If you've endured - and enjoyed - all the stomach-flipping twists and turns of Harlan Coben’s superb collection of shows, including Fool me Once and Stay Close, we've got some news you're going to like. Channel 5 is giving the king of plot twists some competition and bringing us a superb new psychological thriller in the form of The Heights - and, no spoilers, but it involves a turn of events that will seriously play on your mind.
Adapted from Louise Candlish's bestselling novel, the upcoming series stars Marcella's Anna Friel as Ellen, a hard-working and protective mother who, naturally, wants the best for her teenage son, Lucas (Kit Redding). But when Lucas makes a new friend, the manipulative Kieran (Conrad Khan), their seemingly perfect family life spirals wildly out of control and she finds herself on an obsessive quest for revenge.
Ahead of The Height's arrival on our screens, here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming series, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.
What is The Heights about?
Based on Louise Candlish’s bestselling novel of the same name, the six-part series takes us to London, where we meet Ellen (Anna Friel), a devoted and fiercely protective working mother. When her teenage son Lucas (Kit Redding) makes a new friend, Kieran (Conrad Khan), cracks start to appear in their family life life. Kieran is a rude, reckless and a bad influence and he quickly starts to lead Ellen’s much-loved son astray.
The further Lucas falls under Kieran’s influence, the more desperate Ellen becomes to protect her son - but a tragedy is soon about to change everything. While we won't give any spoilers away here, the harrowing event leaves Ellen consumed by anger, grief and an obsession with both finding out the truth and getting revenge. Channel 5’s official synopsis continues: "Jumping between the past and present day, family secrets and lies unravel in this thrilling new series."
Anna Friel, who plays Ellen, says of the series: “Really excited to be diving into this world, to work with our brilliant director Dominic and wonderful crew. We have such a strong creative team, and I hope we make something moving and entertaining.”
Author Louise Candlish added: “I couldn’t be happier to see The Heights adapted for 5 by the brilliant team at Clapperboard. Anna Friel is one of the finest acting talents of our generation and for her to be headlining as Ellen is truly a thrill.”
Who’s in the cast of The Heights?
The cast of The Heights includes:
- Anna Friel (Marcella) as Ellen
- Kit Redding as Lucas
- Conrad Khan (County Lines, Peaky Blinders) as Kieran
- Diarmuid Noyes (Christy, Double Blind) as ex-husband Vic
- Stephen Tompkinson (DCI Banks, This is Not a Murder Mystery ) as Ratcliffe
- Mark Stobbart (House of the Dragon, Line of Duty) as Justin
- Charis Agbonlahor (The Hardacres, In Flight) as Prisca
- Natasha Raphael (Malory Towers, The Diary of Anne Frank) as Freya
- Yasmine Odofin (Joy) as Jade
- Jolly Abraham (Plan B, Anniversary) as DI Wilson
How can I watch The Heights?
The Heights will air on Channel 5 later this year. As soon as we have a confirmed date, we'll update you here.
What other psychological thrillers can I watch now?
For another brilliantly twisty Channel 5 series, we'd recommend The Fortune. The thriller introduces us to Amanda Blakefield (Eleanor Tomlinson) who leads a pretty unremarkable life with her husband Jimmy (Matthew Lewis) and son Luke (James Younger) until a stranger hands her a surprise inheritance of £2 million. You can watch The Fortune now on Channel 5. If you're a Stephen Graham fan, we'd suggest A Patch of Frog. Stephen plays loner Robert Green, who works as a security guard and blackmails a well-known TV personality into becoming friends with him. A Patch of Fog is available to stream now on Disney+.
