A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Bad Sisters favourites confirmed for adaptation of beloved novel

A new adaptation of Caroline O’Donoghue’s The Rachel Incident is on its way to Channel 4, with Sarah Greene and Daniel Ings among the confirmed cast members.

The eight-part series – which is set in Cork in 2010 and is "about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three" – stars Máiréad Tyers (Extraordinary) and Ellis Howard (What It Feels Like for a Girl) in the lead roles of university students Rachel and James.

"Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James – and it is love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate, and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever," the official plot synopsis teases.

"Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork City, trying to cultivate a bohemian existence while the reality of the recent financial crash looms over them.

"When Rachel admits to a huge crush on her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, James helps her devise a launch for his new book at the store, with the hope that she might seduce him afterwards… But Fred, as it turns out, has other desires. So begins a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred's wife Deenie, an incredibly cool and well-connected literary editor."

Greene (Bad Sisters) stars as Deenie, while Ings (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms) appears as Fred.

Also starring are Cúán Hosty-Blaney (House of Guinness) as Carey, Ciarán Dowd (Bad Sisters) as Ben, Helen Behan (Malpractice) as Bridget, Ardal O’Hanlon (The Woman in the Wall) as Paul, Jeanne Ní Áinle (Hidden Assets) as Sabrina, Molly McFadden as Sinead, Maria Doyle Kennedy (KIN) as Vivian, and more.

The series is created, written and executive produced by O’Donoghue. Also executive producing are Emma Fleischer, who is also producing, and Giulia Gandini, while Megan K Fox is serving as director.

Tyers said in a statement that she is "so excited and grateful to be part of this project."

O’Donogue added: "Máiréad Tyers is a star and has always been my first choice to play Rachel. She and the phenomenally charming Ellis Howard create what feels like an instantly iconic double act, fizzing with all the love and panic that makes being in your early twenties both nightmarish and amazing."

She continued: "To have the brilliant Sarah Greene and Daniel Ings as Deenie and Fred is a dream, and I'm gushing with enthusiasm for the rest of the cast who make the world of The Rachel Incident feel so alive and full of energy."

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