Martin Clunes stars as Nathan in the new ITV drama (Image: ITV)
ITV has unveiled a sneak peek of its upcoming drama, Out There, featuring Martin Clunes.
Out There delves into the world of county lines drug dealing, portraying the impact on a farming community and family, as seen through the eyes of a farmer played by Martin Clunes. He takes on the role of Welsh farmer Nathan, while Louis Ashbourne Serkis portrays his son Johnny.
The new drama will depict the devastating effects when the operations of local drug dealers disrupt the livelihood and family life of the farming community. City-based gangs exploit the British countryside as a base for their activities, transferring money and drugs between city hubs and rural areas.
Ed Whitmore, known for his work on Grace, Manhunt, Silent Witness, and Safe House, is the writer behind the drama, with Marc Evans directing. Buffalo Pictures will produce the series, alongside Martin’s wife Philippa Braithwaite and Evie Bergson-Korn, both of whom have previously worked on Doc Martin.
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Nathan is a farmer, whose community is disrupted by county lines drug dealing (Image: ITV)
Philippa Langdale will direct the final two episodes of the series, alongside Marc Evans, reports .
The cast also includes Mark Lewis Jones as Caleb Williams, Natalia Kostrzewa as Eva, Carly-Sophia Davies as Sadie, and Gerran Howell as Rhys. Out There is set to premiere soon on ITV1 and ITVX.
The ITV show’s synopsis promises high tension for the community: “The drama will depict the stealthy and surreptitious invasion of the land our farmer cherishes with devastating consequences as his livelihood, homestead and family life are threatened by local county lines drugs dealers who are essentially urban gangs using the British countryside as a field of operations and moving drugs and money between their inner-city hubs and provincial areas.”
Louise Ashbourne Serkis plays Johnny (Image: ITV)
Reflecting on the issue in 2023, writer and executive producer Ed Whitmore commented: “County lines is a particularly vicious and ruthless wave of drug dealing that uses fear and violence to coerce often vulnerable young people into working as runners and dealers. It has become a serious and rapidly increasing problem across the whole of the UK, so it felt like an important and timely story to tell.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the notion of things being hidden in plain sight and the way in which different social worlds can co-exist cheek-by-jowl until, one day, they collide. The fundamental premise of Out There – a widowed farmer who discovers that his son has fallen foul of county lines – immediately spoke to me as a story I wanted to tell.”
*Out There will be coming soon to ITV1 and ITVX.