Karen Pirie, the major new ITV crime drama, has received rave reviews since it aired on Sunday night.
Set in St Andrews, the detective drama is based on the 2003 Val McDermid novel A Distant Echo.
The Kirkcaldy-born author was heavily involved in the production by the team behind Line of Duty and The Bodyguard.
It features young detective Karen Pirie who is assigned to reopen the investigation into a young woman’s murder 25 years ago.
Filming for the three-part series took place in St Andrews in the spring.
And various well-known locations across the historic Fife town feature in the episodes.
They include St Andrews Cathedral, the harbour and the university.
Filming also took pace on The Pends, Market Place and The Scores.Cast and crew were in town from May 5 to 11, with most work done during the afternoon and evening.
However, overnight road closures were implemented at The Pends on May 5 and 6 to accommodate night-time filming.
And traffic was halted for short periods at the cathedral during filming sequences there.
Actors, including Outlander star Lauren Lyle who plays Pirie, were spotted in the town as the scenes were shot.
Reaction to Karen Pirie in St Andrews
St Andrews residents were looking forward to seeing their town showcased on Sunday’s two-hour episode.
Just over an hour to the start on ITV of the adaptation of The Distant Echo by @valmcdermid As it’s set in St Andrews, I will – of course – be playing ‘spot the location’. Could be a drinking game : take a drink every time you see somewhere where you’ve taken a drink.
— Inchadney (@alasdairmc) September 25, 2022
And the reaction afterwards was resoundingly positive.
#KarenPirie – without a doubt the best drama series to hit our screens for a long time. And nicely staying true to the amazing @valmcdermid novel #TheDistantEcho Making me want to reach fall in love with my books all over again 📚 #KarenPirie
— Carole ☘️ (@mrscarter22) September 25, 2022
Thank you all so much for watching. loving your theories coming in hehe #karenpirie https://t.co/NrzNDWIdHr
— Lauren Lyle (@LlaurenLyle) September 26, 2022
Karen Pirie: Historical murder investigation
McDermid said she was delighted to bring her much-loved character to the small screen.
She said: “It’s always exciting to see a project such as Karen Pirie leaving the page and being brought to the screen.
“The fact it is being shown as a six-part series means there will really be the chance for proper storytelling.”
In the first episode, the detective is tasked with reopening a historical murder investigation that has been the subject of a provocative true crime podcast.
While suspicion originally fell on three male students who found the body, no-one was ever charged.
A Distant Echo is the first in McDermid’s best-selling Karen Pirie series.
Her Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series was remade into Wire In The Blood for ITV and aired from 2002 to 2009.
