Gillian Anderson to Star In Channel 4 Adaptation of Louise Kennedy's 'Trespasses'

Channel 4’s upcoming adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s debut novel Trespasses has landed some serious star power behind it. The book, which follows a Catholic teacher living in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and her scandalous romance with a Protestant man, was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and will star Gillian Anderson (Scoop), Lola Petticrew (Bloodlands) and Tom Cullen (Becoming Elizabeth) in its lead roles.

Set during the 1970s in a town outside Belfast, the story follows Cushla (Petticrew), a young woman who teaches in a Catholic primary school whose dreams have been ground down by the seemingly endless drag of everyday life. Anderson is her mother, Gina, a “glorious wreck” constantly fighting with her daughter. And Cullen is Michael, a married Protestant barrister, whose life becomes entangled with Cushla’s after a chance meeting in her family’s bar.

The two come from very dissimilar worlds: he’s older than she is and have very different religious affiliations and social backgrounds. Still, they find themselves irresistibly drawn to one another, and an illicit love affair blooms.