TV

James Nesbitt to star in new Bloodlands from Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio’s company

The crime drama will appear on BBC One

Cold Feet star James Nesbitt is to star in a new BBC crime drama set in Northern Ireland.

Jimmy, 54, will take the lead role on Bloodlands, which is being made by the man behind Line Of Duty’s production company.

James is back on home soil (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Read more: Line Of Duty star Vicki McClure says she ‘always’ fears being killed off

James plays detective Tom Brannick.

After discovering a possible suicide note in a car found at the bottom of Strangford Lough loch, Brannick quickly connects it to an infamous cold case that has a huge personal significance to him.

It’s great to be back making a drama in and about Northern Ireland.

He then sets out on a desperate hunt for a legendary assassin – resulting in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse.

Jed is executive producer of Bloodlands (Credit: Brett D. Cove / SplashNews.com)

“It’s great to be back making a drama in and about Northern Ireland, which now has a film and television industry as good as any in the world,” James said about filming in his home country of Northern Ireland.

“We have compelling scripts from a brilliant young writer who was raised in County Down, which are very exciting and psychologically complex. I can’t wait to start.”

What’s more, the drama is executive produced by Line Of Duty and Bodyguard scribe Jed Mercurio, and made by his company HTM Television.

“Everyone at HTM Television is honoured an actor of James Nesbitt’s brilliance will star in our debut production,” Jed said.

Line of Duty cast
Line Of Duty could be back next year (Credit: BBC)

Read more: Dublin Murders: Viewers brand BBC drama ‘waste of time’ after ‘frustrating’ finale

Meanwhile, last month Jed revealed that the sixth series of his smash-hit crime drama Line Of Duty could be back as early as 2020.

The BBC One crime drama – starring Adrian Dunbar, Vicki McClure and Martin Compston – traditionally takes a two-year break between series.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Jed said: “I would hope it’s sometime in 2020, next year. But that’s not something that we’re able to confirm.”

Asked when production might begin, he said: “That’s something that we have at the planning stage, so we are working towards a date. We can’t confirm everything until things are in place.”

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor