Kevin McKidd to star in The Only Suspect

ITV has commissioned a psychological thriller focusing on a devoted couple whose picture-perfect suburban life hides a devastating truth.

The four-part series hails from Death in Paradise indie Red Planet Pictures and is adapted from Louise Candlish’s novel of the same name, with the Fremantle-owned label having previously produced the adaptation of the author’s title Our House for the broadcaster. Red Planet forged a creative partnership with Candlish in 2022.

Simon Ashdown, who wrote Our House, is penning The Only Suspect for ITV.

The drama moves between present day and mid-90s Camden, at the height of cool Britannia. The action unfolds when, in the summer of 1995, a young man buries a body during a violent storm.

Who the victim is and why they were killed is a mystery that threads through the narrative as the past and present collide. Thirty years later, in the grip of another heatwave, the abandoned railway track where the body was hidden is being transformed into a nature trail.

Kevin McKidd will play Alex, who lives with his partner Beth, and is the young man who buried the body.

The series is directed and exec produced by Farren Blackburn, with Ashdown also serving as an exec producer alongside Belinda Campbell and Tom Mullens on behalf of Red Planet. Sumrah Mohammed produces.

“The Only Suspect is another riveting thriller from the prolific pen of Louise Candlish and after the success of Our House, we’re excited to be working with Simon Ashdown and ITV once again,” said Mullens.

It was ordered for ITV by director of drama Polly Hill and drama commissioner Huw Kennair-Jones.

The Only Suspect will begin filming in London this spring and is distributed internationally by Fremantle.