Cast announced as filming begins on Caroline O’Donoghue’s The Rachel Incident

Production is now officially underway in Ireland for the highly anticipated adaptation of Caroline O’Donoghue’s bestselling novel, The Rachel Incident!

Produced for Channel 4 by Element Pictures and UCP in association with PAGEBOY Productions, the eight-part series has found its perfect leads. Máiréad Tyers will star as Rachel, alongside Ellis Howard as her best friend and roommate, James.

The series, set in Cork in 2010, captures the "love at first sight" friendship between student Rachel and the effervescent James. As the pair navigate the chaos of their early twenties against the backdrop of the financial crash, they become entangled in a web of secrets involving Rachel’s married professor, Dr Fred Byrne, played by Daniel Ings and his glamorous wife Deenie, played by Sarah Greene.

Speaking on the casting, Caroline O’Donoghue expressed her excitement:

"Máiréad Tyers is a star and has always been my first choice to play Rachel. She and the phenomenally charming Ellis Howard create what feels like an instantly iconic double act, fizzing with all the love and panic that makes being in your early twenties both nightmarish and amazing. I’ve been a fan of Daniel Ings and Sarah Greene for years, and watching them bring Fred and Deenie to life—in all their complexity and glamour—is a total dream.”

The brilliant ensemble also includes Ardal O’Hanlon, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Cúán Hosty-Blaney, and Ciarán Dowd.

The eight-part series is written, created, and executive-produced by Caroline O’Donoghue. Jen Statsky serves as Executive Producer through her First Thought Productions. Executive Producers for Element Pictures are Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Christopher Aird, and Chelsea Morgan Hoffmann. PAGEBOY Productions’ Matt Jordan Smith and Elliot Page are Executive Producers, with Tuck Dowrey as Associate Producer. Emma Fleischer is Producer and also serves as Executive Producer, with Giulia Gandini and Megan K. Fox directing.

We're excited to see Rachel and James’s story come to life on screen!