Sidse Babett Knudsen, Mark Lewis Jones, Joanna Scanlan, Genevieve Barr join Sarah Lancashire in The Light

The Light, set in the fictional town of Glyngolau and currently filming entirely on location in Wales, explores a forgotten community devastated by disaster. An explosion on the construction site of a much-needed and sought-after regeneration project in this “left-behind” town claims the lives of many children who have broken into the building site to make mischief. As grief gives way to anger the community finds itself forced to confront difficult truths amid the search for justice.

BAFTA and RTS-winner Sarah Lancashire (Kiri, Happy Valley) plays Polly Bevan the wife of the local politician who championed the project and the person to whom the community turns following the disaster. Councillor Iwan Bevan, her husband, played by Mark Lewis Jones (National Treasure, Keeping Faith), loves his home town and is a respected figurehead for the community. He was passionate about restoring the town to its former glory, but at what cost...?

Behind closed doors Iwan and Polly’s relationship is more complicated than outward appearances suggest, made even more so by the fact that their rebellious teenage daughter Leona, played by newcomer Jade Croot (Casualty), does all she can to aggravate her father. But when Leona suffers life-changing injuries as a result of the accident on her father’s site, the family finds itself tested to the limits.

BAFTA-winner and Emmy-nominee Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen, Westworld) plays Harriet Paulsen, the executive at Kallbridge Developments which has overseen the project in Glyngolau. On hearing the news of the disaster, Harriet immediately heads to the site but finds herself the focus of raw grief and anger. She’s tough with a ruthless streak but her desire for self-preservation and to protect the business she’s helped build comes into sharp conflict with her compulsion to do the right thing. Her Executive Assistant at Kallbridge is Tim, played by Nabhaan Rizwan (Informer, 1917). Tim is smart and eager, but his good sense may be clouded by his desire to protect Harriet at all costs.

While the search for the truth behind these events unfolds, the community seeks strength in each other. Polly relies on her oldest friends, like her, born and raised in Glyngolau. Angela Griffiths is played by BAFTA-nominated and RTS-winner Joanna Scanlan (No Offence, Getting On) and single parent Greta is played by BAFTA Cymru Award-winner Eiry Thomas (Keeping Faith, Rillington Place). Both have lost daughters in the accident. The women’s grief begins to turn to fury and a demand for action and justice. Who is to blame?

Debbie Kethin’s life, played by Genevieve Barr (The Silence, Press), is also shattered by events. She must wrestle with the fact that Alan, her husband, was responsible for site security and that the disaster, which also took his life, happened on his watch.

An outsider in town, Martin Harris, played by Shaun Parkes (Line of Duty, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies) finds himself at the centre of events in Glyngolau. After rescuing Leona from the wreckage of the collapsed building, he and Polly find in each other someone they can truly trust. He’s not the only outsider, as Philip Walters, played by Adrian Scarborough (Gosford Park, Killing Eve), is drawn to Glyngolau after the disaster. He circles the community in the aftermath of the explosion, asking questions and probing for details about what happened. Who is he, what’s his agenda, and should the community place their trust in his action plan for justice? As the stakes rise for all concerned, and as each side looks to see how the law can best serve their needs, Laura, played by Ruth Madeley (Years and Years, Don’t Take My Baby), is hired by Kallbridge to serve as Harriet’s counsel.

The Light (w/t) aims to explore the nexus between blame, revenge and justice, and explores the contentious question of responsibility - social, corporate and personal – that the accident gives rise to.