Introducing new sixpart crime thriller Traces
ALIBI, MONDAY 9/TUESDAY 10 DECEMBER, 9PM
By some distance the best new drama created for the UKTV network, this six-part thriller, written by Amelia Bullmore (Scott & Bailey) is based on an original idea by legendary best-selling crime writer Val Mcdermid. Taking viewers into the world of crime forensics, it’s built around an instantly fascinating premise: what if the supposedly random and fictional murder case featured in your training course turns out to be weirdly reminiscent of what happened to your own mum?
KILLER PREMISE
The series stars the excellent Molly Windsor (Cheat, Three Girls) as Emma
Hedges, who returns to her birthplace of Dundee to start her new job as a lab technician at the prestigious Scottish Institute of Forensic Science. While her bosses Sarah Gordon (Laura Fraser) and Kathy Torrence (Jennifer Spence) are helping police investigate an apparent case of arson at a local nightclub, Emma starts studying an online training course, whose key case instantly reminds her of a painful event from her past: the bizarre murder of her mother, Marie (Carly Anderson) when Emma was seven. So, why are the forensic professors using her mother’s murder as a teaching case? And is it really a coincidence?
ARRESTING STORYTELLING
As much a detailed and gripping mystery as it is a study of top professionals doing their job, Bullmore’s ingenious script also sees Emma reconnect with her enigmatic father Drew (played by veteran actor John Gordon Sinclair), her childhood friend Skye (Jamie Marie Leary) and Skye’s hard-living mum Izzy (Laurie Brett), before tying her romantically to a hot guy called Daniel (Line Of Duty’s Martin Compston). With this superb cast, atmospheric direction and a witty line in dark humour, Traces is instantly addictive. HHHH