Under Salt Marsh will be filmed in the UK this autumn

Kelly Reilly stars in Under Salt Marsh, a new Sky Original crime thriller from writer-director Claire Oakley and Little Door Productions.

The 6 x 60 minute drama was produced in collaboration with Sky Studios and is set in the fictional Welsh town of Morfa Halen, a close-knit community between huge mountains and the approaching sea. Reilly plays former detective and current teacher Jackie Ellis, who discovers the apparently drowned body of her young student Cefin during a violent storm at sea.

The tragedy brings back an unsolved case from three years ago: the disappearance of Jackie’s niece Nessa.

Showrunner Oakley is also an executive producer alongside Little Door’s Elwen Rowlands and Sky Studios’ Megan Spanjian. The series is produced by Scott Bassett; Oakley is a supervising director with Mary Nighy at the helm of episodes 3 and 4. Additional writers include Jonathan Harbottle and Nikita Lalwani.

Rowlands said: “It’s been a pleasure developing this series with the inspirational Claire Oakley. The arrival of Sky Studios has given the show a perfect home and now we have the hugely talented Kelly Reilly in the lead role – we couldn’t be happier.”

Meghan Lyvers, Original Series Director at Sky Studios UK&I, added: “Under Salt Marsh is a uniquely powerful drama that we at Sky Studios are incredibly proud to support. Claire Oakley is an exceptional creative talent who has created a deeply emotional and universal story that explores themes of loss, resilience and community, while pushing the boundaries of the crime genre.”