The 44-year-old, known for her roles in The Fall and Outlander, stars as Detective Monica Kennedy in The Dark, a new series based on Scottish crime writer G R Halliday’s novel From the Shadows.
Set in the Scottish wilderness, the series follows Kennedy as she investigates the staged killing of a young man.
As paranoia spreads, long-held secrets begin to surface and locals realise a serial killer may be hiding among them.
The six-part series also stars The Last Kingdom actor Mark Rowley and Friends actress Helen Baxendale.
Donnelly said she found it interesting that the series focused on missing men, as women are more commonly portrayed as victims in crime dramas.
“Obviously, it’s far more common for the victims to be women, not that it doesn’t happen to men, but it is much more common with women,” she said.
“What I really liked about this first storyline was that we weren’t getting that familiar dynamic. In particular, I appreciated that it wasn’t accompanied by gratuitous violence and gore.
“We’ve seen women being hunted and killed on our screens so often over the years, and while that is, of course, the reality in many cases, it can also feel very gratuitous.”
In the series, Detective Kennedy balances her demanding career with raising her daughter.
“I think what I really, really adored about this character, and about the first scripts I read, was how little being a mother impacts the way she does her job,” she said.
“It certainly affects her relationship with her child, there’s no question about that, but she doesn’t allow the fact that she’s a mum to affect the way she works.”
She added: “I love that motherhood doesn’t stop or hinder any aspect of what Monica does, whether she’s being reckless, putting her own life on the line, or throwing herself into a situation in a completely inadvisable way.
“She doesn’t even think twice about the long hours she has to work. She simply relies on the fact that her mum has things under control and will look after Lucy while she gets on with the job she believes she was put on this earth to do.
“I think Monica feels she was put on this earth to solve these kinds of crimes, not to be a mother. That really appealed to me about this character.”
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Laura Donnelly leads the cast of The Dark on ITV, which is an adaptation of GR Halliday’s novel From the Shadows (Image: ITV)
Rowley, 36, who plays Detective Conor Crawford, revealed that he spoke to a Highlands-based detective while researching the role, using those insights to help create an authentic portrayal of detective work.
“I ended up speaking to a superintendent who had previously been in charge of the Highlands in Inverness. It was really interesting talking to him,” said the Scottish actor.
“It’s not something we’ve explored in great detail in our show because we’ve taken a different direction, but one thing he said they’re increasingly finding difficult is social media.
“When people post things online, there’s often an assumption that it’s evidence, when in reality it isn’t. The challenge is identifying the core evidence that can actually stand up in court and lead to a conviction. I found that fascinating.
“I suppose it all comes back to detectives hunting for the truth, and that can take you down many different paths.
“In the show, there are moments where we find one tiny piece of evidence, and that’s the key that unlocks everything.”
Episode 2 of The Dark is on ITV tonight at 9pm and ITVX.
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