Maigret Sets A Trap is a stand-alone dramatic film featuring the legendary French fictional detective Jules Maigret, played by the globally-renowned actor Rowan Atkinson. 

Set in 1955 during a sweltering summer in Paris, the city is gripped with fear as four women are murdered on the streets of Monmartre in a spree of seemingly unconnected attacks. Chief Inspector Maigret is under huge public and professional pressure to find the killer before he strikes again. Maigret sets a trap which ultimately leads to a thrilling climax.

Further cast include Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve, Fleabag), Aidan McArdle (Mr Selfridge, The Fall), Shaun Dingwall (Noughts + Crosses, DCI Banks), Lucy Cohu (Broadchurch, Summer Of Rockets), Leo Staar (Call The Midwife, Summer Of Rockets), Rufus Wright (Endeavour, The Crown), Hugh Simon (Victoria, Last Tango In Halifax), Mark Heap (Friday Night Dinner, The Trouble With Maggie Cole), David Dawson (Ripper Street, Peaky Blinders), Colin Mace (A Confession, Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies) and Rebecca Night (Starlings, Agatha Rasin).

Introduction By Executive Producer, Barnaby Thompson

I was about 12 when I really discovered the joy of reading, and that was thanks to thriller writers like Alastair MacLean and the detective fiction of Arthur Conan Doyle and Georges Simenon. I read all the Sherlock Holmes books and then discovered Inspector Maigret. I had not yet been to Paris, but I was immediately drawn to Simenon’s lean, evocative descriptions of the streets of Montmartre and the Banks of the Seine. I loved his spare style, the intelligence and humanity of the pipe smoking detective and the surprising twists in the plot.Years later, after a career making movies in America and Britain, I had the urge to develop a big international television series. I picked up a Maigret novel and was once again reminded how great a character he was and what a good writer Georges Simenon had been. I was also surprised at how contemporary the stories felt. I knew this is what I wanted to do.I hooked up with GSL, the Georges Simenon Estate, run by his son, John, and we agreed to produce the shows together. We took the idea to Peter Fincham at ITV, whose father it turned out had been a fan of the books. We hired Stewart Harcourt, an experienced writer to come aboard and write the scripts. Stewart was very enthusiastic, responding both to the world and to the stories.We wanted to set the drama firmly in Paris of the fifties but to emphasise the modernity of the books, and keep it as real and as visceral as possible. And to put the wonderful, thoughtful compassionate character of Maigret at its centre.Nextcame the casting and when Rowan Atkinson agreed, we were thrilled. He brings just the right measure of empathy and gravitas, and gives a performance that will surprise and amaze everyone who only know him as a comedian.We were lucky enough to be able toattract Jeremy Gwilt, an experienced producer with enormous energy and passion. He pulled together a fantastic team of directors, designers and crew to capture the mood and atmosphere of the books. They have created a real, living breathing city -not picture postcard pretty -but one of contrasts, wide avenues and narrow slums, smoky clubs and bars, and the wonderful Quai Des Orfevres, the main Police Station where Maigret is based.We shot the two films back to back last Autumn in Budapest and Paris, with a strong cast including Shaun Dingwall, Lucy Cohu, Fiona Shaw and Aidan McArdle.Watching the films now, I’m reminded of my twelve-year-old self. I’m older, hopefully a little wiser, but I am still sucked into the magic of Simenon’s Paris in the same way. There is something deeply satisfying about seeing a world I had pictured in my head whilst 6reading the books come alive on the screen.I hope Georges Simenon himself would be pleased with how his work has been adapted. I feel confident that fans and those new to the character will relish the world that has been created. And I am thankful to have been lucky enough to go on this wonderful journey.

Maigret Sets A Trap airs this Sunday at 8 on ITV and on the ITV Hub, and will be available to watch on the ITV Hub shortly afterwards