The Secret (TV series)

Last updated

The Secret
GenreTrue-life drama
Based on Let This Be Our Secret
Written by Stuart Urban
Directed by Nick Murphy
Starring
Theme music composer Andrew Simon McAllister
Composer Andrew Simon McAllister
Country of origin Northern Ireland
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJonathan Curling
Running time51 minutes (including adverts)
Production company Hat Trick Productions
Original release
Network ITV
Release29 April (2016-04-29) 
20 May 2016 (2016-05-20)

The Secret is a 2016 Northern Irish ITV mini-series based on Let This Be Our Secret , Belfast journalist Deric Henderson's account of the double murder of Lesley Howell and Constable Trevor Buchanan, whose bodies were discovered in a fume-filled car in the garage of a property in Castlerock, County Londonderry, in Northern Ireland in May 1991. [1]

Contents

The drama stars James Nesbitt as killer dentist Colin Howell, is written by BAFTA-winning writer Stuart Urban and is directed by Nick Murphy. The producer is Jonathan Curling, and the executive producers are Hat Trick Productions' Mark Redhead and Stuart Urban. [2]

It was broadcast from 29 April to 20 May 2016 in four episodes. The production was criticised by Howell's daughter, for the portrayal of her mother, and for 'exploiting a tragedy'. [3] The drama was BAFTA nominated as Best Drama Miniseries. It won the Royal Television Society award for Best Drama, Northern Ireland and was nominated at The Broadcast Awards as Best Drama.

Cast

Plot

Episode 1

In 1990, married dentist Colin meets married teacher Hazel, and they start having an affair. Colin assures her their love is a gift from God, and he wants them to act on it. [5]

Episode 2

Lesley (Colin's wife) receives an inheritance from her father. Colin asphyxiates Lesley and Hazel's husband Trevor whilst they sleep. He then stages a suicide pact. [6]

Episode 3

The coroner gives a verdict of suicide. Hazel and Colin continue their relationship, but Hazel feels guilty and can only have sex with Colin whilst heavily drugged. Eventually the relationship ends and they marry new partners. Colin's son Matthew dies. Colin concludes this is a punishment by God. [7]

Episode 4

Colin loses a fortune in a scam, and confesses to the murders. He and Hazel are both imprisoned. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Upstairs, Downstairs</i> (1971 TV series) British drama television series (1971–1975)

Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series produced by London Weekend Television (LWT) for ITV. It ran for 68 episodes divided into five series on ITV from 1971 to 1975.

Alexander Ferns is a Scottish actor and television personality. His role in EastEnders as Trevor Morgan from 2000 to 2002 was described as "Britain's most-hated soap villain". He also played the role of Rick Harper in the BBC Scotland soap opera River City between 2017 and 2018. For his performance as coal miner Andrei Glukhov in the 2019 miniseries Chernobyl he received a BAFTA Scotland Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Nesbitt</span> Northern Irish actor (born 1965)

William James Nesbitt is an actor from Northern Ireland. From 1987, Nesbitt spent seven years performing in plays that varied from the musical Up on the Roof to the political drama Paddywack (1994). He made his feature film debut playing talent agent Fintan O'Donnell in Hear My Song (1991). He got his breakthrough television role playing Adam Williams in the romantic comedy-drama series Cold Feet, which won him a British Comedy Award, a Television and Radio Industries Club Award, and a National Television Award.

Anne Reid is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom dinnerladies (1998–2000); and her role as Celia Dawson in Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020) for which she was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. She won the London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year and received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film The Mother (2003).

John Clifford Rose was a British actor.

Stuart Urban is a British film and television director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Lang</span> British actor, writer (born 1961)

Chris Lang is a British screenwriter, producer and actor. Lang has written for many British television series but is best known as the writer, creator and executive producer of Unforgotten.

<i>Afterlife</i> (TV series) British television series created by Stephen Volk

Afterlife is a British mystery drama television series created by Stephen Volk. It follows university lecturer Robert Bridge who becomes involved in a series of supernatural events surrounding medium Alison Mundy. The series aired on ITV for two seasons from 24 September 2005 to 11 November 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve Myles</span> Welsh actress (born 1978)

Eve Myles is a Welsh actress. She is best known for her television roles portraying Ceri Lewis in the long-running BBC Wales drama series Belonging (2000–2009), Gwen Cooper in the BBC science-fiction series Torchwood (2006–2011), and Faith Howells in the bilingually produced BBC / S4C drama series Keeping Faith / Un Bore Mercher (2017–2020). She is also an accomplished theatre actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Logan</span> Scottish actress (born 1956)

Phyllis Logan is a Scottish actress, widely known for her roles as Lady Jane Felsham in Lovejoy (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for the 1983 film Another Time, Another Place. Her other film appearances include Secrets & Lies (1996), Shooting Fish (1997), Downton Abbey (2019) and Misbehaviour (2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesley Manville</span> British actress (born 1956)

Lesley Ann Manville is an English actress known for her frequent collaborations with Mike Leigh, appearing in the films Grown-Ups (1980), High Hopes (1988), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Another Year (2010), and Mr. Turner (2014). She has been nominated for two British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in Another Year (2010) and Phantom Thread (2017), with her performance in the latter earning her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Juliet Emma Aubrey is a British actress of theatre, film, and television. She won the 1995 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for playing Dorothea in the BBC serial Middlemarch (1994). She is also known for her role as Helen Cutter in the ITV series Primeval (2007–2011). Her film appearances include Still Crazy (1998), The Constant Gardener (2005) and The Infiltrator (2016). BBC Radio 4 The Archers (2024) as Eve Chilcott.

Jason Peter Watkins is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also played William Herrick in Being Human, Gavin Strong in Trollied, Simon Harwood in W1A, Gordon Shakespeare in the film series Nativity, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in Season 3 of The Crown and Detective Sergeant Dodds in McDonald & Dodds.

Colin Howell is a Northern Irish convicted double murderer. The murders and surrounding story were the subject of an ITV drama series The Secret, broadcast in April and May 2016.

<i>Broadchurch</i> British crime drama TV series, 2013-2017

Broadchurch is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV for three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote all 24 episodes; it was produced by Kudos in association with Imaginary Friends Productions Ltd. The series is set in Broadchurch, a fictional English town on the coast of Dorset; it focuses on Detective Inspector Alec Hardy and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller. Other members of the ensemble cast appearing in all three seasons are Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan, Arthur Darvill, Carolyn Pickles, Jonathan Bailey, Matthew Gravelle, Charlotte Beaumont and Adam Wilson.

<i>Shetland</i> (TV series) BBC Scotland crime drama television series, 2013–

Shetland is a Scottish crime drama television series produced by ITV Studios for BBC Scotland. First broadcast on BBC One on 10 March 2013, it is originally based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves and adapted by David Kane. The first seven series starred Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Pérez, whilst Ashley Jensen stars as DI Ruth Calder from the eighth series. The cast also includes Alison O'Donnell as DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh and Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson, as well as Lewis Howden and Anne Kidd. Henshall won the 2016 BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actor and the series received the award for Best TV Drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Norton (actor)</span> English actor (born 1985)

James Geoffrey Ian Norton is an English film, television, and stage actor. He is known for roles in the television series Happy Valley, Grantchester, War & Peace and McMafia. He played the title role in the 2019 film Mr. Jones. He earned a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2015 for his performance as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley.

<i>The Missing</i> (British TV series) 2014 British television drama

The Missing is a British anthology drama written by brothers Harry and Jack Williams. It was first broadcast in the UK on BBC One on 28 October 2014, and in the United States on Starz on 15 November 2014. The first eight-part series, about the search for a missing boy in France, was directed by Tom Shankland. It stars Tchéky Karyo as Julien Baptiste, the French detective who leads the case, with James Nesbitt and Frances O'Connor as the boy's parents.

<i>Unforgotten</i> British crime drama series (2015–)

Unforgotten is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on ITV on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by Chris Lang and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Cassie Stuart, DCI Jessie James and DI Sunny Khan as they solve cold cases of disappearance and murder.

<i>Let This Be Our Secret</i> Book by Deric Henderson

Let This Be Our Secret is a true-crime book by award-winning British journalist Deric Henderson about how Colin Howell, aided and abetted by his mistress and fellow-Christian Hazel Stewart, callously killed their spouses and buried the truth for 18 years by making the deaths look like a suicide pact.

References

  1. "Veteran journalist tells story of Howell's terrible secret". Newsletter.co.uk.
  2. "James Nesbitt to star as dentist turned killer in new TV drama". Evening Times. 15 October 2015.
  3. Bradford, Lauren (2 May 2016). "My family was traumatised first by a murder, then by the TV serialisation". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  4. "The Secret Episode 1". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  5. "The Secret – what time is it on TV? Episode 1 Series 1 cast list and preview". RadioTimes. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  6. "The Secret – what time is it on TV? Episode 2 Series 1 cast list and preview". RadioTimes. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  7. "The Secret – what time is it on TV? Episode 3 Series 1 cast list and preview". RadioTimes. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  8. "The Secret – what time is it on TV? Episode 4 Series 1 cast list and preview". RadioTimes. Retrieved 31 December 2016.