Sarah Phelps Lands First ITV Drama

EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Phelps is taking her brand of spine-tingling psychological thriller to ITV for the first time.

One of the BBC’s most prolific modern screenwriters is penning Daughter for the commercial broadcaster from Dominic Treadwell-Collins’ Happy Prince, with the news coming just a fortnight after Phelps won a BAFTA for The Sixth Commandment.

In keeping with Phelps’ usual fare, Daughter is described as a “dark contemporary tale” posing the question: “How far you would go to protect your children – and how well do you really know them?” It follows two mothers from very different backgrounds and their teenage daughters whose friendship turns toxic after an accusation of bullying. In trying to defend their daughters, the two mothers go to war, a war that lays bare screaming tensions and tears families apart, with repercussions rocketing through the community.

Phelps said: “I’ve been thinking about these tricky, complex characters for such a long time and I’m thrilled to get the opportunity to tell this story of the lies we tell ourselves about the people we love the most.”

ITV commissioning editor Helen Ziegler labeled the scribe “an extraordinary voice of our times,” while Treadwell-Collins called her “one of our greatest contemporary screenwriters.”

Phelps previously paired with Treadwell-Collins on the likes of the BBC’s A Very English Scandal and EastEnders.

She is coming off the back of a Best Mini-Series BAFTA win for explosive factual drama The Sixth Commandment about the deaths of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin in a sleepy town in the UK, which also won Timothy Spall Best Actor. Both have since landed new projects, with Spall leading the BBC’s Death Valley.

Phelps is perhaps best known for her Agatha Christie adaptations that have included The ABC Murders starring John Malkovich, And Then There Were None and Ordeal By Innocence. She handed the reins to Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre for the latest, Murder is Easy, and Rachel Bennette will adapt the next one.

Daughter is the second ITV drama revealed by Deadline in the past 24 hours, following Tom Bradby adaptation Secret Service. It is distributed by ITV Studios. Treadwell-Collins is exec producing with Alexander Lamb.