A new Channel 4 thriller set after the fall of Saddam Hussein by Last Kingdom writer

A NEW six-part crime thriller set in 2003 Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein – Baghdad Central – is coming soon to Channel 4.

The programme is adapted from a book by Elliott Colla, and is being brought to the screen by Stephen Butchard, the man behind The Last Kingdom.

“For me, this is a story of the strength of ordinary men and women who, in the face of incredible trauma and hardship, keep taking on life one step at a time,” says Butchard.

Executive producer Kate Harwood added: “We were pleased to find in Elliott Colla’s mesmerising novel, a truly original source for the inspirational Stephen Butchard to build a drama set in Baghdad, when it was the pivot of world history.

“Khafaji, the wry, pragmatic cop who is forced to collaborate with the Coalition forces to save his daughter’s life becomes a hero for the modern age in a fresh take on this post conflict world.”

Filming for Baghdad Central is scheduled to get under way later this year, with it due to arrive on our screens in 2018. Anna Friel’s Marcella will return for a second series of dark detective drama, with Keith Allen and Nigel Planer added to its cast.

Friel will be back as Detective Sergeant Marcella Backland, accompanied by Ray Panthaki, Nicholas Pinnock, Jamie Bamber and Jack Doolan.

The new run will see Marcella investigate the discovery of a young boy’s body inside a wall, surrounded by toys and a school blazer. The detective works out the body is that of schoolboy Leo Priestley, who was abducted a few years before and was a friend of Marcella’s son Edward.

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