The Silence is a four part mini-series for British public broadcaster that follows an eighteen year old deaf girl who witnesses the murder of a policewoman.

It stars Genevieve Barr (The Amazing Dermot) as Amelia Edwards, who has recently been fitted with a cochlear implant as she struggles to break free from her over protective parents and moves in with her party loving cousins.

After she witnesses the policewoman murdered by a drugs squad colleague, she goes into police protection.  

The series is produced by Company Pictures, which produces Skins and Shameless as well as HBO mini-series Generation Kill, and was created by Australian writer Fiona Seres, who has worked on Australian dramas including Southern Star's Love My Way and Showtime's Satisfaction.

"I read an article a few years ago about a woman who was a lipreader for the police. What interested me most, was the idea that even though someone may have what is seen to be a disability, it could be turned around and used as an asset," she says.

The mini-series attracted good ratings for BBC One, which stripped it through the week.

It is distributed internationally by All3Media. Managing director Louise Pedersen says it will launch it at the forthcoming market Mipcom. "It's always good to have a thriller mini-series for international broadcasters," she says.