Kelly Macdonald and John Hannah to star in new TV thriller set in Edinburgh

Kelly Macdonald will play a mother who has been campaigning to reveal the new identity and whereabouts of her son's schoolboy killer in 'The Victim.'

John Hannah, the Scots actor who shot to fame in Four Weddings and a Funeral, will play a haunted detective investigating an unprovoked attack on a family man who is branded a notorious child murderer online in “The Victim."

Said to be “played out through the lens” of a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, writer Rob Williams’ four-part drama is expected to throw up a series of moral dilemmas and a “constantly surprising and twisting perspective on who is really the victim.”

Glasgow-born Macdonald, who got her first role in Trainspotting, went on to star in films like Gosford Park, No Country For Old Men and Brave.

In The Victim, which will be screened across the UK, she will play Anna Dean, the Edinburgh-based mother of a nine-year-old boy who was murdered 15 years previously by a 13-year-old boy. She has been campaigning for his identity and whereabouts to be revealed.

Rising Scots star James Harkness, whose previous roles include Star Wars epic Rogue One and the recent big-screen version of Macbeth, will be playing Craig Myers, a man living in Greenock with his family, who viewers will be kept in the dark about on whether is a victim of mistaken identity or a killer.

Harkness said: “The character of Craig gives me a fantastic opportunity to play someone faced with incredible circumstances. Rob’s writing takes Craig to lots of different places in his life. I feel very lucky to be telling this story.”

Hannah said: “It is great to be back filming in Scotland, especially as Rob has delivered an exquisitely-drawn character. On first appearance he seems pretty straightforward but I’m pleased to report that audiences will soon find out that this is far from the case”.

The series, which STV Productions are currently making across Scotland for the BBC, will also star Jamie Sives, Karla Crome and Cal MacAninch.

It opens on the first day of the High Court trial and will also flash back over the events of the previous five months.Elizabeth Kilgarriff, the BBC’s senior commissioning editor for England and Scotland, said: “Bold, original and constantly surprising, The Victim showcases perfectly our ambition for Scottish drama. Set against the backdrop of the Scottish legal system, Rob’s brilliant scripts will be brought to life by an extraordinary cast.”

Williams said: “It’s incredibly exciting for me to see the story being brought to life by such a talented cast and crew. I’m really grateful – and fortunate – to be working with people who care about the material as much as I do.”