If you’ve seen his plays Cyprus Avenue and Ulster American, you’ll know David Ireland is a dramatist who likes to put unexpected spins on the darker corners of human behaviour.
And the Northern Irish playwright is doing just that with his much-anticipated new ITV Coldwater. He even coaxed back The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln for his first British TV role in nearly 15 years, pairing him with Trainspotting’s Ewen Bremner in a Straw Dogs-y scenario that tackles the dark side of rural life and masculinity itself over six hard-hitting, fast-spiralling episodes.
Coldwater ‘started with a question I was asking myself: where do I want to live – the countryside or the city?,’ says Ireland. ‘Such an innocent beginning, but from it came this dark, funny, twisted thriller. I hope viewers will find it intoxicating.’
What is Coldwater about?
The six-part thriller follows John (Lincoln), a middle-aged man trying to shake off a disturbing incident in London. He and his wife Fiona (Indira Varma) have moved to a rural Highlands village called Coldwater, where John is quickly befriended by oddball neighbour Tommy (Bremner) and his wife. On the surface, everything seems set up for John and his wife to start afresh with their two children, and rekindle a marriage that has turned stale. Tommy has a pastor for a wife, Rebecca (Eve Myles), and the kind of boisterously hospitable nature that can help newbies to settle in a new community
But Fiona has immediate suspicions that Tommy is not the man he seems. And what other dark secrets lie in wait in this rural community? John’s own repressed rage and id threaten to turn a bad situation into a catastrophic one.
No matter how far he runs, he can’t escape his demons – or his neighbour
‘The series is about a man in crisis,’ says Bremner, ‘and in an attempt to heal himself, he escapes to an idyllic small town in Scotland and finds that no matter how far he runs, he can’t escape from his demons, or his neighbour Tommy!’
‘I said to David [Ireland], “Is this a middle-aged Fight Club?” And he went “absolutely not”,’ says Lincoln. ‘Then he came back the next day and said: “If Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter had kids and then moved to the Highlands, it might be that.”’
Where was Coldwater filmed?
To create the fictional town of Coldwater, the production used a tapestry of locations in and around Glasgow – with a sortie or two into the Highlands too. ‘Coldwater is a composite of many different locations surrounding Glasgow,’ says director Lee Haven Jones (The Feast), ‘and the key thing for me was to make the place as real as possible. We have to understand why John and Fiona want to live in this rather lovely village. It was really important that this place felt aspirational, that it was beautiful. But at the same time, it felt very real.’
Dunlop, East Ayrshire
The pretty Ayrshire village of Dunlop was used for shots of Coldwater. ‘Coldwater is an idealised version of rural Scotland,’ says Ireland. ‘You’ve got the beautiful church, beautiful coffee shops. Everybody is friendly, and a little bit strange.’ Look out for the local church, Dunlop Kirk, in a funeral scene in episode 3. ‘The village is south of Glasgow,’ says Lee Haven Jones. ‘That is the heart of the community, along with the church.’
South Lanarkshire
The exteriors of John and Fiona and Tommy and Rebecca’s houses were filmed at a town to the south of Glasgow, with sets used for the interiors. ‘They are inspired by and based on two real houses that really do sit side by side, sort of on each other's shoulders,’ says executive producer Alice Tyler. ‘We loved that idea of voyeurism and peeping Tom-ness that comes with that proximity between the two spaces.’
Blanefield, Stirling
In episode 3, a funeral brings all the major characters together. The service itself was filmed at Dunlop Kirk, with the wake shot at Edmonstone Hall, a village hall 30 miles north.
Pollok Country Park, Glasgow
The forest scenes in episode 1 were filmed in Glasgow’s 146-hectare country park, the city’s largest park.
Loch Lomond
The house belonging to John’s therapist Williams (Jonathan Watson) was filmed on a hill overlooking Loch Lomond. ‘The landscape around it is amazing,’ says Tyler. ‘It's got these amazing big glass windows that look out onto it. But I loved as well the fact that we start the series there with this quite funny, strange, intimate therapy session between John and Williams.’ Adds Lee Haven Jones: ‘Loch Lomond… gives a real sense of what John and Fiona had in their mind's eye when they were thinking about uprooting their family from London and moving to the Highlands.’
The Lade Inn, Callander
According to The Courier, the production was filming in this Highlands pub in August 2024, with nighttime scenes shot in the car park. The inn is situated on the eastern edge of the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park.
Who stars in the series?
Andrew Lincoln is back on UK telly for the first time after a decade-or-so-long run in The Walking Dead. It’s the Londoner’s first UK TV gig since 2010’s action-thriller Strike Back. Co-starring with him is Trainspotting’s Ewen Bremner, Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Luther) and Eve Myles of Torchwood and Keeping Faith. Scottish actor Jonathan Watson plays John’s therapist Williams.
When can you watch Coldwater?
The first episode airs at 9pm, Sunday September 14 on ITV1, with all episodes available to stream on ITVX.
Is there a trailer?
Yes – check it out below.
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