Anna Friel cast in lead role in ITV’s Marcella

OHMYGOSSIP — Anna Friel is to take on the lead role in ITV’s new crime drama ‘Marcella’ alongside ‘Downton Abbey’ actress Laura Carmichael and ‘Fortitude’s Nicholas Pinnock.

The ‘Pushing Daisies’ actress has been cast in the lead role in ITV’s new crime drama written by renowned screenwriter and novelist Hans Rosenfeldt and directed by ‘Skins’ Charles Martin.

She said: “I’m thrilled to be working on Hans Rosenfeldt’s first English drama. Scandinavian storytelling is hugely inspiring but we Brits usually have to settle for doing a remake, so to be working with Hans on an original piece for ITV is a true privelege. Marcella is a complex woman and a wonderful layered character. Hans’ marvellous scripts have drawn a fantastic cast and crew together. I can’t wait to begin.”

Joining Friel in the eight part drama will be ‘Downton Abbey’ actress Laura Carmichael, ‘Fortitude’s Nicholas Pinnock and former ‘Coronation Street’ actor Ian Puleston-Davis.

‘Marcella’ is set in contemporary London with Friel playing the role of a Metropolitan Police Detective.

Each hour-long episode will lead the audience through a narrative maze where any character could be a witness, victim or potential suspect.

After her husband Jason (Pinnock) leaves her after confessing he no longer loves her, Marcella returns to the Met’s Murder Squad ten years after giving up her career to look after her family.

And she soon finds herself focused on a serial murder case that bares a striking resemblance to a spate of unsolved murders from a decade ago.

‘Last Tango in Halifax’ actress Nina Sosanya, Ray Panthaki, Jamie Bamber, Patrick Baladi and Harry Lloyd will also star in the drama while Rosenfeldt is set to executive produce alongside Nicola Larder and Buccaneer Media’s Tony Wood.

Filming is set to begin in London and surrounding areas later this month.

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