Channel 4 has announced that Sarah Lancashire (star of Kiri and Happy Valley) is set to lead the cast in Jack Thorne’s newest series, The Light. Here’s everything you need to know.

Thorne, who previously wrote for Lancashire on Kiri, is also known for his work on the TV shows The Fades and National Treasure, the film Wonder and the Harry Potter And The Cursed Child stageshow. 

Lancashire said this of her casting in Thorne’s new project:

“This is the most wonderful opportunity to work with Channel 4, The Forge, and Jack Thorne’s masterly writing once again. The Light is a fiercely powerful piece; shocking and emotive and I feel extremely privileged to be a part of it”.

And Thorne had this to say:

“I’m so excited to be working with Sarah again. I always try and resist writing for specific actors, for fear of heartbreak, but I couldn’t keep Sarah out of my thoughts as I wrote this and I’m so delighted she was prepared to work with us again. She makes the worst lines sound good, and the slightly better lines sound amazing, and everything has such raw brave truth to it, basically she makes me a better writer, one of the many reasons why she’s one of the greatest actors in the country. I have no doubt she will be the most sensational Polly.”

And, as for the plot, Channel 4 offers this lengthy synopsis:

In a community that has been left behind, a large construction project offers hope for a better future; regeneration, and much needed employment. But an explosion, followed by a catastrophic collapse, leaves many dead, children included, and the community devastated.

The story centres on Polly, played by Lancashire, the wife of the local politician who championed the project. Their rebellious daughter, Leona, had led a group of friends who broke onto the site on the day of the explosion, but now is left with a lifelong disability after the disaster.

As communal grief gives way to a torrent of anger and blame, the community finds itself torn apart. Unwilling accept that their children were to blame, the families cry for justice.

It falls to Polly to hold the community together, and to face the challenging truths that begin to emerge.

The Light is a four-part drama and we’ll bring you more news as we hear it.