A gritty new crime drama will be arriving on screens this month, delivering audiences a gripping tale brimming with tension and drama, reports Wales Online. The programme arrives as another mystery thriller is set to debut later this year.

Mudtown is situated in Newport, Wales and centres on magistrate Claire Lewis Jones (portrayed by Erin Richards), who finds herself in a predicament when the daughter of a childhood friend is brought before her on arson charges.

Claire swiftly discovers her personal and professional worlds clashing as she attempts to oversee the case.

Adding another layer of complexity, former love interest and local crime boss Saint Pete (Downton Abbey's Tom Cullen) reappears in Claire's world, seeking her assistance in the courtroom.

She will find herself conflicted between competing allegiances and ensuring justice prevails.

Mudtown was co-developed by Keeping Faith performer and scriptwriter Hannah Daniels alongside practising magistrate Georgia Lee.

In an exclusive chat with Reach Screen Time, leading actors Cullen and Richards discussed joining the production.

Cullen confessed he had been hesitant about accepting the part of criminal kingpin Saint Pete, despite having played real-life gangster Johnny Palmer in BBC's The Gold.

He revealed: "On a personal level, Pete is a character that I've never really got to play before and when they offered it to me, I was absolutely terrified and confused as to why they wanted me to play this character.

"And I was absolutely terrified of the prospect of playing because I thought it was way beyond my reach, capabilities as an actor and for that reason, also, I decided to do it, to scare myself."

Discussing his motivation for taking on Mudtown, Cullen revealed: Numerous factors drew him to the programme.

"Just on a script-level, I found it really interesting. I thought that its themes really resonated with me and the socio-political aspect to it about the choices we make and what choices do we have when we grow up in certain areas, and the different paths a certain decision can make, I found that really interesting. I also thought that the characters were so complex."

He revealed he was equally attracted to the project due to the opportunity to film in his native Wales, something he seldom experienced, and "work with friends" he'd "known for years", calling it a "joyous experience".

Meanwhile, The Crown and Gotham actress Richards confessed she shared comparable motivations for joining Mudtown, revealing she was similarly attracted to the prospect of working in Wales alongside the opportunity to remain close to her family.

"It was such a dream and it was the first job I did since having my son, who is now two-and-a-half, but was one, and just the ability to come home every night and see him and sleep in my own bed, and travel to Newport, which is somewhere I've never been before but obviously visited a lot," she said. Richards and Cullen have been friends for years following their collaboration on a film when they were merely 16, which she confessed boosted their on-screen rapport and transformed her portrayal.

The actress revealed: "I had a specific idea of who Claire was and I was playing her a certain way, and then when I would do the scenes with Tom, she would like change a little bit and I didn't plan for that to happen.

"But I think just because of the history that Tom and I have and how much we know about each other, it really reflected how Claire and Saint Pete were together. It was a really dynamic we had as friends but also had as characters."

The programme was filmed simultaneously in English and Welsh, similar to numerous Welsh productions including the previously mentioned Keeping Faith and The Light in the Hall.

Recording consecutively in both languages meant the Welsh-speaking performers would begin in one tongue for a scene before switching to the alternative language for the subsequent scene based on the take.

Richards confessed: "It was a real mind-bending thing at the beginning, but then halfway through I got used to it and my brain would just do it and click into place."

The performer prepared for the part by observing magistrates courts in both Cardiff and Newport, discovering how the system operated and acknowledged she was "surprised" that other programmes about the judiciary hadn't been produced. Addressing the possibility of a second season, Richards teased: "I think the final episode, the final scene leaves it open to another series. I would love to do one.

Cullen added: "I'd love to do one. We'll see how it goes, fingers crossed."

Mudtown is available on U&alibi from August 29 at 9pm, available on Sky, Virgin Media and NOW