''Born to Kill'' is a British television drama, produced by

World Productions World Productions Limited is a British television production company, founded on 20 March 1990 by producer Tony Garnett, and owned by ITV plc following a takeover in 2017. History The company's first major series was the police drama '' Betwe ...

, that was first broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

from 20 April to 11 May 2017. The four-part serial stars Jack Rowan as Sam Woodford, a seemingly ordinary 16-year-old schoolboy who harbours secret

psychopath Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality Construct (psychology), construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with boldness, bold, disinhibited, and egocentrism, egocentric traits. These traits are often ma ...

ic tendencies. The series also stars

Romola Garai Romola Sadie Garai ( ; born 6 August 1982) is a Hong Kong-born British actress and film director. Known for her extensive work on stage and screen, she often acts in period films. Her early film roles include '' Nicholas Nickleby'' (2002), '' ...

as Sam's mother, Jenny; Lara Peake as Sam's girlfriend, Chrissie;

Earl Cave Earl Cave (born 23 June 2000) is an English actor. His films include '' Days of the Bagnold Summer'', ''True History of the Kelly Gang'' (2019), and '' The Sweet East'' (2023). Early life and education Cave was born in London to Australian sing ...

as Sam's only friend, Oscar;

Daniel Mays Daniel Mays (born 31 March 1978) is an English actor having had television roles in ''EastEnders'' (2000), ''Rehab'' (2005), '' Red Riding'' (2008), '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2010), '' Outcasts'' (2011), '' Mrs Biggs'', ''Line of Duty'', '' Des'' ...

as Chrissie's father, Bill; and

Richard Coyle Richard Coyle (born 6 February 1972) is an English actor. He portrayed the lead role of Father Faustus Blackwood in the Netflix series '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'', and Jeff Murdock in the sitcom '' Coupling''. Early and personal life ...

as Sam's father, Peter. The series was written and created by Tracey Malone and

Kate Ashfield Kate Ashfield (born 28 May 1972) is an English actress and screenwriter, who has appeared in stage, TV and film roles, most famously in her role as Liz in the 2004 zombie comedy '' Shaun of the Dead''. She is the co-writer of the 2017 TV series ...

, becoming Malone's second original television production following ''

Rillington Place ''Rillington Place'' is a three-part biographical crime drama about the real life case of serial killer John Christie, and the subsequent wrongful execution of Timothy Evans. It premiered on 29 November 2016 on BBC One. Premise The miniseries ...

''. The series is distributed worldwide by

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

. The series serves as Rowan's first leading television role, having only previously appeared as a regular character in '' Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands''. The series achieved average viewing figures for its time slot, with 2.43 million viewers tuning in for episode one, and a slight drop to 1.74 million for episode two. The complete series was released on DVD on 12 June 2017.

Cast

* Jack Rowan as Sam Woodford, a 16-year-old schoolboy with psychopathic tendencies *

as Jenny Woodford, Sam's mother who works as a nurse at the local hospital *

Lara Peake Lara Peake (born ) is an English actress. On television, she is known for her roles in the Channel 4 series ''Born to Kill (TV series), Born to Kill'' (2017) and the BBC Three series ''Mood (TV series), Mood'' (2022), and ''Reunion (British TV s ...

as Chrissie Anderson, a fellow student with whom Sam enters a relationship *

as Bill Anderson, Chrissie's father *

as Peter Woodford, Sam's biological father *

as Oscar, a schoolboy that Sam befriends *

Jeany Spark Jeannette "Jeany" Spark (born 7 November 1982) is an English actress, known for portraying Linda Wallander in the British television series ''Wallander''. The actress has also had significant roles in the comedy series '' Man Down'' and the dram ...

as Lauren, Oscar's mother * Simon Bubb as Mike, Oscar's father, *

Elizabeth Counsell Elizabeth Counsell (born 7 June 1942) is an English actress and singer, known for her role in the BBC television series '' Brush Strokes'', as well as for her work in classical theatre. Career She played Lady Macbeth to Michael Gambon's Macbeth ...

as Margaret Anderson, Bill's mother and Chrissie's grandmother * Karl Johnson as Mr. Williams, a hospital patient whom Sam befriends *

Sharon Small Sharon Small is a Scottish actress known for her work in film, radio, theatre, and television. Perhaps best known for her portrayal of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers in the BBC television adaptation of ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'' b ...

as Cathy, Jenny's best friend and colleague * James Greene as Bob Franklin, a hospital patient whom Sam befriends *

Lolita Chakrabarti Lolita Chakrabarti (born 1969) is a British actress and writer. Early life and education Lolita Chakrabarti was born in Kingston upon Hull, England, to Bengali Hindu parents from India in 1969. She grew up in Birmingham, where her father wo ...

as Helen Deverill, a psychologist who represents Jenny during Peter's parole hearing *

Pal Aron Pal Aron (born 1971) is a British television and theatre actor from Birmingham, England, known for his roles as Adam Osman in ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'', Brandon Kane in ''The Bill'', Jayesh Parekh and Sonny Dhillon in ''Coronation Street ...

as Philip, a prison liaison officer working on behalf of Peter's parole board

Episodes

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=6464458, title=Born to Kill 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries 2017 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings Channel 4 television dramas Channel 4 miniseries Television series by ITV Studios Television series by World Productions British English-language television shows Television shows about murder Television series about dysfunctional families British television series about teenagers Television shows set in the United Kingdom