UK’s Channel 4 Orders Crime Drama ‘My Name Is Lizzie’ Starring Niamh Algar

EXCLUSIVE: Niamh Algar, who is set to star in HBO Max’s upcoming Ridley Scott-directed sci-fi drama Raised By Wolves, is to front a crime drama for the UK’s Channel 4.

The British broadcaster has ordered My Name is Lizzie (w/t), which tells the true story of the high-pressure investigation into the devastating murder of Rachel Nickell in 1992.

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The series is written by Emilia di Girolamo, who wrote The Tunnel, Sky’s UK version of The Bridge, and produced by All3Media-backed Story Films.

Algar, who also starred in C4 drama The Virtues, plays Lizzie James, female undercover officer, who is asked to become sexual bait for a suspected killer.

The police were desperate to solve the crime, which was headline news in the UK at the time and becoming a national obsession. First identified through a BBC Crimewatch appeal, the evidence is stacked against Colin Stagg, who the police are convinced is guilty. In desperation, the relatively young Detective Inspector leading the case, engages the nation’s most famous criminal profiler to devise a bold undercover operation which will see an attractive, young female officer start a relationship with Stagg.

The team behind the drama had access to previously unheard audio, video and written materials to create the fictionalized retelling of events.

Directed by Niall MacCormick (The Victim), it is exec produced by di Girolamo, David Nath and Peter Beard with Ado Yoshizaki Cassuto (Pale Horse) producing. It was commissioned by Channel 4’s Head of Drama Caroline Hollick with filming set to commence later this year. My Name is Lizzie will be distributed by All3Media International.

Hollick said, “The unique female perspective of Emilia’s extraordinary scripts will shine a light on one of the most shocking stories in modern policing, in a drama which combines Story Films’ trademark journalistic rigor with sensitivity and nuance. And it’s a privilege to be working with Niamh Algar, who is fast becoming an iconic star of the channel.”

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