UKTV Orders New Toby Whithouse Drama for Alibi

UKTV has commissioned The Red King, created and written by Toby Whithouse (Being Human, The Game), for its crime drama channel Alibi.

The six-part series, produced by Quay Street Productions in association with ITV Studios, sees an inner-city police sergeant forced into a punishment posting on the small island of St. Jory, where she is confronted with the unsolved case of a missing teenage boy.

The Red King combines the story of a police investigation with chilling folk horror through the island’s past devotion to ap pagan god called the Red King and the cult of the True Way.

The star-studded cast includes Anjli Mohindra (The Lazarus Project, Vigil), Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte), Marc Warren (Van Der Valk), Jill Halfpenny (The Long Shadow, Everything I Know About Love), Mark Lewis Jones (Keeping Faith), Oliver Ryan (Steeltown Murders, Pennyworth), Sam Swainsbury (Mum, Fisherman’s Friend), Lu Corfield (Showtrial), James Bamford (Luther: The Fallen Sun) and Maeve Courtier-Lilley (The Outpost).

The Red King will air on Alibi in 2024. It is supported by North East Screen and will be internationally distributed by ITV Studios.

Executive producers of the series are Nicola Shindler (Nolly, It’s A Sin, Stay Close) and Davina Earl (Men Up, Safe, Come Home) for Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios), Philippa Collie Cousins for UKTV and Whithouse. The series will be directed by Daniel O’Hara (Stay Close, The Stranger, Brassic), also an executive producer, and produced by Guy Hescott (Without Sin, Whitstable Pearl).

“Working with Quay Street and UKTV has been a genuine joy,” Whithouse said. “This has been a passion project for all of us. A genre-bending mystery, combining drama, suspense and horror, starring some of the best actors in television. We’re so excited to share these characters and their stories with you.”

“Toby Whithouse has created a clever and ambitious crime drama set in a vivid island location, and this dark and original tale will have audiences gripped,” said Hilary Rosen, director of commissioning at UKTV. “We are delighted to be collaborating once again with Nicola Shindler and her fantastic team at Quay Street Productions.”

Emma Ayech, Alibi channel director, added, “We’re so excited to be working with the team at Quay Street Productions on this brilliant new series. The ensemble cast will perfectly bring the story to life, making this a fantastic addition to our growing portfolio of UKTV original dramas on Alibi.”

“The Red King has been such an exciting project to bring to the screen, working with the team at UKTV,” noted Quay Street Productions’ Earl. “Toby Whithouse has a wonderfully distinctive voice, and his scripts are deeply intriguing, darkly funny and truly scary. The cast are a stellar mix of some of our most well-known and beloved actors. Plus, we get to showcase the North East as we create this compelling and atmospheric drama, which, as a North Easterner, is incredibly rewarding.”