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ITV PRODUCTION NOTES *** The content of this press pack is strictly embargoed until 0001hrs on 14 January 2021 *** ** Following the TX of the first episode, the whole series will be available on ITV Hub and BritBox. Episodes will continue to air weekly on ITV main channel ** Contents Press Release 3 Interview with Amanda Burton 17-20 Foreword by Creator and Executive Producer Hans Rosenfeldt 4 Interview with Hugo Speer 21-23 Character Biographies 5-8 Episode one synopsis 25 Interview with Anna Friel 9-13 Cast and Production Credits 27-28 Interview with Ray Panthaki 14-16 Publicity Contacts 29 2 Critically acclaimed Marcella, starring Anna Friel, returns to ITV for the highly anticipated third series Innovative and gripping crime drama Marcella from leading UK independent content production company Buccaneer Media is returning to ITV. Created by internationally renowned screenwriter and novelist Hans Rosenfeldt and Nicola Larder, Marcella stars Emmy® award winner Anna Friel (Butterfly, Broken, American Odyssey) in the title role. Hugo Speer (The Musketeers, Britannia, The Full Monty) and Ray Panthaki (Away, Colette, One Crazy Thing) also return to the series whilst Amanda Burton (Waterloo Road, Silent Witness) joins the drama as the formidable matriarch of the Maguire family. Following on from the dramatic conclusion of the previous series, the eight new episodes focus upon Marcella’s new life in Belfast as an undercover detective. She has taken on the identity of Keira and has infiltrated the infamous Maguire family, but as she investigates their activities, questions come to the fore about how much she has embraced Keira’s persona and personality and left Marcella behind. In true Marcella style, the series has interweaving storylines with strands focusing upon the Maguires’ criminal operations. As she inhabits the character of Keira, Marcella’s quest for the truth puts her in danger and others in harm’s way. Her undercover role makes her take risks, but will her old life eventually catch up with her? An array of new cast members are welcomed to the series including Amanda Burton (Waterloo Road, Silent Witness) who takes on the role of Katherine, the matriarch of the Maguire family; Aaron McCusker (Bohemian Rhapsody, Fortitude, Shameless) plays her son, Finn Maguire; whilst Hugo Speer (The Musketeers, Britannia, The Full Monty), who made a brief appearance in the final scenes of series two, reprises his role as Frank Young, Marcella’s undercover handler. Kelly Gough (The Fall, Broadchurch) also joins the cast, taking the role of Stacey, Katherine’s daughter; Martin McCann (Death & Nightingales, The Frankenstein Chronicles) plays Stacey’s husband, with Eugene O’Hare (The Fall, Death & Nightingales) as local police officer Eddie. Michael Colgan (X Company, My Mother and Other Strangers) plays Rory Maguire, whilst Paul Kennedy (Death & Nightingales, No Offence) plays Lawrence, Marcella’s initial contact within the crime family and Glen Wallace (River City, The Secret) is Matt, a past acquaintance. Marcella is executive produced by Rosenfeldt, Buccaneer Media’s founder Tony Wood, who created the joint venture production company in partnership with global entertainment company, Cineflix Media, and Anna Friel. The series is produced by Sue de Beauvoir and Amanda Black. The first four episodes are directed by Gilles Bannier with Ashley Pearce directed the following four. Hans Rosenfeldt has written the first two episodes and story-lined episodes three to eight. The writers of these episodes are David Allison (Bedlam, The Case), Rachel Flowerday (Father Brown, The Moonstone) Mike Walden (The Frankenstein Chronicle), Matthew Thomas (The Chameleon, Valentine’s Kiss) and Tim Loane (Das Boot, Versailles). The series was filmed entirely on location in and around Belfast. Cineflix Rights has exclusive worldwide distribution rights to the series. 3 FOREWORD BY HANS ROSENFELDT, CREATOR & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Time flies… It’s hard to believe that it was six years ago that I met But how to do that one more time without a lot of the things – well, with Nicola Larder for the first time in Turin on a seminar about most of them actually - that were a vital part of the series before: The remakes of my Swedish/Danish show ‘The Bridge’, and started taking London setting, Marcella’s family life, a team at the police station, a about writing a new crime show, my first in the English language. She complicated murder investigation? Could it even be done? If you ask had an idea about a woman scorned, one whose husband had just me, the answer is 100% yes! left her for another woman, at the same time as she’s more or less forced to go back to be a police officer again. In the year to come we We decided to let Marcella go undercover. Gave her a new identity teamed up with Tony Wood at Buccaneer and created Marcella. and a new mission: to infiltrate a crime family in Belfast. We loved the idea of the very troubled and vulnerable Marcella – as always so In April 2016 series one premiered on ITV, and later Netflix. I loved magnificently portrayed by Anna Friel – getting a fresh start, a new working on it, I loved the result and luckily, I wasn’t the only one. In life, an opportunity to become a completely different person and to 2018 series two aired and now – in these strange and uncertain see how far she is willing to go, what she’s willing to do, not to be times – we’re proud to present the third series with our fabulous, reminded about her past. flawed detective. Setting Marcella up in a completely new environment, with new With that small difference, that she’s not a detective anymore. Not people around her gave us a chance to discover and explore new really. When we parted with Marcella, in the last episode of series sides of her and to dig deeper into her mental state. Having her deep, two, she was at the very bottom. Earlier suppressed memories had deep undercover, in constant danger of being revealed and caught come back to her and she’d realised that she had killed her daughter, instead of having her trying to catch another clever serial killer felt Juliet. When we left her, she was alone, homeless and presumed fresh, fun and gave a lot of good energy in the story lining room. dead, doing everything in her powers to try to erase and forget her past, her name, her memories, even her face. She just couldn’t cope I was responsible for the storyline and wrote the first two episodes with being Marcella anymore… this time. Unfortunately, I had to leave after that due to other, prior, engagements. But the new writers and the team at Buccaneer did a But she must be, because we were writing another series. But where great job continuing. to go from where we left off? We knew right away that it would be hard, impossible even, to bring her back as a police officer after what So, to sum it up. I’m very proud and pleased with the third series of she’d done and been through. So, series three is kind of a Marcella. She’s an amazing character and I feel very fortunate to have reinvention, a new and different take on the show. been a part of the creative team bringing her to you. So much fun to do, but not without its challenges. It is important My only wish now – apart from the world going back to some kind of that it still feels like the Marcella we know; the audience must normal – is that you will like the new series and the new direction recognise what they watched and liked before. we’re taking Marcella in, as much as I do. I think you will… 4 CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES Marcella Backland played by Anna Friel Marcella was an unflinching and unrelenting detective in the previous two series. However, at the end of series two, after discovering that she killed her own daughter, Marcella rejected who she was and, in effect, wanted to erase herself. Now she’s undercover with a new persona, Keira Devlin. As the series progresses, the battle between Marcella and Keira becomes increasingly complex as she uses her new persona to bury the truth and pain of her past. Marcella’s undercover persona, Keira Keira’s official backstory is that she was born in Manchester but had Northern Irish grandparents, whom she’d visit in the summers until her late teens. Keira then became a cop in the Manchester police when she was 22 years old and worked her way up to detective by the age of 30. However, Keira was discovered to be a corrupt officer. She decided to move back to her roots in Northern Ireland and that’s when she met Lawrence. DCI Rav Sangha played by Ray Panthaki Since the last series Rav has been promoted. He’s a loyal, committed police officer who goes by the book in his pursuit of justice. His relationship with Marcella has developed over the previous two series, from his initial irritation at her unconventional ways to a burgeoning friendship, marked no stronger than the last scene of series two when she almost confessed to him that she’d killed her daughter, Juliet. 5 Frank Young played by Hugo Speer We first met Frank at the close of Series 2. He was sent to find Marcella after her DNA was found at a house fire in London (she swapped DNA with a homeless woman in Series 1). Marcella is technically deceased, and that makes her a valuable asset to the police.

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