Lancashire actor Lee Ingleby stars in brand-new Channel 5 drama series The Cuckoo

Burnley-born Lee is best known for playing Detective Sergeant/Inspector John Bacchus in Inspector George Gently, Stan Shunpike in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Paul Hughes in The A Word.

The 47-year-old actor, who attended Edge End High School alongside fellow Burnely actor John Simm, also most recently appeared in the new ITV show ‘The Long Shadow’ about the Yorkshire Ripper.

Now, Lee is back on our screen once again, with a brand-new Channel 5 original drama called The Cuckoo. 

What is The Cuckoo?

The Cuckoo is a thriller series that focuses on a married couple and their daughter who move into their dream home but soon take in a lodger, to make ends meet. 

Created and written by Barunka O’Shaughnessy who has brought us Motherland, Breeders and another Channel 5 series The Teacher, it is a twisted tale of family secrets, conflict and close bonds.

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Jill Halfpenny (EastEnders, Waterloo Road, The Holiday) plays the leading role of Sian, who is the mysterious lodger that the couple Nick (played by Lee) and Jessica (played by Claire Goose of Casualty, Waking the Dead and The Bay fame) take in. 

Freya Hannan-Mills also stars as their daughter Alice, while Marjorie Yates (Shamless) stars as Aunt Fay.

The Cuckoo, made up of only four episodes in total, was filmed in County Wicklow in Ireland and is set in a countryside location. 

How can you catch the show?

The Cuckoo aired for four consecutive nights on Channel 5, starting on Monday, April 8 2024.

You can however stream every episode on the My 5 app or website.