India Mullen stars as Lisa Wallace (Image: CHANNEL 5)
The Vanishings is coming to Channel 5 this week and the series was first broadcast in 2022 on Virgin Media One in Ireland. The gripping crime thriller was originally titled The Vanishing Triangle and it is based on disturbing true stories of disappearances of Irish women from the late 80s and 90s.
The term is used in the Irish media when referring to the disappearances and all of the cases appeared to share some common characteristics. The ages of the women all ranged from late teens to early thirties and they disappeared suddenly, without an obvious explanation.
There were no substantial clues or evidence of their fate that has ever been found, despite a number of large-scale searches and campaigns. The triangle is in the eastern part of the island, near the boundaries of Leinster, in an 80-mile area outside Dublin.
The mysterious disappearances have been the subject in a number of unsolved crime documentaries and Irish police set up an investigation task force in September 1998 called Operation Trace.
Yet to date this has failed to result in any substantial clues despite a €10,000 reward offered for information resulting in the recovery of a body.
The Vanishings is based on a true story (Image: CHANNEL 5)
When is The Vanishings out?
The series premiered on Sundance Now in the US in October 2023 and aired on Virgin Media One in Ireland in March 2024.
Viewers in the UK had access via Acorn TV in April last year, and it premiered on Australian television in March 2024, on SBS.
Channel 5 will now broadcast the series from Thursday, February 6, starting at 9pm.
Who is in the cast of The Vanishings?
India Mullen stars as Lisa Wallace, an investigative journalist who writes an article on her mother’s murder.
India is a 32-year-old Irish actress known for her roles in Red Rock and Normal People.
Allen Leech stars as detective David Burkely and he is a 43-year-old Irish actor known for playing Tom Branson in Downton Abbey and Paul Prenter in Bohemian Rhapsody.
He is married to actress Jessica Blair Herman and has two children.
The main cast includes Aaron Monaghan as Gareth Brennan, Laoise Sweeney as Susan Reynolds, Derbhle Crotty as Barbara Adams and Philip O’Sullivan as DCS Gill.
Other main cast members include Gráinne Good as Amy Reynolds, Brian Moore as Mark Bulger, Jana Mohieden as Mandy Clarke, Adam John Richardson as Tommy Stephens, Stuart Dunne as Chris Wallace and Stephen Hogan as Ger Gough.
Recurring cast includes Maura Foley as Janice Wallace, Jason Daly as Jimmy, Kiera Crawford as Rachel Burkely, Fionnuala Murphy as Francis Reynolds, Sarah Carroll as Mary Burkely and Peter Corboy as Liam Benson.
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The Vanishings is based in Ireland (Image: CHANNEL 5)
How many episodes are in The Vanishings?
The series is made up of six episodes, with the first episode being almost two hours long.
The synopsis reads: “When reporter Lisa Wallace writes an article on her mother’s murder, the killer resurfaces hinting at a kidnapping.
“Lisa and Detective David Burkely investigate, connecting the killer to the disappearance of a woman called Amy Reynolds.”
The episodes are expected to air weekly.
The Vanishings airs on Channel 5 on Thursday, February 6 at 9pm