The Woman In The Wall | Preview (BBC One)

6x60’ gothic thriller The Woman in the Wall. 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.

Casting is 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).

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.

Creator and Executive Producer Joe Murtagh says: “My family is from Mayo, the county in which the fictional Kilkinure is set, and it deeply frustrates and saddens me that it feels so few people have heard of the Laundries that existed across Ireland. I hope that by making something that has the familiarity of a genre piece we are able to shed some light on the awful things that occurred within these kind of institutions and introduce this history to the wider public, so that nothing like it may ever happen again.”

Ruth Wilson who serves as Executive Producer adds: “Lorna Brady is a complex and fascinating character and I’m thrilled to help bring her to life. In The Woman in the Wall Joe has created both an enthralling gothic thriller and a moving examination of the legacy of The Magdalene Laundries. It’s a privilege to bring this story to screens.”

What is the mystery of The Woman in the Wall? Begins Monday 28th August at 9pm on BBC One.