Ruth Wilson Leads BBC One’s Thrilling New Series Based On True Events

The Woman in the Wall is set in a small Irish village (that’s entirely fictional) but deals with the real life Magdalene Laundries, also known as the Magdalene asylums, a series of institutions set up in Ireland during the 18th century until they were closed in the late 20th century.

The main purpose of them was to house “fallen women”, a term describing women who had “lost innocence and fallen from the grace of God.” Around 30,000 women were confined to the Magdalene Laundries, and the controversial practice was subject to a state apology and compensation from the Irish government in 2013, fallen the discovery of over 150 unmarked graves.

The difficult and hard hitting subject matter will be explored as a Gothic drama, with Ruth Wilson portraying Lorna Brady, a woman who was incarcerated in one of these institutions, Kilkinure Convent, when she was only 15 years old. Now a grown woman and no longer living in incarceration, Lorna suffers from sleepwalking episodes and other mental health issues. One morning, she wakes in her house to find a dead woman- and has no idea or memory of how she got there, not the identity of the body or if she may have killed her.

Wilson called the part “fascinating” and said that the show is an “examination of the legacy of The Magdalene Laundries. It’s a privilege to bring this story to screens.”

Meanwhile, starring opposite Wilson is Daryl McCormack, who’s most recently been seen in Bad Sisters and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, and plays Detective Colman Akande. Akande is an ambitious investigator who’s been looking into Lorna and her life for a while, but for a criminal case that is seemingly not to do with the dead body. He might have a humorous exterior and detective skills that have seen him rise quickly in his field, but he’s got secrets and internal confliction of his own locked away. The two are set to come face to face across the six episodes as both Lorna and Akande seek answers.