Filming begins on new Ben Miller crime drama for ITV

Filming has started in Belgium and Cambridge on a new crime drama starring Ben Miller.

Professor T is based on the hit Belgian series of the same name, and is set against the backdrop of Cambridge University, centring around eccentric criminology professor Jasper Tempest, played by Miller, who suffers from OCD and has a tortured past.

The six-part ITV drama also stars Frances de la Tour as Jasper’s colourful but overbearing mother, Adelaide; Emma Naomi as Detective Inspector Lisa Donckers and Barney White as her police sidekick Dan Winters.

Miller said: “Professor T has it all: intriguing murders, dreaming spires, and a cast of unforgettable characters, each with their own fascinating secrets.

“You don’t have to be a professor of criminal psychology to know the ITV audience will love it.”

Also joining the cast are The Salisbury Poisonings actor Andy Gathergood, Quiz star Sarah Woodward, Marcella’s Ben Onwukwe, Downton Abbey’s Douglas Reith and Van Der Valk actress Juliet Aubrey.

The opening episode finds the professor unwillingly acting as an adviser to the police when Diana Tyson (Elizabeth Kate Back) is violently attacked on the university campus where he has tenure.

Det Insp Lisa Donckers suspects that the assault is very similar to one that occurred years before and, having been a previous student of Professor T’s, she thinks he can help.

The series is directed by leading Belgian director Dries Vos, produced by Robin Kerremans and Dimitri Verbeeck and executive produced by Eagle Eye production company creators Walter Iuzzolino and Jo McGrath.

Iuzzolino said: “Professor T is my all-time favourite detective – a tortured genius wrestling with a mystery childhood trauma.

“It’s a unique crime series with a core of wonderful warm characters at its heart and I am delighted to be working with our hand-picked European production team to make this for ITV and international audiences.”