Ken Stott as DCI Red Metcalfe

Ken Stott returns to BBC ONE in Messiah IV as the compelling detective, DCI Red Metcalfe.

This will be the fourth time Stott plays the cerebral detective, familiar to audiences as the only man they can trust to get into the minds of serial killers and then outwit them.

But has he lost his touch?

Red's latest murder investigation is stifling and intense and the killer has really got under his skin in this thrilling three-part series.

As the murder count escalates, Red becomes more frustrated when the clues the killer leaves behind on the victims' bodies continue to confuse him.

"Red's life is constantly alternating between his personal views and his professional view of each investigation he undertakes. He is a man of extremities yet also a police officer in the same situation - and that's where the drama of Messiah lies," Stott observes.

"Red's deep personal conflict is how the hell is he going to stay sane? He feels every death on his watch as a personal disaster and a personal failure until he solves the crime.

"The Messiahs are all very clever stories presented in styles that entertain and are familiar to us," Stott says.

"The Harrowing is no exception and is an incredibly tough case for Red to crack. Possibly the hardest one yet. It has resonances of the very first series with its religious themes and Dante is an extraordinary metaphor for our existence which Terry (Cafolla) has woven so darkly into the script."

Dealing with a murder count that is fast becoming out of control, Red has to rely on is own unique style of feeling the pain of each victim, trying to see what they see before they die, which usually leads him to the killer.

However, with each victim comes the killer's signature, 'SAVE ME' which only leads Red to ask 'save who'?

"Red is an experienced and professional police officer with a number of high profile murder investigations under his belt, but this one really confuses him and he can't seem to find that all-important link to the killer despite the clues left behind," says Stott.

"It torments and frustrates him and he feels extreme failure at his own inadequacies.

"With a particularly gruesome body count, fantastic twists and turns and everyone a suspect, Messiah IV will not disappoint," promises Stott.

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