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ITV commissions three part true crime drama Muncie (working title)

Published: Tue 14 Jun 2016

The true story of Lanarkshire detective William Muncie’s quest to bring to justice notorious Scottish killer Peter Manuel will be dramatised in Muncie (working title) a new three-part mini-series for ITV. 
 
Douglas Henshall (Collision, Shetland) will take the role of William Muncie whilst Peter Manuel is to be played by Martin Compston (Line of Duty).
 
Produced by critically acclaimed, award winning producers World Productions (Line of Duty, Code of a Killer) and Finlaggan Films, Muncie starts filming in Scotland this month. After extensively researching the story, this is Nick Stevens’ TV writing debut. The mini-series will be directed by John Strickland, who helmed the recent Line of Duty finale.
 
Muncie first arrested Manuel in 1946 for housebreaking, but also successfully convicted him for a string of sexual assaults. Manuel vowed revenge. 
 
Released from prison in 1955, Manuel embarked on a two-year killing spree, claiming eight lives in the close-knit communities of South Lanarkshire. He also made Muncie his Number One target audience, sending him birthday cards and leaving tantalising clues. 
 
Manuel evaded capture for so long because he was unlike anything the local police had ever encountered: A murderer without any discernible motive whose victims were chosen at random. Muncie was the one man who had Manuel’s measure and doggedly refused to give up until Manuel was brought to justice.
 
Muncie will be produced by Gillian McNeill (Casanova, Vanity Fair) and executive produced by World Productions’ Creative Director Simon Heath (Line of Duty, The Great Train Robbery) and Head of Development Kirstie Macdonald (The Fear, Dark Angel) and Finlaggan Films’ Richard McNeill. Criminal barrister and true crime author Allan Nicol will act as a consultant for the drama.
 
The cast will also include Gilly Gilchrist who takes the role of Samuel Manuel, Denis Lawson as Lawrence Dowdall, Shauna Macdonald as Agnes Muncie, Joanna Roth as Bridget Manuel and Gary Lewis as William Watt.
 
The show is supported by Creative Scotland’s Production Growth Fund. International Distribution will be handled by BBC Worldwide.
 
ITV’s Controller of Drama, Victoria Fea has commissioned the mini-series.
 
“Muncie is a compelling three part series featuring a true crime story,” said Victoria. “We’re delighted to be commissioning the mini-series from World Productions and Finlaggan Films, and to be working with Nick Stevens, whose scripts perfectly capture Manuel’s personal vendetta against the man who struggled to bring him to justice.”