Jane Tennison, the detective made famous by Helen Mirren, will return to ITV as a 22-year-old investigating her first murder case in a Prime Suspect prequel written by Lynda La Plante.
The six-part series, called Tennison, will be set in 1970s Hackney and portrays a young Tennison starting out on her police career, experiencing London’s violent criminal ganglands first hand.
ITV said the drama would “reveal why she became such a complex and formidable character in the Metropolitan police”, set in a world where “high-ranking police officers were notoriously chauvinistic, and the rules and regulations often bent”.
ITV director of drama Steve November said: “I’m delighted Lynda has revisited the iconic character of Jane Tennison. The scripts are brilliantly written and she perfectly captures the sights, sounds and mood of the 70s period.”
The broadcaster announced details of the new drama on Thursday after La Plante revealed she was writing a prequel to Prime Suspect last year. There are no details about who will play the young Tennison.
It will be broadcast in 2016 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Prime Suspect, which first broadcast on ITV in 1991 and ran until 2006. It has also been adapted for US television.
Mirren, who brought DCI Tennison and later Det Supt Tennison to life across seven series, was already famous when the first Prime Suspect was broadcast, but the role made her a household name.
ITV has already enjoyed success with a detective prequel with Inspector Morse spin-off, Endeavour, starring Shaun Evans and Roger Allam.
The prequel has been devised by La Plante who has written a book, also called Tennison, which will be published in September.
La Plante said: “I have very much enjoyed writing the young Jane, creating her family background and the start of her career in the police force. I do hope my readers will enjoy meeting her in September and viewers in 2016.”
Separately, ITV has also commissioned an eight-part drama from Han Rosenfeldt, the Swedish creator of hit Scandinavian serial killer drama, The Bridge.
Rosenfeldt has created Marcella, his first drama specifically for UK television, with Nicola Larder, who was Sky’s development executive on its adaptation of The Bridge, The Tunnel.
Marcella is described as a “Scandinavian noir on the streets of Britain” set in contemporary London about a single female detective, divorced and isolated from her daughter, on a serial murder case.
ITV has also commissioned a six-part drama series, The Durrells, by Men Behaving Badly creator Simon Nye, based on Gerald Durrell’s classic trilogy of Corfu memoirs including the much loved My Family and Other Animals.
