Upcoming Channel 4 thriller Suspect boasts one of the most star-studded small-screen casts we've seen this year – with James Nesbitt leading an ensemble that also includes the likes of Richard E Grant (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), Anne-Marie Duff (Shameless), Sacha Dhawan (Doctor Who) and Sam Heughan (Outlander).

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And now the broadcaster has released the key art for the eight-part series, which sees the main cast members – also including Joely Richardson (The Tudors) Ben Miller (Professor T) and Niamh Algar (Deceit) – looking rather forlorn as they stare into the camera.

In addition, the channel has unveiled a few stills from the series, including one which shows Nesbitt in character as veteran detective Danny Frater, who is looking into the death of his estranged daughter Christina after she is judged by a post-mortem to have taken her own life.

The other stills show Richardson as pathologist Jackie and Duff as Danny’s ex-wife Susannah, two characters who will play a crucial role as Danny attempts to get to the bottom of what really happened to his only child.

Suspect (James Nesbitt and Richard E Grant)
James Nesbitt in Suspect. Channel 4

Each episode of the show is essentially a double-hander, with Danny embarking on a series of intense exchanges with those closest to Christina – including her partner Nicola (Algar), her best friend Maia (Antonia Thomas), her business partner Jaisal (Dhawan), her godfather Ryan (Heughan) and her mentor Harry (Grant) – as he slowly learns more about her "descent into delinquency".

The synopsis for the show continues: "He is forced to confront his own failings as a father whilst struggling to make sense of a mass of contradictory testimony and circumstantial evidence, and he must decide who, if anyone, is responsible for Christina’s death and what he’s going to do about it."

Suspect (Susannah)
Anne-Marie Duff in Suspect. Channel 4

Speaking about his experiences working on the show, Nesbitt said: “The calibre of the actors is amazing and they came so prepared. They were also incredibly supportive and protective of me, I think instinctively because they knew I was taking on a fairly big responsibility. It was a beautifully collaborative experience.”

He added: “I could relate to Danny, with his flaws, vulnerabilities and the devastating situation he faces, from the very first moment I picked up the script. Each episode of Suspect is an intensely theatrical double-hander, a psychological battle of wits between Danny and another character who may know something about his daughter's untimely death.”

Suspect (Jackie)
Joely Richardson in Suspect. Channel 4

RadioTimes.com had earlier revealed an exclusive first-look image from the series – which is an adaptation of the Danish show Forhøret – that showed Danny alongside Grant's character Harry.

You can watch a special preview screening of episode 1 of Suspect plus a Q&A with actors James Nesbitt and Joely Richardson, director Dries Vos and writer Matt Baker at this year's BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. Tickets are on sale now here.

Suspect will air on Channel 4 later in 2022. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.

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Authors

Patrick Cremona, RadioTimes.com's senior film writer looking at the camera and smiling
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.

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