Payback: release date of Morven Christie's new drama on ITV, plot, trailer and cast with Peter Mullan

Hype is already building for ITV's upcoming "compelling character-led series" Payback which will air this week.

From Line of Duty's Jed Mercurio and created by Debbie O'Malley (Call The Midwife), the six-part drama tells the story of Lexie, played by The Bay's Morven Christie, who following the death of her late partner becomes entangled in a perilous police operation to topple a notorious crime lord.

Filming for the series took place in Glasgow and Edinburgh, with Christie telling ITV: "I fell in love with Lexie from the first page." Adding: "I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Peter and this wonderful team in my hometown" Speaking on This Morning, she also revealed filming in Edinburgh had been slowed down due to how often co-star Peter Mullan (The Vanishing) was recognised.

So, what can we expect from Payback, what is about, when will it be released on ITV, is there a trailer and how many episodes will be in season 1? Here's everything we know so far.

When can I watch Payback on ITV?

Payback will be released on ITV1 on Wednesday 4 October, with the first episode airing at 9pm. There are six episodes in total in the first season, which will also be available to watch on ITVX and BritBox.

What is Payback about?

Payback is the latest crime drama to drop on ITV which will explore the seedy underbelly of financial crime in the UK. Starring Morven Christie as a widowed accountant, she discovers that her late partner had done deals with some very shady characters.

The synopsis from ITV reads: "With an idyllic family lifestyle in the suburbs of Edinburgh, Lexie is unaware her husband, Jared, has been laundering Cal Morris’ illegal earnings on a vast scale. Jared’s every move is being monitored by financial investigators DC Jibran Khan and DCI Adam Guthrie, who are determined to use the Noble family to bring Cal Morris to justice.

"A partner in Jared’s business, Lexie is forced into working for Cal, at the same time as the police net inexorably tightens. Soon Lexie finds herself walking a treacherous tightrope between Cal and the police in which her safety, and even her life, are in grave danger."

Who stars in Payback?

Morven Christie who is most recently known for her role in The Bay, will take up the lead as Lexie Noble. She will be joined by Ozark's Peter Mullan who plays Cal Morris, The Crown's Prasanna Puwanarajah who plays DC Jibran Khan and Happy Valley's Derek Riddell who stars as DCI Adam Guthrie.

Speaking about her character, Christie said: "She's quite hardened. She's found herself in this life that on one level she's built for herself but on another she's kind of an alien in it. In this family that she's built with Jared she has this idealistic, beautiful, loving home life, but outside of that she's really quite closed-off to the world.

"She doesn't really trust people, so when this starts to happen at the beginning of the show she plummets back into this survivalist, trust-no-one mode."

Is there a trailer?

Yes, ITV have released a trailer for Payback, you can watch this below.

How many episodes are there in Payback?

The first season of Payback will be made up of six episodes which will be available to watch on ITV1, ITVX and BritBox.