What Fans of David Morrissey and Eve Myles Need to Know About Gone’s Six-Part Crime Drama

Why this matters now: For viewers who follow gripping, actor-driven mysteries, the arrival of Gone brings a specific draw: david morrissey teams with Eve Myles in a six-part thriller that positions a familiar face as a community pillar under suspicion. david morrissey’s casting as an inscrutable headteacher means longtime fans of his work will see him in a quietly menacing role opposite Myles’s sharp detective, and the series opens with a clear promise of psychological tension.

What this means for viewers tracking performances and tone

Gone is being presented as a character-led police drama that leans into trust, trauma and institutional legacy rather than a procedural checklist. For audiences who follow performers’ career turns, the central dynamic — a gutsy detective taking on a composed headmaster — is the series’ selling point. Here’s the part that matters: the show foregrounds an actor-versus-actor duel as the engine of its six-part narrative, which will determine whether the mystery feels intimate or broadly conspiratorial.

David Morrissey’s role and the story’s central friction

David Morrissey plays Michael Polly, a head teacher described as an upstanding, orderly member of the community who becomes the prime suspect after his wife, Sarah, goes missing. The plot sets a cat-and-mouse tone: Detective Annie Cassidy, played by Eve Myles, chips away at Polly’s calm exterior while questions grow about whether he could be capable of murder. Michael Polly’s family ties are drawn in: his daughter Alana is a teacher at the same school, which complicates the investigation and raises stakes within a tight local setting.

Cast, creative team and tone markers

• Eve Myles stars as Detective Annie Cassidy, a determined investigator described as intuitive and gutsy.
• Emma Appleton plays Alana, Michael Polly’s daughter and a teacher at the school.
• Supporting cast includes Jennifer Macbeth, Arthur Hughes, Nicholas Nunn, Elliot Cowan, Billy Barratt, Rupert Evans, Jodie McNee, Oscar Batterham and Clare Higgins.
• George Kay wrote the series; his previous credits noted include The Long Shadow, Hijack and Lupin.
• Richard Laxton directed the production; his past work includes Mrs Wilson, Burton and Taylor, and Joan.

Origins and consultants behind the fiction

Although Gone is a fictional six-part series, its creative genesis draws on a specific true-crime source: the book To Hunt a Killer by Robert Murphy, which looks at Detective Superintendent Julie Mackay’s cold-case investigation. That real investigation reopened a 1984 murder and culminated in Christopher Hampton being jailed for life. Both Julie Mackay and Robert Murphy served as consultants on the TV project, and the series uses that research as part of its inspiration while telling a separate fictional story.

When and how it will reach audiences

The drama will premiere on Sunday 8 March at 9pm on a national broadcaster, with episodes made available in advance on the broadcaster’s streaming service so viewers can watch ahead of the linear transmission. The schedule and availability are presented as part of the rollout; this is the planned release approach and may be subject to change.

It’s easy to overlook, but there’s a small production detail that signals tone: the series is set among a private school, a foreboding forest and the quieter edges of Bristol, locations chosen to underline privilege and isolation within the mystery.

Micro timeline: 1984 — the original murder of a 17-year-old woman named Melanie Road; 2009 — a cold-case investigation by Julie Mackay, reopened 32 years later; later — the book To Hunt a Killer informed the fictional series and two real-world figures contributed as consultants.

Writer’s aside: The bigger signal here is that the show pairs experienced drama-makers with a cast known for emotionally intense roles — that combination often shapes whether a mystery feels psychologically layered or simply plot-driven.

If you’re wondering why this keeps coming up: Eve Myles has spoken about a changing landscape for female-led drama after publicly saying she once considered quitting acting because of limited roles. That career context helps explain why this particular detective role is being emphasized in promotion and coverage.