Callum

EXCLUSIVE: Callum Scott Howells (It’s a Sin), Michael Socha (Showtrial), Annes Elwy (Wolf) and Emmy-nominated Christine Tremarco (Adolescence) will star in Deadpoint, the Channel 4 drama from debut writer Matt Hartley.

The five-part action thriller series, which comes from Baby Reindeer and Misfits producer Clerkenwell Films, has tapped Marco Kreuzpaintner (The Lazarus Project) as lead director. Laura Scrivano, who also worked on The Lazarus Project, is also directing episodes. Filming has begun in Wales.

Set amongst the Eryri National Park, which houses all 15 Welsh mountains over 3,000ft tall, the show follows a close-knit group of Welsh climbers who encounter a far-right faction plotting a violent act in their local mountains. Channel 4 is billing the wilderness-set thriller as “a literal cliffhanger, grounded in the tensions existing in our society today.”

The plot sees the climbing group left reeling after a tragic accident on a mountaineering expedition. Aaron (Scott-Howells) blames himself and abandons his hometown to the fury of his sister, Seren (Elwy). After a year abroad, he’s forced to confront his pathological fear of climbing when Seren fails to return from a routine climb. As he searches for her, he is unaware the followers of extremist group Justice Crusade, led by charismatic but unstable former soldier Fairweather (Socha), are on their own mission in the mountains. At the same time, they are being tracked by a senior police detective (Tremarco), who suspects they are building up to something big.

The leads are joined in an ensemble cast by Gary Lewis (Franklin), John Bradley (Game of Thrones), Sam Keeley (Kin), Martin McCann (Blue Lights), Fflyn Edwards (The Crown), Emily Stott (Foundation), Ellora Torchia (Midsommar), Gwilym Lee (Bohemian Rhapsody), Michael Jibson (No Return), Crystal Condie (Dear England), Siôn Alun Davies (Hidden), Oliver Finnegan (The Watchers), Rhodri Meilir (In My Skin) and Arthur Hughes (Shardlake).

Channel 4 first unveiled the series last year, but today’s news fleshes out the plot and cast. Gwawr Lloyd, Interim Head of Drama at Channel 4, commissioned the series. Executive producers are Andy Baker, Charlie Langdell, Wim de Greef, Petra Fried, Hartley and Kreuzpaintner, with Adam Knopf producing and Christopher J. Thomas co-producing. The Welsh government provided support via Creative Wales and the show is produced in association with Clerkenwell’s parent company, BBC Studios, which is handling global sales.

Playwright Hartley is a first-time TV series writer, who is also penning Poison Pen Studios’ drama The Dark for ITV, an adaptation of GR Halliday’s From the Shadows, the first novel in the DI Monica Kennedy series. Hartley has previously written for EastEnders and Hollyoaks, and is repped by United Agents.

Lloyd predicted the show would be “as thought-provoking as it is pulse-raising,” adding: “Deadpoint is a bold and incredibly tense thriller that places characters and their journeys at the heart of high-stakes action. Matt Hartley’s debut script is as gripping as it gets and all set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Eryri mountain range.”

Clerkenwell exec producer Baker added: “Matt’s created a gripping thriller with a depth and complexity that speaks to our very divided times, and we have a brilliant pair of directors, a fantastic crew and a truly amazing cast bringing it to life.”