Hot Picks: The Light In The Hall

Written and created by Regina Moriarty (Murdered By My Boyfriend) and directed by Andy Newbery (Hidden) and Chris Forster (Manhunt), this thriller is one of S4C’s first international co-productions, springboarding from the global success of BBC co-pro Keeping Faith.

Shot in both English- and Welsh-language versions, The Light In The Hall follows three characters connected by the murder of a teenage girl called Ela in a small Welsh town. Alexandra Roach (Killing Eve; Sanditon), Iwan Rheon (Game Of Thrones) and Joanna Scanlan (No Offence) play the three leads.

The drama begins as Joe Pritchard is released from prison, having served 18 years for Ela’s murder, after her DNA was found in his caravan. His release provides journalist Cat, Ela’s best friend, with the opportunity to uncover the truth about her death, while Ela’s mother Sharon can confront him about the location of her daughter’s body.

APC joint chief executive and founder Laurent Boissel says this isn’t “just another British thriller”.

“It is a compelling, highly emotional, psychological drama that grows to be about much more than finding a body, as each character is forced to confront their own buried past.”

Boissel says the West Wales setting, with its “rolling hills and idyllic painted houses”, becomes a character in its own right.

APC will be targeting “all types of broadcasters and streaming platforms around the world”.

The drama has been in the works as a domestic project for a while, but Channel 4 and Sundance (for North America, Australia and New Zealand) boarding as co-pro partners has given a boost to its international rollout.