Oxfordshire is the perfect setting for yet another murder mystery. ANDREW FFRENCH reports...

Television producers are making Oxfordshire the perfect setting for murder. The latest mystery to join the likes of Inspector Morse is being filmed later this month and features top stars Paul McGann and Amanda Burton.

Filming for the three-part drama, entitled Forgotten, is expected to begin during the next fortnight.

But while viewers will see copies of the Oxford Mail being read by characters in the serial, film buffs won't actually be able to spot TV crews within the county borders.

For while the fictional setting is Oxfordshire, the majority of the filming is taking place in a small village near Cheltenham. Three hour-long episodes, written by newcomer Caleb Ransen, are due to be screened on ITV in February.

The chilling plot focuses on a child murder with possible links to a similar killing 20 years earlier. McGann plays the man accused of the original murder, Burton the child's mother.

Michelle Foreman, personal assistant to the executive director, said it was a psychological drama which examined the relationship between the two central characters.

She said: "We are still casting some of the smaller parts but Paul McGann and Amanda Burton have been hired as the two leads and filming will start in the near future.

"Everyone involved in the production is very excited about this. Mr Ransen is a new writer and has produced a gripping script.

"He is not a well-known name in the industry but I think we are going to hear a lot more about him in years to come."

Paul McGann shot to fame in the cult film Withnail and I and more recently played Dr Who.

Amanda Burton has enjoyed success in Brookside, Peak Practice and Silent Witness.

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