David Morrissey to play head teacher in crime drama Gone
Eve Myles will lead the six-part crime drama Gone as Detective Annie Cassidy, with david morrissey cast as head teacher Michael Polly and identified as the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance. The fictional series is partly inspired by a real cold-case investigation and will premiere on Sunday 8 March at 9pm.
Series premise and setting
Gone is billed as a chilling, psychological mystery set against the backdrop of a prestigious private school, a foreboding forest and the quiet sprawl of Bristol. The six-part fictional series follows Det Annie Cassidy, played by Eve Myles, as she attempts to solve the mysterious case of a missing woman and uncovers a deeper exploration of trauma, trust and the legacy of elite institutions.
David Morrissey as Michael Polly
David Morrissey appears as Michael Polly, described as an "upstanding member of the community" who "is inscrutable and likes order and precision in his working life. " The character is a head teacher and local headmaster who becomes the prime suspect after his wife, Sarah, disappears. The official synopsis teases that "a compulsive game of cat and mouse begins as [Annie] chips away at his veneer in search of the truth. " david morrissey said he was "delighted to be reunited with George Kay" and pleased to be working with Eve Myles and director Richard Laxton.
Eve Myles and Annie Cassidy
Welsh actress Eve Myles plays Det Annie Cassidy. Myles, best known for roles in Broadchurch and Keeping Faith, said she is "thrilled to be playing Detective Annie Cassidy in George Kay's brilliantly written drama Gone. " She described Annie as "a fascinating character, intuitive, gutsy and doesn't suffer fools, " and added that Annie has "met her match in Michael Polly who is a formidable adversary played by David Morrissey. " Myles also reflected that she had considered quitting acting because of a lack of quality roles for women, a remark she made at the Wales Screen Summit in October.
Real-life inspirations and consultancies
The series is fictional but was partly inspired by the book To Hunt a Killer, written by crime correspondent Robert Murphy, and by the career and work of former Detective Superintendent Julie Mackay. The book and Mackay's work relate to a 2009 cold-case investigation that came 32 years after the murder of 17-year-old Melanie Road as she walked home from a nightclub in Bath in 1984. Julie Mackay's investigation ultimately led to Christopher Hampton being jailed for life for the teenager's murder. Both Julie Mackay and Robert Murphy served as consultants on the television series.
Cast, creators and release details
Gone was written by George Kay, whose credits include The Long Shadow, Hijack and Lupin, and is directed by Richard Laxton, known for work including Mrs Wilson, Burton and Taylor, and Joan. The series also features Emma Appleton as Alana, Sarah and Michael's daughter, who is a teacher at the school and makes the case a family affair. Additional cast members include Jennifer Macbeth, Arthur Hughes, Nicholas Nunn, Elliot Cowan, Billy Barratt, Rupert Evans, Jodie McNee, Oscar Batterham and Clare Higgins.
George Kay said he was "delighted" to be creating a new police drama and described the story as one in which "the excellent Eve Myles’s overlooked Detective Annie Cassidy go head-to-head with main suspect Michael Polly, played by the superb David Morrissey, " adding that in a story about privilege and prejudice "the truth is tantalisingly close. Or at least, that’s what Annie thinks…" The project was announced back in November and was described as "gripping" and "psychological. " Episodes are set to be released ahead of transmission, and the series will premiere from Sunday 8 March at 9pm.
Gone draws on real-life research and the career of a respected former detective while remaining a work of fiction. It pairs Eve Myles’s Detective Annie Cassidy with david morrissey’s inscrutable head teacher, setting up the central confrontation that drives the six-part mystery.
