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One of Us

Like a classic Hitchcock or Agatha Christie mystery, one of these 8 characters is a secret killer.

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A dead body. A secret killer amongst us. And everybody pointing the finger.

Like a classic Hitchcock or Agatha Christie mystery, it doesn’t take long for One of Us to set viewers on a whodunnit path with twists and turns to keep them guessing.

This four part drama is written by Harry and Jack Williams, whose previous series The Missing, was widely-acclaimed. Now they turn their attention to rural Scotland where two sweethearts grew up on neighbouring farms and got married -only to be murdered in their Edinburgh home by a drug-addicted killer.

But their devastated families are unprepared for the killer arriving on their doorstep as a car-crash victim. They initially lend assistance until they realise his identity. Distraught, angry and confused, they imprison him in a stable and fail to alert police. Next morning the killer is dead, his throat cut by someone from within the two families. An act of revenge has massive repercussions…..

“One of us did this. One of us right here. And do we want that person going to prison because of him?” asks Bill (John Lynch).

But who to blame? Mother? Father? Brother? Sister? In-law? Farmhand? Troubled teenage son?

This a gloomy tale, made all the more dark by the stormy, isolated setting. There are secrets and lies masking outward appearances, and propelling its 8 key characters toward dire moral choices. The fact the dead body was already steeped in guilt hardly justifies their decisions.

The cast also includes Juliet Stevenson (The Village), Joanna Vanderham (Banished), Joe Dempsie (Game of Thrones), Julie Graham (Shetland), Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad), Georgina Campbell (Murdered by My Boyfriend) and Gary Lewis (Outlander), with Adrian Edmunson (The Young Ones, Bottom) in a late appearance.

After the set-up of disparate characters I was quickly drawn into the dilemmas of these two families and I get the feeling much is about to unravel with satisfying results.

One of Us premieres 8:30pm tonight on BBC First.

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