The six-part BBC series is set to star David Morrissey (The Walking Dead), Robert Glenister (Hustle), and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread).

Sherwood is written by playwright James Graham, inspired by true events and set in Graham's home town of Nottinghamshire.

The series will tell the story of two killings that spark a massive manhunt and shatter an already fractured community, reigniting historic divisions from the miners' strikes three decades previously.

In the context of post-Brexit Britain, the series will explore the use of controversial 'spycops' – a kind of undercover police – as the Nottinghamshire community is forced to confront their past.

Morrissey, playing Detective Chief Superintendent Ian St Clair, a Nottinghamshire constabulary veteran, is tasked with finding the link between the two killings.

St Clair reluctantly joins forces with DI Kevin Salisbury (Glenister), an old rival from the Metropolitan Police, whose return only heightens tensions in the community.

The series explores the sometimes frayed relationship between marginalised communities and the police force, examining some of the most urgent fractures and discords threaded through modern British society.

"It means the world to have this opportunity to bring the voices of a community I grew up in to BBC One," said Graham in a statement.

"So much is spoken about the divisions and difficulties in these 'Red Wall' towns, but they're not always understood. I feel so honoured to be able to tell a fictionalised story about a very real trauma, but with the humour and heart and resilience of the people I know and love there."

Filming on the thrilling crime drama set to air on BBC One is underway.