Idris Elba is to star in Neil Cross’s first thrilling six-part series Luther, it was announced today, made by BBC Drama Production for BBC One.

Elba notably played Russell “Stringer” Bell in the ground-breaking American series The Wire, currently screening on BBC Two.

As John Luther, he plays a near-genius murder detective whose brilliant mind can’t always save him from the dangerous violence of his passions.

Elba says: “I’m really excited about playing Luther. He’s a challenging and exciting character because he’s so complex. While he’s capable of great kindness and loyalty, sometimes he steps over the edge of madness – simmering with anger and rage.”

Luther is a new kind of crime thriller for British TV. In each exciting and fast-moving story, the murderer’s identity is known from the start – focussing the drama on the psychic duel between hunter and quarry, who sometimes have more in common than either would like to think.

Creator and writer Neil Cross is an acclaimed suspense novelist and was lead writer for the last two series of BBC One’s Spooks.

“I’m delighted that BBC One is bringing Luther to life,” he says. “It’s an intense psychological thriller which examines not only human depravity but the complex nature of love and how it’s often this – our finest attribute – that leads us into darkness.”