The six-part series, which is set to hit screens soon, begins with the horrific discovery of the body of a naked teenager in the woods, who had been strangled and with her face slashed.
mark rowley(Image: Getty Images)
Summer is supposed to be coming but it’s going to be very cold in Scotland TV thriller The Dark – A scary new drama about chasing a masked serial killer the Highlands.
The six-part series, which is set to hit screens soon, begins with the horrific discovery of the body of a naked teenager in the woods, who had been strangled and with her face slashed. Filmed around Glasgow, Greenock and Inverness, darkness A terrific adaptation of GR Halliday’s novel From the Shadows.
The drama stars Outlander actress Laura Donnelly in the role of DI Monica Kennedy, with Paisley-born actor Mark Rowley playing her new partner, DC Connor Crawford.
The cast also includes Friends star Helen Baxendale as Bethany Morgan, a troubled English mother of two who finds herself at the center of a close-knit rural community haunted by dark secrets and past trauma.
However, for Mark, the Highlands Anything but horrifying. The 36-year-old actor, whose screen credits include The Last Kingdom, SAS: Rogue Heroes, Trigger Point and Karen Pirie, moved north after spending 13 years in London to pursue his career.
Now living in the Highlands, he says the change has changed his life. He said: “I’m living in the Highlands For more than three years and feel like a new person. Nature turns off your brain. You don’t hear cars and buses, but birds singing. It eliminates all the bad things from your life.
“London was great but when you’re in it you’re in a constant state of hustle and you don’t really realize until you stop that energy can really take away from your life. Nowadays if you have a stressful moment you go out for a walk with the dog and you feel better.”
To prepare for his role as keen detective Connor Crawford, Mark sought advice from his higher-ranking policeman, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley. He joked: “We always have a thing where we fight against each other on Google, so if he says something crazy it goes to the top.”
While it was initially planned for him to spend a day shadowing officials, help came closer to home. Mark said: “I reached out and then we were organizing one-to-ones to take me out for the day, but there was an online police retirement organization in Scotland and they put me in touch with a superintendent from Inverness and I put him through a mentor.
“It was overwhelming, you’re expected to go back to normal life and turn it off but with these stories you can’t do that.”
mark’s happy life highland Lifestyle far away from the world darknessA drama that makes the audience think twice about visiting a remote village. The series uses real Scottish homes enduring years of harsh conditions, which helps to create an atmosphere of isolation and danger. Cast members admitted that filming the scenes last year in the elements was difficult.
As the masked killer continues to strike, the seemingly close-knit community begins to unravel. Mark’s own experience of rural life has been very different.
“We didn’t know our neighbors in London, but when the big storm hit last year we weren’t there and a neighbor phoned and said, ‘It’s OK, we’ve secured your property,'” he said. This doesn’t happen anywhere else.”
Mark also praises production company Poison Pen, who he says made a conscious effort to ensure that Scottish talent was represented both in front of and behind the camera.
Meanwhile, Belfast-born Laura Donnelly was delighted to return to Scotland to play DI Monica Kennedy. The award-winning actress trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Glasgow before pursuing an acclaimed stage and screen career.
She said: “I love working in Scotland. It’s just like home to me. It’s such a beautiful place that it’s even more beautiful when it rains and mists and you can see everyone is damp. It really suits the atmosphere we were hoping to create in it. It makes it harder to be in it.
“People in a nice office in London and people in Scotland were making decisions about the costumes and I was always fighting for more layers. But I can’t imagine setting this story anywhere else.”
and while darkness While it has yet to air, Mark is already hoping viewers will be eager for more. The series is based on Monica Kennedy’s debut novel, which means there’s even more source material waiting in the wings.
He said: “I hope we get a second series. The second book is set in the sunshine. This time in the highlands the birds are singing, it’s very green and lively and the tourists are happy.”
For Cold Feet star Helen Baxendale, playing Bethany Morgan meant stepping outside her comfort zone. The 56-year-old actress, who lives in London with her husband and three children, admits murder dramas aren’t usually her thing – but the script proved impossible to resist.
The series follows Bethany and her husband Barclay, played by Emun Elliot, as they continue to struggle with the disappearance of their older son when the police arrive at their farmhouse with concerns about their little boy.
Bethenny is seen storming into a social worker’s house brandishing a gun, believing it may lead to answers. She said: “You can’t build a set of houses. It was a real farm that had been rained on for 300 years. People were battling the elements and making a living through hard work. Life has dealt Bethany a terrible set of cards.
“I don’t usually watch a lot of serial killer stuff, but this was entertaining. It felt really different.”
●darkness Coming soon to STV and ITV, and will also be available to stream on STV Player and ITVX.
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