversee commission and production of the drama from ITV’s perspective. BBC Studios, who own House Productions, will distribute the series internationally.

Filming has commenced on location in Scotland.