Based on a bestseller, The Serial Killer’s Wife stars The Split’s Annabel Scholey as Beth Fairchild, a woman whose idyllic world falls apart when her husband is arrested for murder.
This suspense-packed thriller series also stars Jack Farthing as Beth’s seemingly straight-laced husband Tom, while Luke Treadaway is Tom’s best friend and Beth’s confidant, Adam. At first, trusting wife Beth is convinced that her husband has been wrongly accused but, as she delves into his affairs, she begins to wonder how well you can really know the person you love.
Here’s everything you need to know about The Serial Killer's Wife...
The Serial Killer’s Wife release date
The Serial Killer’s Wife is a four-part series starting on Channel 5 and running nightly from Thursday December 26 2024 at 9.15pm, finishing on Sunday December 29 2024. So a good drama treat to tune in on for on Boxing Day.
This drama previously launched on Paramount Plus in the UK on Friday December 15 2023.
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* Sign up for Paramount Plus here.
Is there a trailer for The Serial Killer's Wife?
Yes a trailer is now released for The Serial Killer's Wife, and it's as intense as we thought it would be. Take a look below...
The Serial Killer’s Wife plot
The Serial Killer's Wife is set in a picturesque English village, and begins with Beth Fairchild (Annabel Scholey) preparing a surprise birthday party for her husband Tom (Jack Farthing), who is the much-loved local GP. However, the celebrations come to an abrupt end when the police arrive and, in front of most of the village, arrest Tom for the murder of his former assistant. Outraged, Beth is convinced of her husband’s innocence but she soon makes some shocking discoveries that make her question her judgment. As she confides in Tom’s best friend, Adam (Luke Treadaway) Beth realises her perfect life isn’t quite what it seems...
The Serial Killer’s Wife cast — Annabel Scholey on playing Beth Fairchild
Annabel Scholey leads the cast of The Serial Killer's Wife playing Beth Fairchild, whose husband Tom is accused of murder. A red-faced Beth believes her husband is innocent, but the longer Tom is held for questioning, the more side-eyes, stares and whispers she must endure around town.
Then, when other deaths are linked to Tom and the Fairchilds’ private lives become headline news, Beth begins to do her own digging into her husband’s past and soon finds herself questioning everything she’s ever known. Will she stand by her man to protect her family and reputation?
"Beth takes her roles as a mother and a wife very seriously, much like her position in the community," says Annabel Scholey, 39, who also starred in BBC1 drama The Sixth Commandment. "Appearances are very important to her, so she’s mortified when the police interrupt Tom’s 40th. She loves her husband and will do anything to defend him, for better or worse, but she feels like her life is crumbling.
"Their marriage is very complicated, too. They’re soulmates on many levels, and I think their attraction for each other verges on obsession, but Tom is quite dominating. Ultimately, Beth has to work out why she’s allowed that to happen and if she’s OK with it.
"I don’t think you’ll guess what’s coming. There are no obvious goodies and baddies, although Beth is a scary part to play. I always think if a script scares you, though, you should do it, and this is exciting, sexy and dangerous."
* Annabel Scholey has previously played Nina Defoe in the hit BBC1 legal series The Split and starred as Claire Brown in Doctor Who. Annabel has also had roles in The Salisbury Poisonings, Britannia, Walking On Sunshine, Medici, Being Human and Inspector George Gently.
Interview: Jack Farthing on playing Tom Fairchild
Jack Farthing plays Beth’s husband Tom Fairchild. “It's always a fascinating challenge for an actor to play a character that keeps an audience guessing and Tom is certainly one of those,” Jack explains.
"I always enjoy playing people with secrets. We all have secrets; they are a very human thing to have. Tom is also quite a good pretender. He likes to present an image and that is fun to play with. It was interesting to think about who the private and the public Tom are and how those personalities differ. There are a huge number of layers to him. He's a very complicated person carrying around a lot of demons and baggage, like we all are. He was fascinating to try and get to know and play.
"This drama is about the secrets in relationships, the truth behind the people that you think you know very well, and maybe you don't quite know well enough. It's also about a woman trying to regain a hold on her life and work out who she really is.
"A lot of things motivate Tom. He's definitely someone who needs control, and this motivates every aspect of his life. He wants to have control over his life, both in a literal and in a metaphorical sense, meaning the need to be presenting the right image. He's been handed this image of perfect dad, perfect husband, perfect doctor, perfect family man, so it's very important to him that he keeps that up."
* Jack Farthing starred alongside Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter and played George Warleggan in Poldark. He has also starred in Poirot, Rain Dogs, Spencer, Chloe and The ABC Murders. He played The Beatles singer John Lennon in the ITV miniseries Cilla.
Interview: Luke Treadaway on playing Adam Plummer
In The Serial Killer's Wife, Luke Treadaway is starring as Tom Fairchild’s best friend Adam Plummer.
Luke says: “Adam has been friends with Tom since school and they've known each other their whole lives. They've followed similar paths; they're now both back living in the same village, both have a young daughter and see a lot of each other. He's friends with Beth, so he's someone that they lean on for help.
"Tom and Adam have an interesting relationship. Tom has definitely been the more dominant member of the relationship. Adam's been someone that's been good fodder for Tom to pick on and Adam has put up with this because he loves Tom and is in awe of him. However, Tom has used Adam as a doormat, which has definitely affected their relationship, which we start to see as the series continues.
"Adam has got a very lovely relationship with his daughter, whom he loves. He throws her a massive fifth birthday party in the first episode and when I was looking at the set that day, I thought, yes, he definitely loves her. It was quite a marvellous fifth birthday party. Adam lost his wife a year prior to the first episode, so it’s been hard, and he's been trying to come to terms with that and still be a father to his daughter. I think he's deeply jealous of Tom and Beth’s relationship and the fact that Tom still has his wife."
* Luke Treadaway has played Vincent Rattry in Fortitude and has also had roles as The Golden Blade in Lockwood & Co, The Singapore Grip, Traitors, A Street Cat Named Bob and Ordeal By Innocence. He is the twin brother of actor Harry Treadaway.
Who else is starring in The Serial Killer's Wife
Angela Griffin (Coronation Street, Waterloo Road, Crime, The Suspect) plays DI Aline Edgeworth, someone deeply driven to uncover the truth, no matter what the consequence. She suspects Beth may know more than she’s letting on.
Julie Graham (Benidorm, Maternal, Ridley, Shetland) plays Beth's absent mother Clover, who arrives on the scene just as her daughter’s life begins to unravel.
Shobna Gulati (Hullraisers, Inside No.9, Dinnerladies) plays pushy headmistress Kiran, Hari Dhillon (Guilt, Holby City, Pennyworth) is Tom’s close friend and defence lawyer Maxwell while Morgana Robinson (The Windsors, The Larkins) is one of Tom’s childhood friends, Jules.
Behind the scenes, locations and more on The Serial Killer's Wife
The Serial Killer's Wife is filming around the Folkestone area of Kent, UK, over the the summer of 2023. The series is produced by Clapperboard Studios and BlackBox Multimedia, while Andy Morgan and Mike Benson (Clapperboard) serve as executive producers alongside Chiara Cardoso and Giuliano Papadia (BlackBox Multimedia). Laura Way is the director with Jonathan Phillips serving as the producer.
The Serial Killer's Wife was commissioned by Paul Testar, Commissioning Editor, Drama, Channel 5 & Paramount+ UK & Ireland and Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, UK, Paramount UK & Ireland.
Clapperboard’s Mike Benson says: “Serial Killers are obviously a well mined area in both drama and documentary – but we were drawn to the unique POV of Alice’s novel which felt fresh and enticing. We have a hugely talented cast and crew and are delighted to be working again with our partners in crime(thrillers) Blackbox and of course appreciative to P+ for backing us.”
Giuliano Papadia, Producer and CEO of BlackBox Multimedia adds: “We are so happy to be working once again with our partners at Clapperboard on this thrilling new show. The talent both in front and behind the camera is incredible, together with Paramount+ UK & Ireland we’re confident it will be a knock-out show.”
All about the bestselling novel The Serial Killer’s Wife
The Serial Killer’s Wife is a bestselling novel by Alice Hunter published in 2021. Before becoming a writer, Alice worked in a prison, helping the rehabilitation of prisoners convicted of serious violent crimes. She has also been a nurse. Alice has also written The Serial Killer’s Daughter and The Serial Killer’s Sister.
