Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi to play to prime murder suspect in new ‘mind-bending’ thriller series

Peter Capaldi is reuniting with former Doctor Who producer Steven Moffat to play a prime murder suspect in a "mind-bending" new thriller series.

The Glasgow-born star of The Thick of It, Local Hero and The Crow Road has been cast as a “reclusive nomad driven by a murderous obsession” in The Devil’s Hour, which is being made for Amazon Prime Video’s global streaming service.

Fellow Scot Alex Ferns and Call the Widwife star Jessica Raine will also be starring in the show, which focuses on a woman woken every night by terrifying visions.

Nikesh Patel, star of the new BBC comedy series Starstruck, will play the detective leading a police manhunt for a killer behind a series of brutal murders.

The six-part series, by Tom Morgan, is being created by Hartswood Films, Moffat's production company, which has previously made his series Dracula and Sherlock.

The new series is expected to be shown in more than 240 countries and territories by Amazon Prime Video, the makers of series like Good Omens, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Boys, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, The Expanse, and Homecoming.

An official announcement about The Devil’s Hour states: “Have you ever woken in the middle of the night and felt like something wasn’t quite right? You may have woken during the “Devil’s Hour” – the hour between 3am and 4am, or 3.33am specifically, regarded as a time when unexplainable things can occur.“The Devil’s Hour follows the story of Lucy, played by Raine, who is woken every night by terrifying visions at exactly 3.33am: the devil’s hour. Her eight-year-old son is withdrawn and emotionless. Her mother speaks to empty chairs. Her house is haunted by the echoes of a life that isn't her own.

"When Lucy's name is inexplicably connected to a string of brutal murders in the area, the answers that have evaded her all these years will finally come into focus.”

Peter Capaldi will be playing a 'reclusive nomad driven by a murderous obsession' in The Devil's Hour. Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

Earlier this year it emerged that former Doctor Who star David Tennant would be leading the cast of a new four-part drama which Moffat is creating for BBC One and Netflix. Tennant will play a prisoner on death row in the United States In Inside Man.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Neil McIntosh

Editor