Lincoln will star as John, a stay-at-home dad in the midst of a midlife crisis. A failure to assert himself in some violent playground bullying leads John to have a full identity crisis and move his family as far away from their life in London as possible, to the fictional Scottish village of Coldwater.

John is soon drawn to his next-door neighbour Tommy – a church-going pillar of the community, and runner of a local all-male book club. John’s wife, Fiona, is desperately trying to bring their marriage back to what it once was and sees this newfound friendship as a major hurdle. As John and Tommy’s relationship gets gradually more intense, John finds himself suddenly indebted to someone a lot more dangerous than he seemed on the surface.

The series comes from playwright David Ireland, who created, wrote and executive produced the six-part thriller.

Joining Lincoln will be Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting) as Tommy, Indira Varma (Obsession) as Fiona, and Eve Myles (Keeping Faith).

Ireland says: “Cold Water started with a question I was asking myself. Where do I want to live – the countryside or the city? Such an innocent beginning, but from it came this dark, funny, twisted thriller.

“I was delighted when Sister loved the script and thrilled when ITV decided to commission it.  And I’m amazed we’ve managed to attract such a peerless cast, led by the formidable Andrew Lincoln. I hope viewers will be find it intoxicating.”

Cold Water is due to start filming later in 2024.