Douglas Henshall, Paul McGann, Kate Ashfield and Phil Davis are heading the cast of a new ITV1 serial drama called Collision, penned by veteran novelist and screen writer Anthony Horowitz.
As the title obviously reveals the plot is based around a huge car crash on a motorway and the impending police investigation that follows. Although it’s not as interesting as alien invasions or plane crashes on a mysterious island Collision’s drawing point is a story told from several character perspectives that interlink at certain points.
ITV’s Collision shown on Five Consecutive Nights
As ever with detective dramas it’s hardly an open and shut case as it transpires that pretty much everyone connected to the incident is hiding secrets that slips out during the investigations and a number revelations start to rear their head from Government cover-ups and smuggling, to murder.
Taking cues from Torchwood: Children of Earth the serial is being broadcast over five consecutive weeknights, showing that ITV are confident this will be a ratings winner. Given the solid casting and the publicity that’s already hit their flagship channel it’s bound to get its fair share of attention as viewers don’t have to wait weeks to find out the full details.
Cast Includes Douglas Henshall, Paul McGann and Kate Ashfield
Collision leads are Douglas Henshall (Primeval, Dorian Gray) as John Tolin and Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead, The Diary of Anne Frank) as Ann Stallwood, the senior police officers in charge of the discovering how the accident happened.
Other main cast members include Paul McGann (Withnail and I, Doctor Who) as millionaire property dealer Richard Reeves who is injured in the incident, and falls for a young woman who helps him, played by Lucy Griffiths (Robin Hood, Sugar Rush). Brothers Dean Lennox Kelly (Robin Hood, Shameless) and Craig Kelly (Coronation Street) share the screen for the first time to play siblings Dan and Jeff Rampton, whose business dealings are exposed as a result of the crash.
And the always impressive Phil Davis (The Curse of Steptoe, Whitechapel) plays Brian Edwards who survives the pile up but it kills his mother-in-law.
Collision Written by Anthony Horowitz and Directed by Marc Evans
The series is the brainchild of Anthony Horowitz, best known for the Alex Rider children’s books, who has previously worked on other TV crime dramas such as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and created Foyle’s War – the latter demonstrating people power when it was axed by ITV only to be revived following public support and complaints.
Horowitz said in an interview with ITV Press: “Collision is very much set in the real world and does hopefully connect with the way people live. I am extremely proud of this programme. It’s certainly massively different to anything I’ve ever done before. Now I just hope that the general public find the show intriguing and enjoyable.”
The writer has also added that some of the story strands have been left open ended with the possibility of another series in mind. Collision is directed by Marc Evans who helmed the massively underrated reality TV inspired horror film My Little Eye.
Collision is shown at 9pm on five consecutive nights from November 9-13, 2009.
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