In the first look of new ITV drama Passenger, shameless actor David Threlfall couldn’t be further from himself.
The 48-year-old actor is unrecognisable as character Jim Bracknell, who has long grey hair and a matching beard, like a Halloween version of Santa Claus.
It’s a significant change for the Northern actor, who is best known for his role as Frank Gallagher in Channel 4’s Shameless and for parts in films such as Hot Fuzz, Nowhere Boy, and Black Sea starring Jude Law.
David’s presence is also a far cry from his previous television roles, which include Funny Woman, Charles Dickens’ adaption Dodger, Troy, and Ricky Gervais’ dark comedy Afterlife.
In Passenger, David’s character, a fracking site manager, is accused for unexplained goings-on and horrifying crimes in the community of Chadder Vale, as inhabitants resort to flimsy explanations.
Wunmi Mosaku, from Loki, plays former Met Police Detective Riya Ajunwa, who is entrusted with investigating the truth behind the unusual and incomprehensible incidents.
The synopsis reads: ‘Riya arrived in decaying Chadder Vale five years ago and has since been searching for that “one big crime”, the challenge that will make her feel alive again.
‘Then one night local girl Katie Wells (Rowan Robinson) mysteriously disappears. The town barely has time to register her absence before she reappears the next day, apparently safe and sound.
‘The townsfolk ask few questions and normal life resumes. But for Riya, a relative outsider to the Chadder Vale way of life, none of this sits right.’
Andrew Buchan, best known for his appearances on Broadchurch, The Honourable Woman, and Better, is the debut screenwriter behind the six-parter.
Tina Malone, who played Mimi Maguire on Shameless, shed 12 stone and isn’t the only Shameless actress who has experienced a remarkable metamorphosis.
Tina previously claimed that she had worked on her health, quit drinking, and decided to undergo a facelift before turning 60.
‘It’s a ripe old age and I look 40,’ she said according to OK! Magazine, adding that people can’t believe she’s 60.
‘I love telling people. I feel the best I ever have, and I think I probably feel the sexiest I have in my life too.’
Shameless premiered on Channel 4 for eleven seasons and 139 episodes from 2004 to 2013, and it was adapted in the United States, where it lasted from 2011 to 2021.
Passenger will premiere on ITVX next year.
Source My Celebrity Life.
