The nation is on the edge of its seat as Payback reaches halfway mark

If there’s one word that sums up this outstanding drama, it’s quality. It oozes the stuff, whether it’s the sublime cast, headed by Morven Christie, or the fact it has Jed ‘Line of Duty’ Mecurio’s dabs all over it as executive producer.

As we reach the halfway mark, the nation will be on the edge of its seats waiting to discover Lexie’s fate. After being roped in by the police to infiltrate Cal’s business empire, she is now playing a dangerous game to keep her children safe. However, a secret from her past could jeopardise her future.

For series writer Debbie O’Malley, it is the culmination of a project that began with an unsolved true crime.

“There was a Scottish banker about 18 years ago who was at home with his family for the evening,” she says. “His wife was upstairs bathing the kids and he answered the door to a courier and was shot dead on his doorstep. It’s quite a well-known story and they’ve never solved it.

“The key element that stayed with me was the thought of the wife who was upstairs, wrapping her kids in towels or whatever, and between being at the top of those stairs and walking down and finding her entire life changed.”

Debbie also revealed another element was provided by Jed, who had been looking for a joint project for some time.

“He wanted to explore the idea of a woman drawn into the world of organised crime and I’d been thinking about doing something involving lawyers,” she explains. “Jed had the idea of accountants and then the Panama Papers leak happened.

Suddenly everyone was very aware of just how much illegal cash was washing through the system and of the fact that these shady offshore companies were owning large amounts of UK property and it was very hard to track who owned what. Those elements all came together and that was the way into Payback.”

When asked if the characters in the show are based on real people, Debbie replies: “I wouldn’t say that any of them are directly based on specific people.

“I did an enormous amount of research into organised crime and into the major players – particularly in the UK in terms of big crime families and the heads of those families who have managed to evade prosecution for long periods of time.”

As for Cal, she adds: “That type of personality is something I became very interested in because they tended to be guys who didn’t just inspire fear.

“They had track records of committing acts of sickening and brutal violence but they also inspired loyalty and people wanted to be their friends. There was a charisma and a charm about them that was very dangerous but also very seductive.”

Casting Peter Mullan as Cal was a dream, as she reveals: “The desire was always that he wouldn’t be a 2D bad guy. There are lots of complicated elements to him.

“Peter can do so much with the raising of an eyebrow, and for such an incredibly warm, energetic and enthusiastic human being he has the ability to chill your blood with a single look. His performance is amazing.”