BBC Picks Up French Thriller The Intruder for iPlayer and BBC Four

By Jon Donnis

The BBC has secured the award-winning French drama The Intruder, a four-part psychological thriller that will stream on BBC iPlayer and air on BBC Four. The series, originally broadcast on France 2, comes from Tetra Media Fiction, part of ITV Studios.

Starring Mélanie Doutey (Post Partum), Lucie Fagedet (Mr & Mme Adelman) and Éric Caravaca (Plot 35), The Intruder tells the unsettling story of Paula, a mother of three struggling at the end of her maternity leave. Reluctant to return to work, she hires Tess, a seemingly ideal au pair. At first, Tess is adored by everyone in the household, but Paula soon senses something is not right. A string of strange incidents makes her look like a negligent mother, while her warnings about Tess fall on deaf ears. Is Paula imagining it, or has Tess deliberately worked her way into their lives for darker reasons?

Created by Nathalie Abdelnour and written by Abdelnour alongside Nathalie Saugeon, the series is directed by Shirley Monsarrat. It was produced by Lèa Gabrié with Marie Madec serving as executive producer.

Sue Deeks, the BBC's Head of Programme Acquisition, called The Intruder "a stylish psychological thriller which gradually builds to a nail-biting race against time, ensuring that viewers will be addicted to the very end."

With its mix of paranoia, suspense, and family drama, The Intruder is set to offer British audiences a taut and gripping new addition to the BBC's foreign drama slate.