Warning: you might want to cover all mirrors before you watch the first episode of BBC One's spine-tingling supernatural thriller Requiem.

The gripping six-part drama - which will also be streamed for your binge-watching pleasure on Netflix - will most probably have you cowering behind a cushion as things go bump in the night on a plush estate in a remote community in Wales.

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Lydia Wilson in Requiem

The story centres on 23-year-old talented and ambitious cellist Matilda Gray (Lydia Wilson), whose life begins to unravel following the apparent and unexpected suicide of her mother.

While sorting through her mother's possessions, she comes across a box full of newspaper cuttings about a toddler named Carys Howell who disappeared without trace from a small Welsh village in 1994.

Accompanied by fellow musician and close friend Hal (Joel Fry) - who also happens to be madly in love with her - Matilda embarks on quest to uncover the truth of the missing child and what the mysterious link to her late mother could possibly be.

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Brendan Coyle in Requiem

Downton Abbey's Brendan Coyle crops up as charismatic Detective Inspector Kendrick - who is still haunted after leading the original investigation into Carys's sudden disappearance.

Tara Fitzgerald casts eerie suspicion as local antiques dealer Sylvia, who harbours an uneasy obsession with the past, while plundering deceased estates of valuable items.

And James Freecheville's handsome and seemingly easy-going stranger Nick may not be not be all that he seems...

"I hope audiences will fall in love with the world and want to keep coming back to it," Lydia told the BBC.

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Lydia Wilson and Joel Fry in Requiem

"I hope they will feel like we did when we made it - intrigued by this strange thing that doesn't look like anything else."

Meanwhile, Brendan revealed that he was drawn the project by the mystery at the heart of the show.

"The scripts were terrific," he added. "The moment I read them my curiosity was piqued.

"This is a very strong mystery at the heart of it. It's genuinely spooky and mystifying. There was a real buzz going around the industry about these scripts and I can see why."

As well as delving into the supernatural, Requiem also deals with loss and bereavement, and how losing a parent can challenge our personal identity - which initially inspired creator Kris Mrksa to write the series.

Influences of classic psychological horror movies such as Daphne du Maurier's Don't Look Now, and Rosemary's Baby can also be felt in the atmospheric first episode.

And as Piers Wenger Controller BBC Drama told the audience at the screening of the first episode at London's BFI recently, you made need a stiff drink afterwards.

You have been warned.

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Requiem will air on 2nd February on BBC One.

From: Cosmopolitan UK
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Naomi Gordon

Naomi Gordon is news writer mainly covering entertainment news with a focus on celebrity interviews and television.