David Tennant stars in first-look image from Channel 4's Deadwater Fell
The Doctor Who star plays a Scottish GP whose wife and children are killed – but is he the murderer?
First-look images released exclusively to RadioTimes.com reveal David Tennant as Tom Kendrick in "chilling" Channel 4 drama Deadwater Fell.
The four-part drama follows two families in the small fictional Scottish town of Kirkdarroch. Tennant's character Tom is a local GP and a (seemingly) doting father to three little girls. His marriage to Kate (Anna Madeley) appears "nothing short of perfect".
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That's why it's such a shock when Kate and her three children are found dead after a house fire rips through the family home, while Tom is found alive and rushed to hospital. But according to Channel 4: "It soon becomes apparent, however, that Kate and her children weren’t killed in the fire and the village realise that something unspeakable has happened." Did Tom kill his own family?
The news is devastating for the couple's friends, Jess (Cush Jumbo) and her partner Steve (Matthew McNulty) who is a local Police Sergeant. Kate had taught at the local primary school alongside Jess and they were close confidantes.
Now, "as the fingers of suspicion point first to Tom, then to others as more details of that night emerge, Jess becomes desperate to understand what could have caused such a tragedy, and what secrets lie at the root of this terrible act. She puts everything she has on the line to get to the truth, no matter how difficult that truth may be to accept."
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The first-look images show Jess, Steve, Tom and Kate before the tragedy.
The two women stand behind a table loaded with cakes and sandwiches and wine and plastic cups at a village ceildh.
Meanwhile, Tom and Steve stand beneath the bunting, drinking beers and playing with the indoor bonfire.
The drama is written by Daisy Coulam. According to the broadcaster, it "examines in unflinching detail the nature of female friendship and the harmful, entrenched gender stereotypes and conformity that can lead to the most devastating consequences. Laying bare the fragility of trust and the corrosive nature of lies, the series demonstrates that even the closest of friends all have their secrets."
As filming began in June, Tennant said: "Daisy Coulam has written something very special, chilling and fascinating with these scripts. I am honoured and delighted to be part of telling this extraordinary story.”
Deadwater Fell began filming in June 2019 and is expected to air on Channel 4 in 2020
