Filming has commenced on a new thriller series set in Donegal and written by Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee and her actor-writer husband Tobias Beer.

The four-part drama, called ‘The Deceived‘, will be set in both Donegal and in Cambridge.

Lisa McGee and Toby Beer from The Deceived at Virgin Media Television’s Autumn launch. Pictures Brian McEvoy

It was confirmed today that New Pictures (producers of The Missing and Catherine The Great) have started filming in Belfast ahead of a 2020 air date.

The story will be far from the witty comedy episodes of Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls, which was a record-breaking hit on Channel4.

The Deceived has been described as a compelling, sinister narrative of lust, manipulation and betrayal. The central character in The Deceivedis student Ophelia (Emily Reid – Curfew), who falls in love with her timelessly attractive and charismatic, but married college lecturer, Dr Michael Callaghan played by Irish actor Emmet J Scanlan,(KryptonPeaky BlindersThe Fall,).

When their affair results in a shocking and tragic death, Ophelia finds herself trapped in a world where she can no longer trust her own mind.

The suspenseful thriller will have some great characters in Donegal, Lisa has said.

Catherine Walker (Shetland, Versailles) plays Dr Callaghan’s wife Roisin, a successful, award-winning fiction writer; Eleanor Methven (Little Women) plays Roisin’s devoted and sometimes overbearing mother Mary Mulvery;Ian McElhinney (Game of ThronesDerry Girls) is Michael’s father Hugh fighting the oncoming tide of dementia; Shelley Conn (Liar) plays Roisin’s best friend Ruth, intelligent and loyal, and Dempsey Bovell (Patrick Melrose) is Michael’s confidante and biggest admirer, Matthew.

The Deceived will air on Virgin Media One and Channel 5 in 2020.