Wolf is a must-watch BBC1 crime thriller that's based on the bestselling Jack Caffery series of novels by Mo Hayder. It features a gritty and twisted story plus a top cast including Blindspot and Humans star Ukweli Roach in his first lead role. Also look out for Juliet Stevenson and Owen Teale, plus Game Of Thrones star Iwan Rheon and Doctor Who baddie Sacha Dhawan.
The six-part BBC1 thriller is from Hartswood Films, the makers of Sherlock, and follows DI Jack Caffery, who’s obsessed with the neighbor he believes murdered his ten-year-old brother in the 1990s. But his story soon collides with that of a wealthy family, the Anchor-Ferrers, who find themselves becoming the victims of a pair of psychopaths and their cruel games.
Here’s everything you need to know about the disturbing drama Wolf arriving on BBC1…
Wolf release date
Wolf started on BBC1 on Monday 31 July at 9 pm, with all episodes then dropping immediately as a boxset on BBCiPlayer. For those watching live, the next episode aired at 9 pm on Tuesday, August 1. It runs two episodes per week on BBC1 on Mondays and Tuesday for three weeks. We will update on any international air date and channel such as Netflix or Prime Video.
Wolf episode guide
Here's an episode guide and recaps for Wolf which have spoilers so don't click on the links if you want to avoid spoilers.
Wolf episode 1 recap: Trouble at the Anchor-Ferrers place
Wolf episode 2 recap: Who let the dog out?
Wolf episode 3 recap: Did Matilda survive?
Wolf episode 4 recap: Honey's real identity
Wolf episode 5 recap: What's in the box?
Wolf episode 6 recap: Who was the Donkey Pitch killer?
Is there a Wolf trailer?
Yes the BBC released a Wolf trailer, which looks truly terrifying as the hostage terror unfolds and secrets are alluded to. Take a look at the full trailer below...
Wolf plot
Wolf follows young detective Jack Caffery, who’s searching for himself while trying to right the wrongs of others. He remains haunted by the disappearance of his brother when they were children in the 1990s and is convinced that a neighbour killed him. But in his quest to uncover the truth will Jack cross a line?
Meanwhile, the wealthy Anchor-Ferrers family – nervy mum Matilda (Juliet Stevenson), her businessman husband Oliver (Owen Teale) and daughter Lucia (Annes Elwy) – are returning to their Welsh home in rural Monmouthshire so Oliver can recuperate from a heart operation.
But they remain troubled by a double murder case, known locally as 'The Donkey Pitch Murders' that previously occurred in the area and when police officers Honey (Sacha Dhawan) and Molina (Iwan Rheon) turn up with worrying news, a frightening chain of events begins when a hostage situation arises. As Jack heads to Wales to follow a potential new lead about his brother, he becomes caught up in the Anchor-Ferrers’ nightmare. What follows is a nail-biting and deeply disturbing race against time.
Wolf cast — Ukweli Roach on playing detective Jack Caffery
In Wolf, Ukweli Roach plays the young, unshockable and driven DI Jack Caffery, who finds himself working on the most terrifying crimes.
Ukweli Roach told us: "Jack Caffery is a police detective who lives in London and previously worked in Wales - in Cardiff and Newport. He has a disturbed background with a lot of trauma that he tries to hide, which has made his character quite malformed. As clichéd as it sounds, I would describe Jack as a lone wolf. He’s someone who, because of the traumas in his past, has isolated himself and finds comfort in isolation because he can’t be hurt that way. His trauma essentially shaped his whole personality.
"Jack goes on quite a journey over the series to get to the answers he wants. That’s really where we see the wolf in him, in the sense that he can’t let go of the metaphorical scent of blood. We see the lengths that he will go to, whether legal or not, to get his man to speak. Jack is driven solely by wanting to find out what happened to his brother and where his brother is laid to rest. There’s a drive for a certain amount of revenge, but behind that revenge is the want for closure.
"With regards to finding the killer of the Donkey Pitch murder case, Jack wants to prove a point to DI Lincoln that she was wrong because there's also a power struggle going on there. He also wants to prove himself and his instincts right as he had a feeling from the beginning that something was wrong. Deep down there is a good core in Jack and a desire to catch whoever is responsible to prevent anything similar happening again."
Ukweli is best known for playing the role of FBI psychiatrist Dr Robert Borden in the American TV series Blindspot, which was shown in the UK on Sky Living. He’s also had roles in Humans, Grantchester, The Royals and Hard Sun.
"I’m honored to be taking on the role of Jack Caffery in Wolf," says Ukweli. "Megan Gallagher has brought Mo Hayder’s dark storylines into focus in a way that will be challenging, but also every actor’s dream. I can’t wait to bring Jack to life."
Who else is starring in Wolf?
As well as Ukweli, the cast of Wolf is packed full of familiar faces. Sacha Dhawan (The Master in Doctor Who) plays Honey alongside Iwan Rheon (Game Of Thrones, Misfits, A Christmas Number One) as Molina, a pair of mismatched detectives forced together on an unusual job.
Meanwhile, Sian Reese-Williams (Line Of Duty, Hidden) stars DI Maia Lincoln, a woman with a case to prove, Juliet Stevenson is Mathilda Anchor-Ferrers, an intelligent yet neurotic wealthy housewife, with Owen Teale (Game Of Thrones) as her wealthy and well-connected husband Oliver. Annes Elwy plays their daughter Lucia Anchor-Ferrers.
Other cast includes Ciarán Joyce as DI Prody, Kai Owen as DI Matthews, Anthony Webster as Ivan Penderecki, Gethin Alderman as Minnet Kable, Kezia Burrows as Veronica, Emily Adara as Sophie, Karl Johnson as Colonel Frink, Zadeiah Campbell-Davies as Emily, Gwïon Morris Jones as Hugo, Emma Cooney as Bethany Hywel Simons as Robbie and Amanda Drew as Driscoll.
"We’re delighted to have attracted such an amazing cast into our wonderfully entertaining crime/horror world!" says executive producer Elaine Cameron. "It’s a real testament to the originality of Megan’s scripts. I’m particularly excited about young actor Ukweli Roach playing the lead role of Jack Caffery – I guarantee once the series goes out he’ll be a total household name!"
Juliet Stevenson on playing Matilda Anchor-Ferrers
Juliet Stevenson plays nervous mother Matilda Anchor-Ferrers, who gets held hostage at her home. Juliet says: "Matilda is an upper middle class woman from a wealthy family. Her and her husband, Oliver, have two children. The son, who isn't present in the story, is a bit of a big success story which probably means a lot to this family as it seems there’s likely been pressure to be successful in this family. Their daughter, Lucia, who in worldly terms has been less successful and is very troubled. From when we first meet them in the car in the first scene, there is a lot of history and delicate references to the troubles that they’re bringing with them.
"Matilda is very devoted and quite dependent on her husband so it’s very difficult for her to find herself cut off from him, as they are quite early on in the story, because she looks to him to be steady, calm, reassuring and have that patriarchal male wisdom. Matilda is highly intelligent, but it feels to me that her intelligence hasn't anywhere to go, particularly if she hasn't been working or in a situation where it could be fed or flourish.
"This role has been a challenge as you’re normally given a character and you explore who they are and how the story changes them. With this one, they go into such an extreme situation right at the beginning that they’re always in a nightmarish and extremist situation. So you don’t get to know Matilda as she might be on a day-to-day or casual basis."
Owen Teale on playing Oliver Anchor-Ferrers
Owen Teale reveals his thought on playing wealthy Oliver, who is held hostage along with his family: "Oliver is a self-made, successful businessman and it's come through his own talent, his own academic knowhow. He's made a great success of that and we see him immersed in that lifestyle, which ticks all those boxes. He is recovering from a heart transplant so he’s now keen to live every moment he can with his family. What is also clear, which I love about him because I don't get to play many of these parts, is that he and his wife adore each other. I get the feeling they always have. You don't often see much of that nowadays and that's lovely. It goes downhill pretty quickly and we’re taken on quite a journey.
"This character was really about being as honest as possible and honest about fear. You have a TV idea of how you would try to protect your family and when you’re truly desperate and scared, so we’ve really had to imagine what we would do in those moments. It’s been interesting when we’re filming as I’ve often had to stop for a moment and think what these two guys have done to Oliver and his family and I think by now you have to come through and you can’t stay frightened for all that time, so as a result you become quite dangerous. You’ve got nothing to lose if you think you’re going to die."
Sacha Dhawan on playing Honey and Molina
Sacha Dhawan who plays Honey, says: "We first meet Honey and Molina at the beginning of the series when they con their way into the Anchor-Ferrers home. It was great to play those scenes. When I was prepping for Honey, I wanted to make it clear that Molina and Honey are two different characters. Honey, unlike Molina, is very tidy, sharp and focused about making this job meticulous. That's his motivation - to complete it to the best of his ability. The stakes are so high because he's also he's got to fund his family but they’re of course kidnapping a family so there’s a lot of risks and things that could go wrong. Honey and Molina really are chalk and cheese but Molina is the only person Honey has and they’ve got to function together to get out alive.
"One of the things that was really important to me was to make sure that dynamic between Honey and Molina works. I've always wanted to work with Iwan Rheon because he's done such fantastic work on screen, theatre and in so many different genres too. We have never worked together before but we just hit it off and it's been great considering when you see them on screen they don't really like each other. Well, Honey doesn’t really like Molina at all. It’s been a real joy to play around and just explore these scenes. We had a bit of freedom to switch things up a little bit so there's been times when it's been unpredictable and instinctive and we both kind of just go along with it."
Iwan Rheon on playing Molina
Iwan Rheon, who plays Honey's criminal sidekick Molina, says: "Molina is a bit of a hapless criminal - he’s not the brightest, but he has some great ideas. He’s part of a double act with Honey, played by the brilliant Sacha Dhawan, who take the Anchor-Ferrers family hostage, although he’s probably not the ideal person for this job.
"Very early on he believes the family aren’t quite the sharpest tool in the box so he starts to become a little bit silly. Throughout the series, we see that Molina has a wonderful imagination but struggles at sticking to the script, often provided by Honey, which is very frustrating for him. When certain situations arise, he sometimes gets a bit carried away and reinvents a backstory. I think there’s a lot of comedy between Molina and Honey. They’re idiots at the end of the day, but it’s been really fun to play.
"It's a very intricate, thrilling storyline that keeps you guessing. That's what kept me reading when I first received the scripts. I also think there’s a very compelling detective in Jack Caffery and then there’s this absolutely bonkers storyline with the Anchor-Ferrers family going on at the same time, although in a slightly different timeline which is very cleverly done. I think the juxtaposition between the two main plots will really keep people excited. It almost feels like two shows in one but it’s interesting when they slowly start to cross into each other’s worlds. In terms of the crime element, the murder has happened and the case has already been closed but we’re slowly unpicking it from a different perspective so you quickly get a sense that everything isn’t quite what it seems.
"It's been lovely to be back working in Wales, as always. Obviously I'm Welsh and grew up in Wales so it has a very dear place in my heart. It's been really great to get to use the landscapes here; Wales has quite a wide variety of landscapes so you can really make it look like anything. It’s a really beautiful place to film. I think more and more things are being made here so the crews are fantastic - great professionals in every department which is amazing. Wales is just as good as anywhere to film."
Behind the scenes and more on Wolf
Wolf has been written and adapted by Megan Gallagher (Suspicion, Borderliner). The thriller is produced by Hartswood Films and APC Studios in association with Creative Wales for the BBC.
Megan Gallagher says: "The project is a partnership between Laurent Boissel of APC Studios and Elaine Cameron of Hartswood Films. As a writer, you work with a lot of different producers. But the collaboration between myself, Elaine and Laurent has been extraordinarily special to me. This is a unique series with a very unique tone; as a writer, you need a lot of constructive encouragement and smart feedback to get it just right. Fortunately, that is exactly what I got with my producers every step of the way.
"It’s a proper thriller, with massively high stakes and a hugely climatic finale. But at the heart of it all is Mo Hayder’s central character, whom I truly adore: DI Jack Caffery. What sets Jack apart from so many other maverick detective characters is rather simple – he’s a millennial. At just 32 years of age, Jack isn’t dealing with a failed marriage or a strained relationship with his children. He’s also not a deeply corrupt detective. Rather, he’s trying to make all of these life decisions for the first time. Do I want a relationship or family? What kind of detective am I going to be?"
