Legendary Irish actor Gabriel Byrne – upon whom I used to have a sizeable crush – will play the lead role in a new Channel 4 drama, Coup.

He’ll play the role of politician Tom Dawkins, who’s “the reluctant hero” at the heart of the drama, which is described as a “contemporary conspiracy thriller.”

The role will herald Byrne’s return to UK TV following his starring roles in a string of hugely successful films, such as Stigmata, The Usual Suspects and Miller’s Crossing.

Of the new drama, Channel 4’s press release states…

A massive industrial accident on Teesside leaves several people dead and raises awkward questions about the safety procedures of the US petrochemical company involved…

As a man who has a profound belief in transparency and open government, Dawkins (Byrne) will have to tackle vested interests, financial, media, and military, both domestic and international, in his pursuit to uncover the truth and get justice for the families affected by the disaster.

Along the way, he will struggle to keep his party onside and the electorate behind him, as he also weathers damaging revelations about his personal life. And as the investigation into the Teesside disaster proceeds, Dawkins becomes aware of establishment’s secret ties to the petrochemical company and comes to realise that there are bigger powers at play behind the scenes.

Filming for Coup – which was written by Robert Jones and based on the novel ‘A Very British Coup’ by Chris Mullin – gets underway next month, and it’s expected that it will air later this year.

I cannot wait to see him back on-screen, but for now, here’s a clip of a recent RTÉ TEN interview with Gabriel…