Red Production Company

The writer was talking at an RTS North West online Q&A in late April. He recalled the 2008 recession, when friends at ITV told him, “‘We don’t know if we can show this episode of The Bill tonight,’ [because] they were so short of advertisers and money.

“This recession is going to be even bigger and it’s going to affect the commercial channels hugely… and [the streamers] will start cutting back as well.

“We’ve got a Government that is morally and profoundly opposed to the BBC. Please don’t think they’ll change their minds about the BBC in this crisis.”

The six-part drama, Finding Alice, created by Roger Goldby (The Durrells), Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard) and Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly), starts production this week.

Hawes plays Alice, whose life is turned upside down with the sudden death of her husband, Harry (Jason Merrells) which leads to a trail of secrets, debt, suspicion and criminality.

Alice’s parents Sarah and Roger will be played by Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous) and Nigel Havers (Benidorm).

Molly Windsor (Cheat), Laura Fraser (The Loch) and Jennifer Spence (You Me Her) are set to join Line of Duty’s Martin Compston in Amelia Bullmore’s (Scott & Bailey) new drama as three forensic scientists who aim to discover the truth behind an unsolved murder.

The crime thriller follows Emma Hedges (Molly Windsor), a new lab assistant who joins the Scottish Institute of Forensic Science and Anatomy (SIFA) and discovers a fictitious case of a murder scene that bares a striking resemblance to memories from her past.

The eight part thriller follows Adam Price (Richard Armitage), a happily married man who is shocked to discover that his wife Corinne has kept a dark secret.

Adam does his best to hide the devastating secret but ends up tangled in a wider conspiracy which could put lives in danger.

“The Stranger was one of my most challenging novels — and definitely the most twisted,” said Harlan Coben, who will be an executive producer on the series.

“When I wrote it, I never imagined that I’d be part of a ‘Dream Team’ of extraordinary talent bringing it to life.”