Latest news with #coldCase
The National
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Who is Alexej Manvelov, Netflix hit Dept Q's Kurdish actor who plays a former Syrian policeman?
British crime thriller Dept Q is Netflix's latest hit, centred on a brash detective who leads a team of misfits in a new cold-case unit in the Scottish police force. The show, which had its premiere on May 29, has spent two weeks on Netflix's Top 10 English shows list, garnering more than 8.9 million viewers. It's currently the second most-watched English series worldwide. One of the show's breakout characters is Akram Salim, played by Swedish-Kurdish actor Alexej Manvelov. Akram is a former Syrian policeman forced to flee his home country and work in IT, but he ingratiates himself with the new department becoming one of its lead investigators. What is Dept Q about? Set in Edinburgh, Dept Q follows the cantankerous and sarcastic Carl Morck (Matthew Goode), a top-notch English detective who returns to work following a shooting incident that led to the death of a police officer, with his investigative partner being permanently paralysed. Racked with guilt, Carl is chosen to head the Scottish police force's cold-case unit, Department Q, which is formed more as a PR exercise than anything else. But as Carl and his team sink their teeth into one case, about the disappearance of a lawyer who handled high-profile cases, dark secrets emerge involving some very powerful people. Dept Q is written by Chandni Lakhani and Scott Frank; the latter is best known for writing and directing another Netflix hit Queen's Gambit. It's based on the book series Department Q, by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen. Who is Alexej Manvelov who plays Akram Salim? A soft-spoken cop with deadly combative skills, Akram is introduced as the Scottish police force's IT guy, who's itching to prove himself. As the nine-part series progresses, it is revealed he's a former Syrian police officer who fled his country and is now living in Scotland as a refugee. Akram quickly proves himself as an able partner to detective Carl, not least due to their tragic backgrounds – Akram escaping the horrors of working under a ruthless dictator, and Carl living with the consequences of the shooting incident that haunts him every day. Manvelov, 43, was born to a Kurdish father from Syria and a Russian mother. He grew up in Sweden where he pursued his dream of becoming an actor. He has appeared in a number of Swedish shows with his breakout role being the Swedish thriller A Day and a Half, about a man who, desperate to reunite with his daughter, takes his ex-wife and a policeman hostage. The film was written and directed by Swedish-Lebanese actor Fares Fares, who played Manvelov's role in a Danish film adaptation of Department Q called The Keeper of Lost Causes. Manvelov has also appeared in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl and season three of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan on Prime Video. Who else is on the show? Besides Goode and Manvelov, Department Q is made up of James Hardy (Jamie Sives), detective Carl's former colleague who is now a paraplegic, and who finds new purpose by helping out the department with their cases. Leah Byrne plays detective constable Rose Dickson, a young woman with a troubled past now looking for a chance to prove herself, while Kate Dickie plays detective chief superintendent Moira Jacobson, detective Carl's commanding officer. Chloe Pirrie is Merritt Lingard an ambitious prosecutor whose unsolved disappearance is being investigated. 'Scott assembled one of the finest casts I've ever gotten to work with,' Goode said. 'It's just an incredible playpen for an actor. Leah Byrne is a stone-cold star. I felt like I've known Jamie Sives for a long time, we just get on so well. Alexej is joy, pure joy, capital J.'
The Sun
11-06-2025
- The Sun
How tragic mum's disappearance exploded into huge manhunt with fears NEW unknown serial killer was prowling UK streets
QUESTIONS are still being asked more than two decades after a mum mysteriously vanished without a trace. Sex worker Kellie Pratt, from Norwic h, went missing in June 2000 when she was 28 years old after moving to the Norfolk city from Newcastle to be closer to her mum. 4 The mum of two sons was last seen outside The Rose pub in Queens Road. A quarter of a century on, Norfolk Constabulary's cold case manager Andy Guy is convinced that some Brits roaming the streets have answers to his questions. He told the Chronicle: "It has been 25 years now since Kellie went missing from the streets of Norwich and this very much remains an open and active case. "Time has passed, but we continue to work on this case and follow up lines of inquiry to find who is responsible and to bring them to justice. "I believe the answer to her disappearance lies within the people she knew in Norwich, and it is those people I would ask to examine their consciences and to come forward and speak to us. 'There are rumours circulating about what happened to Kellie, but in order to resolve this investigation those with first-hand information would need to do the right thing. "After 25 years, people's circumstances will have changed and I hope this milestone will be enough to encourage individuals with relevant information to have the courage to come forward.' Kellie was called on her Nokia 6100 at 11.30pm - within about 10 minutes of being seen outside the pub - and said she was with "a punter". Cops tracked down and questioned the individual who made the final call to Kellie but the person she was with that night remains a mystery. "The person she was with that night may or may not be responsible but if he wasn't we would still want to hear from them," Andy revealed. Interestingly, on March 29, 2002, another sex worker, 22-year-old Michelle Bettles, disappeared from the Norwich red light district, prompting fears there could be a serial killer at large in the city. Michelle's body was found 48 hours later but her killer has never been caught. And in 2006, a string of three murders of women working in the city's red light district shook the nation. It was later revealed that a ripper-style murderer was thought to be targeting prostitutes in the Ipswich area, just 40 miles from the pub where Kellie was last seen. Cops in Norfolk teamed up with Suffolk Constabulary as the force probed the death of Gemma Adams, 25, and the disappearance of her missing friend Tania Nichol, 19. Steve Wright, dubbed the Suffolk Strangler, was eventually jailed for the murders of five women, including Paula Clennell, who was originally from Northumberland, but no links with Kellie were found. In 2005, five years after Kellie's disappeared, officers said they weren't holding out hope that the missing person would be found. A spokesman said: 'Despite extensive enquiries, it is still unclear what happened to Kellie, although police and her family have for some time feared the worst. "Work has been ongoing since Kellie disappeared five years ago. "Last month, officers carried out inquiries into whether advances in phone technology could offer any new opportunities for investigation but unfortunately, it was established that this was not the case." 4
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who's Who in the Cast of 'Department Q'
Netflix's newest crime thriller Dept. Q, also stylized as Department Q, is based on Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen's books of the same name. While the plots loosely aligns, the characters' names have all been Anglicized from the Danish version. 'In a lot of ways, the star of our show is [creator] Scott [Frank], right? There's no question about that.' Matthew Goode tells T&C. 'So he took these books by Jussi Adler-Olsen but he transposed the setting from from Denmark to Edinburgh, which is a really nice fit when you consider the Gothic architecture, the feel of the city, and the beauty of it. But then he also made Carl English, which makes him this outsider, which is super smart. Yes, you lose a lot of stuff, but in adapting the novels, Scott and I were able to have long conversations about who Carl is and what we could do with him. That's part of why if you adapt a book nowadays, you do it for TV because movies really truncate things.' Here, who's who in Dept. Q (no spoilers, we promise):Goode stars as detective Carl Morck, who gets put in charge of the cold case department. You may recognize the actor from Downton Abbey, A Discovery of Witches, and The Crown, among many other projects. Read an interview with Matthew GoodeMerrit Lingard is a prosecutor who has been missing for four years. (Her disappearance is Department Q's first case.) She's portrayed by Scottish actress Chloe Pirrie, who previously appeared in The Game, War & Peace, Carnival Row, and The Queen's Gambit, among other TV shows and is a Syrian cop, who was forced to flee his home and ends up in Edinburgh. He starts working as Carl's assistant but ultimately becomes a key part of the investigation. Akram is played by Kurdish-Russian-Swedish actor Alexej Manvelov, who has previously appeared in Swedish projects as well as Chernobyl and Jack is a cop who has been assigned to a desk job after dealing with PTSD; she starts working again with Department Q. Rose is played by Leah Byrne, in somewhat of a breakout role for the Scottish actress. She previously appeared in Call the Midwife and Jacobson is Carl Morck's commanding officer and the head of the Edinburgh police department. She is portrayed by Scottish actress Kate Dickie, perhaps most recognizable for playing Lysa Arryn in Game of Thrones or her roles in Tinsel Town, Prometheus, and Star Wars: The Last Rachel Irving is a police therapist who was assigned to Carl after he was shot. She's played by Kelly Macdonald, who made her debut in Trainspotting back in 1996, and has since appeared in the films No Country for Old Men, Gosford Park, and Operation Mincemeat, among others. She's also been in TV shows such as Boardwalk Marsh is Merritt's brother William Lingard's caretaker. She's played by Shirley Henderson, a Scottish actress viewers may know as Jude in the Bridget Jones films, Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films, or Gail in Trainspotting, among many other actor Jamie Sives plays James Hardy, Carl's partner who was shot and paralyzed. He's been in Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself, Game of Thrones (as Jory Cassel), Fronteir, Chernobyl, and Burns is Merritt's boss in the prosecutor's office. He's played by Scottish actor Mark Bonnar, best known for his work in British television series such as Guilt, Shetland, and brother, William, is non-verbal following a trauma. He's portrayed by Tom Bulpett, a neurodivergent actor who has previously appeared in For the Emperor and Guard Merritt disappears, Dr. Fiona Wallace takes over care of William. She's portrayed by actress Michelle Duncan, who has appeared in films including Atonement and Bohemian Rhapsody, and TV including Doctor Who, Luther, Hanna, and hard to write too much about Sam Haig without spoiling Dept Q., but just know he plays a big role in the plot. The mysterious man is played by Steven Miller, best known for his role in the medical drama case we see Merritt prosecuting in the first episode is that of Graham Finch, who is accused of murdering his wife. The wealthy businessman is played by actor Douglas Russell, who has appeared in The Batman, Lockerbie, and Peaky Blinders, among other projects. You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
The Sun
07-06-2025
- The Sun
Daughter reveals chilling phone call made hours after mum vanished 15 years ago – as cops find body buried in garden
A MYSTERY phone call could prove vital in cracking the cold case of a mum who vanished 15 years ago, The Sun can reveal. Izabela Helena Zabłocka went missing in August 2010, aged 30, after moving to Derbyshire from Poland the previous year. 9 9 9 9 But an investigation wasn't opened by British cops until last month, thanks to a baffling miscommunication gaffe. Once the probe finally kicked into gear, officers made five arrests before finding remains in a back garden and charging a woman with murder on Friday - all within a matter of a couple of weeks. Anna Podedworna, 39, also faces charges of preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice. Now, Izabela's daughter, Kasia, who was just nine when she vanished, has told The Sun about an odd phone conversation she had in the hours after her mum was first reported missing. Kasia and her grandmother would speak to Izabela every day over the phone after her move to Britain - but when she suddenly stopped, they became frantic with worry. The young girl had been continuously trying to contact her mum when an unknown woman answered and told her she didn't know Izabela and hung up. Kasia told us: "It was a conversation of a few seconds, I was only a child. "The woman, as far as I remember, told me that she doesn't know my mother, doesn't know who Izabela is, and hung up." Soon after that, Kasia recalls, the phone was disconnected. Her family - who don't speak English - relayed all of this to Polish cops at the time but the trail eventually ran cold, without any answers about what had happened. Derbyshire Constabulary say the first they heard of Izabela was last month when Kasia, now 25, after years of appeals for help, got in touch on a whim. She was as surprised as anyone that British cops hadn't been involved in the case at all - assuming Polish forces must have been liaising with them all these years. And Izabela's case might not be the only one to slip through the cracks. Speaking to The Sun, former top Scotland Yard cop Peter Bleksley said: 'Given all the circumstances, my question is how many more? How many other cases are like this in the UK?' He said it's so easy for someone to move to the UK and then after months or even years disappear but because they're not part of a stable support network, are never reported to police. He added: 'How many more have entered communities, but are murdered and done away with but no one is going to miss them?' Of course, Izabela's family, particularly daughter Kasia, never did give up looking - but were let down by authorities again and again. Speaking to The Sun after remains were found in the garden of a home in Princes Street - a road where Izabela had lived - last week, Kasia had said: 'I definitely want to know the truth as soon as possible.' Her mum, who had called back home every day prior to vanishing on August 29 2010, had communicated to the family she planned to return home imminently. Have YOU got a story or an amazing picture or video? Email exclusive@ and you could even get PAID It's understood Kasia's grandmother had even sent her daughter money to buy a plane ticket but she never arrived and her phone was suddenly deactivated after the strange call. When they reported her missing to Polish cops, it seems they simply assumed she'd made it back to her homeland. They told Izabela's family they checked hospitals and prisons, and over the years did collect DNA samples, including hair from her wedding veil. However, Kasia said the case was then archived in the mid-2010s, and her loved ones feared they would never learn what happened. Mr Bleksley said: 'In terms of the Polish police, they paid it absolute lip service. Not in a hospital, not in a jail, don't really care.' In contrast, he said the investigation by Derbyshire Constabulary 'moved at break neck speed', which is a credit to those involved. 'From it getting reported, even having heard her name for the first time, it's only days until someone has been arrested, re-arrested, and now in custody,' he continued. 'In stark contrast to the Polish police, Derbyshire have taken it very seriously, they must have made a considerable amount of enquiries to rapidly make arrests and nail the correct address, start excavating and unfortunately find remains.' He said he hoped 'despite the passage of time' the remains 'provide a treasure trove of forensic evidence'. 9 9 9 Mr Bleksley went on to say: 'It smacks to me that somebody was desperate to tell the police what they knew, and they had been waiting for that knock on the door all that time.' He said the excavation 'will be absolutely painstaking' because 'any tiny microscopic' piece of forensic evidence 'will be crucial to nailing the case'. 'This is almost like a textbook test of modern forensic science,' he added. Asked if he believes Izabela - if the remains prove to be hers - was killed by someone she knew, Mr Bleksley said: 'That is very difficult to speculate. The fact that arrests were made so swiftly, indicates to me that these were people that were known to each other - that I will say… 'I'm not being intentionally flippant here but they are going to solve this. 'Somebody, I feel, is desperate to tell people what they saw. That's why it's galloped forward so quickly. Someone's almost gone 'oh I thought you'd never come - right okay, this is what I saw, this is who did it.'' Mr Bleksley added: 'As much as we criticise our police, and as much as we at times fall short and fail us all, by and large, when it comes to the big, serious, major investigations, they do very well.' He pointed to examples of Brits who have lost loved ones abroad and they've remained unexplained, including Madeleine McCann. 'We sometimes have a lot to be grateful for when it comes to our police force investigating serious crime,' he said. Mr Bleksley also added that had Madeleine - who vanished while on holiday in Portugal in 2007, aged three - gone missing 'under similar circumstances' in the UK, 'that case would have been solved a very long time ago'. During his career he's worked with police forces across the world, including the US, Belgium, France and the Netherlands, sometimes undercover. He championed British forces, in comparison, for their work ethics and systems of investigation. Asked if whilst working in other countries he recognised blindsides in local cops' working, he said: 'I did, which is why I was called in so often to help foreign law enforcement with their cases.' The existence of the likes of Europol, Interpol and the National Crime Agency designed to help police communicate internationally, it may appear archaic that a case like Izabela's can fall through the cracks. 'They can only be effective if the liaison through different countries is good,' said Mr Bleksley. 'In this case, it was appalling to the extent of being non-existent. 'If the Polish police had done their job properly, this case would've been solved years ago.' Asked if it is likely there will be some kind of watchdog probe into what went wrong in Poland, Mr Bleksley said: 'That I don't know, that would be a matter for the family, I'm sure for any forces in the UK, litigation would be pursued, of course, not to mention the complaints procedure. 'I don't know what the situation is in Poland with regards to that. He added: 'There's plenty more embarrassment for the Polish police force coming down the line if this case runs its course and ends up in a trial.' Asked if there's any chance Derbyshire Police were simply mistaken and, despite their assertions, ignored communications with Poland over the years about the case, Mr Bleksley said it's unlikely. 'Everything gets logged these days. Everything goes into the computer system and lives there forever. 'Derbyshire Police wouldn't have been as bullish as they have been by saying we had no trace of this if actually they didn't have any trace.' 'I did everything to publicise my mum's disappearance' Kasia told The Sun last week, prior to the remains discovery: "When Mum went missing, I was 9 years old, I was a child. "It was only when I became an adult that I took up the search for Mum again. "I did everything to publicise my mother's disappearance; it took me a lot of time, but I hope I will find out the truth." She went on to say: "My family reported the case to the Polish police 15 years ago, but now we are finding out that the British police did not receive the report during those 15 years, and they have only just started an investigation. "The Polish police only checked prisons and hospitals and didn't find anything significant, and after a few years, the disappearance case went to the archive." She continued: "I started looking for her on my own as soon as I became an adult. "I started publicising my mother's disappearance in Poland, in the media and on YouTube. I did everything I could, and Polish charities helped me with this. "I started making posters about my mother's disappearance. I wrote to the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London, and they wrote back that they would check the prisons in England and Wales, but I did not receive any information on whether this was actually checked." The 25-year-old had hoped her mum had simply decided to start a new life, and she would suddenly appear with a new identity. However, those hopes were quashed when murder arrests were made, with Kasia admitting: "I'm very upset by the news I've received, and I'm so sorry that I received this message and not another one. "I've been looking for her for 15 years, and I hope I finally find out the truth." Two other women aged 39 and 43, and two men aged 41 and 48, were arrested on suspicion of murder and all remain on police bail pending further inquiries Detective Inspector Kane Martin, who is leading the investigation, said after the body was found: 'Izabela's family are at the forefront of our minds following this discovery and, whilst formal identification has not yet taken place, it is our belief that these remains do belong to Izabela." Mr Martin went on to say: 'We have spoken with Izabela's family in Poland, and they are aware. Our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time. 'Identification of the remains is likely to be a lengthy process, but we will issue updates when we are able. 'I know that reports of these findings will send shockwaves through the local community, and I understand the concern of residents. 'Officers will remain in Princes Street in the coming days, and anyone with concerns is encouraged to speak with them." DI Martin explained that a "dedicated team of detectives" would continue their investigation to "piece together information" about the days leading up to Izabela's death. Izabela worked at the former Cranberry Foods chicken and turkey factory in Scropton, around 10 miles west of Derby. Crimestoppers is offering up to £20,000 for exclusive information relating to the investigation that leads to a conviction, with the reward valid for three months until August 27. Anyone with information can contact the charity via its website, or by calling 0800 555 111. 9 9
Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Dept. Q, review: Netflix's Edinburgh-set answer to Slow Horses
New crime drama Dept. Q (Netflix), is based on a series of novels by the Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen. Except it's not, not really. You don't have to watch more than about two minutes of it to realise that the TV adaptation is based, or at least heavily influenced by, Apple TV+'s Slow Horses. The Dept. Q of the title is a new cold case unit in the Edinburgh police force that is really a PR exercise to drum up some funding for the real police there. It's not a department, it's a place to secrete washed-up misanthropes like DCI Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) in a literal grimy basement where no one has to look at them. For Dept. Q, read Slough House, the dumping ground for threadbare spies in Slow Horses. For Carl Morck, read Jackson Lamb. Both are the epitome of damaged goods. In Morck's case, the damage appears to have come from being shot in the face, in an incident that claimed the life of a young sergeant and the legs of his friend and partner. His response has been to double down on his general loathing for all mankind. Morck hates everyone, and everyone hates Morck. But not for long. The narrative path for both a Jackson Lamb and a Carl Morck involves a softening. Over nine hours and one really nasty case, and thanks to a mordant wit, we do, of course, come round to Morck as we learn why he is as he is and what happened in the past to make him so. Naturally, he's also kind of brilliant at what he does. In all of the above, therefore, Dept. Q offers little that's new, but it has two things in its favour. Firstly, I'm still not sure how many people have seen Slow Horses, because it's on Apple TV+ and no one knows how many people watch that. There's every chance that Carl Morck and his team of ne'er-do-wells fighting evil, as well as a system that has cast them aside, will seem like the best idea ever committed to telly. Secondly, and more importantly, Dept. Q is very well done. Goode, more often seen as a buttoned-up toff (in Downton Abbey and The Crown), plays wonderfully well against type as an unbuttoned scruff. His team of misfits are well cast and well-used, with Alexej Manvelov as Akram Malik particularly impressive – he's a former Syrian policeman who fled to the UK and somehow wends his way from the IT department to Morck's sidekick. And then there's the case that runs throughout the series, or rather the multiple cases. There's the mystery of the missing prosecutor, the mystery of who shot Morck and his buddy, and the mystery of why police departments have such large, unused basements going spare for office space. As you'd expect, writer Scott Frank, who made The Queen's Gambit for Netflix, marshals the whole thing like a maestro, zooming in on dabs of Morck's home life (not good), jumping over to his PTSD sessions with a psychiatrist played by Kelly Macdonald, then coming back to warm up the show's central cold case. If you'd been wondering what happened to Scandi noir, all brutal and gloomy, well, here it is – it just went away, popped into Slough House for some tips and was next seen alive and well in Scotland.
