Updated 1 December: We can finally start getting excited for the premiere of BBC One’s high-tension thriller drama The Tourist as, after months of waiting for the release date, we finally have news of when that will be. 

That’s right – the BBC has confirmed that The Tourist, which stars Jamie Dornan as the lead, will be coming to our screens on 1 January 2022.

That means your 2022 television viewing will be getting off to a strong start. The official trailer has just dropped too and trust us, this six-part character-driven thriller already looks like it’ll have us obsessed in no time.

Updated 18 May: We finally have the first images of BAFTA-nominated Jamie Dornan as ‘The Man’ desperately searching for his identity in new BBC One mystery, The Tourist – and our interest is certainly piqued.

Coming from Emmy-winning production company Two Brothers Pictures, this brand new look at the six-part thriller shows a rugged, raw and unshaven Dornan against the dusty, barren outback. It’s a far cry from the slick cityscape we saw him terrorise as Paul Spector in The Fall, and has us wondering what realness Dornan will bring to this character as he wrestles with how well we truly know ourselves, if at all.  

Harry and Jack Williams have already dazzled us with their work on The Missing, aka the taut drama series about one father’s frenzied search for his missing son in France. Now, the critically acclaimed writers are joining forces with the BBC once again to bring us another nerve-jangling mystery thriller.

Here’s everything we know so far about The Tourist.

What’s the plot of The Tourist?

The Tourist throws us headfirst into the Australian outback, where a British man finds himself being pursued by a vast tank truck trying to drive him off the road.

“An epic cat and mouse chase unfolds and the man later wakes up in hospital, hurt, but somehow alive,” promises the official synopsis.

“Except… he has no idea who he is.”

It’s an incredibly clever premise, especially as our nameless hero is still being hunted by a string of shadowy figures from his past. But why are they so intent on bringing him down? What has he done to attract their attention? And…

Well, who is he? Really?

Naturally, the man’s quest for answers soon propels him back into the vast and unforgiving outback. But whether he’ll find what he’s looking for, let alone come back alive, remains to be seen.

Who stars in the cast of The Tourist?

Jamie Dornan takes the lead in The Tourist, starring as the unnamed man at the story’s centre.

Danielle Macdonald, meanwhile, will star as Helen Chambers, a fledgling probationary constable, and Line Of Duty’s Shalom Brune-Franklin is set to play Luci, a waitress who finds herself unexpectedly swept up in our main man’s journey for answers.

Also joining the cast will be Icelandic-American actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (True Detective) as Billy and Damon Herriman (Secret City) will also feature as Detective Inspector Lachlan Rogers.

Is there a trailer for The Tourist?

Yes and it’s as explosive as we’d expected. 

“Are you sure you really want to know who you are?” is one of the questions that rings out throughout the short trailer, alongside a bleak on-screen reminder: what he doesn’t know could kill him. It’s safe to say, we’re excited.

Watch the action-packed trailer here:

What are people saying about The Tourist?

While the series has yet to begin production, the cast and crew are incredibly excited about the TV project.

“We’re hugely excited about this show. It’s tonally breaking new ground for us, and having Jamie Dornan on board is the icing on the Australian cake,” the Williams brothers have said of their new series.

“The Tourist is one of the most exciting scripts I’ve ever read,” adds Dornan.

“I can’t wait to go to Australia with such a talented group of people.”

Macdonald, meanwhile, notes: “Helen is a fascinating and intriguing character, I fell in love with her on page one. I ended up reading all the episodes in one sitting because I couldn’t put them down!

“I’m so excited to get to be a part of this incredible project and I can’t wait to start filming alongside the amazing cast and production team.”

Brune-Franklin has promised: “This story is really unique and I’m excited to be a part of bringing it to life with this brilliant team. I’m looking forward to adding to the thrilling mystery of these scripts with the wonderfully intriguing character of Luci.”

And Weaving, piling praise upon the “dark and shocking” drama, has said: “I’m very excited to be slipping into the skin of one of the fabulously idiosyncratic characters who people the desert landscape of The Tourist.

“The scripts are… surprising and hilarious and always very human. This is a tonally unique project and should be an unforgettable ride and shoot for us all.”

Colour us intrigued.

When will The Tourist be available to watch on BBC One?

The Tourist has now been confirmed to air on 1 January 2022 and we couldn’t be more excited for some new year’s day viewing.

The Tourist will be available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 1 January 2022.

Images: Two Brothers Pictures/BBC