If Keeley Hawes signs up to a project, you know it’s going to well worth checking out. Over recent years, we’ve seen the renowned actor star in hit shows including Bodyguard, The Durrells, Honour and Line Of Duty. 

And we have a lot more Hawes to look forward to this year.

She is set to star in Russell T Davies’ new series about the 80s AIDS, It’s A Sin, which lands on Channel 4 later this month. But before that, Hawes returns to our screens in ITV’s dark comedy, Finding Alice. 

What is ITV’s Finding Alice about?

Finding Alice follows the story of a woman called Alice who is coping with the loss of Harry – her husband of 20 years – who fell down the stairs of their new dream house. However, she soon realises that Harry left behind a storm of secrets, debt and criminality for her to clean up.

Who stars in ITV’s Finding Alice?

Hawes takes on the titular role, while Jason Merrells plays Harry. The role of Alice and Harry’s teenage daughter will be played by Isabella Pappas. There’s a bumper supporting cast, too: Joanna Lumley, Kenneth Cranham, Nigel Havers, Gemma Jones and Sharon Rooney.

Talking at a press conference about her decision to play Alice and explore grief, Hawes said: “Alice is a unique creation. What I really hope is some people will relate to her, and find something within her and her reaction to grief that they can relate to, and that may help. 

“It’s unique to all of us the way that we all experience grief whether it’s a parent, a child or pet. So I can’t be responsible for that, but I hope people relate.”

Who created ITV’s Finding Alice?

The team behind The Durrells, Roger Golby and Simon Nye, created Finding Alice with Hawes. Goldby said at the same press conference: ”[Grief] seems such a common thing, it just naturally came together as something to tell a story about.”

Golby added: “The other thing that was important was, we wanted to tell a story that didn’t shy away from any of the truth and the pain, but also embrace the humour that is always, I think, very close to pain. It was important to weave that in, it’s very natural and very organic and comes out of those situations.”

When is ITV’s Finding Alice out?

Finding Alice will save us during this lockdown slump. The first of six episodes airs on Sunday 17 January at 9pm on ITV.

Images: Getty, ITV