Jordan Bolger (“This Town”) and Max Fincham (“Invasion”) have been cast as the leads in upcoming Netflix drama “The Witness.”
Based on the true story of the violent murder of Rachel Nickell in 1992 in front of her two year-old son Alex while walking through a London park, “The Witness” explores the aftermath of the tragedy, which also saw an innocent man wrongly convicted before the real killer was eventually caught more than 15 years later.
In the meantime, Nickell’s partner André Hanscombe was left to navigate life alone with the couple’s infant son.
Bolger will play André while Fincham will play a teenage Alex. The real André and Alex Hanscombe consulted on the series.
Rounding out the cast are Neil Maskell (“Hijack”) as DI Keith Pedder, Kevin Eldon (“Rings of Power”) as DCI Mick Wickerson, Mark Stanley (“Happy Valley”) as DS Ivan Agnew, Jon Pointing (“Sweetpea”) as DC Nick Sparshatt, James Dryden (“Deadpool & Wolverine”) as DC Paul Miller, Kerry Godliman (“After Life”) as André’s mother June, James Bradshaw (“Endeavour”) as DCI Tony Nash and Claire Rushbrook (“Rivals”) as Dr. Jean Harris-Hendriks.
“When Rachel Nickell was murdered on Wimbledon Common in 1992, André became a single parent overnight,” reads the synopsis. “Putting his own grief to one side, he made his son Alex – the only eyewitness to the attack – the centre of his world. Navigating the unscrupulous media furore and the urgency of an increasingly desperate police investigation, his sole concern became the welfare of his traumatised son. This is the story of how a father and son moved through the aftermath of unimaginable tragedy, from darkness into light.”
The three-part drama is written and created by Rob Williams (“The Victim”) and directed by Alex Winckler (“Mary and George”).
Williams is also an exec producer alongside Sarah Brown for STV Studios and John Yorke. Alison Sterling produces. STV Studios produce the series.
“The Witness” is set to premiere on Netflix in 2025.
