The series is set against many global backdrops, with filming taking place in Belfast

Production begins in Northern Ireland today (11 November) on In Flight, a Channel 4 crime thriller starring Katherine Kelly.

The 6 x 60’ drama is written and co-created by Mike Walden and Adam Randall with Chris Baugh directing. Buccaneer Media, whose credits include The Burning Girls, Crime, The Crow Girl and Whitstable Pearl, produces for C4.

Kelly plays Jo Conran, a flight attendant and single mum who is blackmailed into drug-smuggling by a gang that knows all about her son, who is serving a long sentence in a Bulgarian jail for a murder he swears he did not commit. Stuart Martin, Ashley Thomas, Bronagh Waugh, Harry Cadby, Corinna Brown and Ambreen Razia co-star.

Set across global locations including Bangkok, Bulgaria, Istanbul and London, filming is taking place in Belfast with funding support from Northern Ireland Screen.

Richard Tulk-Hart, executive producer at Buccaneer commented: “At a difficult time for the industry In Flight shows the power of bringing a number of partners together to make something happen. So a big thank you to SBS, TVNZ, ProSieben and Fremantle for also seeing the potential in these scripts at such an early stage.

Kelly said: “I am really excited to be taking on the role of Jo and I can’t wait to tell her compelling story. I am delighted to be working with Buccaneer Media again and it’s joy to be filming in Belfast.”

Mike Walden and Adam Randall added: “In Flight is our spin on the noir genre, a high stakes, stylish, romantic thriller with iconic characters and nerve shredding action. Channel 4 is the perfect home for our story and we’re so excited to be collaborating with such a brilliant team. Jo is a character close to our hearts. She is an ordinary woman facing extraordinary odds. We can’t wait for audiences to meet her.”

The executive producers are Anna Burns, Tony Wood and Richard Tulk-Hart for Buccaneer, Rebecca Dundon and Simon Judd for Fremantle, Mike Walden, Adam Randall and Chris Baugh. The producer is Brendan Mullin; Gary Davy is casting director.