10 of the best UK thrillers on Stan, according to a TV critic.

You're in a small town full of secrets. Everyone is hiding something.

The weather is always terrible. 

Someone has disappeared, and it's definitely linked to someone else's disappearance from 20 years earlier. Or perhaps someone has been found dead and their killer is the most unlikely of suspects. 

There's a woman in charge that everyone calls ma'am. 

There's a lot of tea involved. 

Sometimes you can't understand the accents but that's okay because the scenery is really green and there always seems to be big bodies of water. 

But really, you're just on your couch binge-watching another UK crime thriller series. And who can blame you, they're bloody excellent. 

To help you get through a rainy, possibly lock downed weekend, I've rounded up the very best British, Irish, Welsh and Scottish thrillers on Stan. 

You're welcome. 

Doctor Foster

Image: Stan. 

Doctor Foster stars Vigil's Suranne Jones as a local GP named Gemma Foster who becomes convinced her husband Simon is cheating on her. 

Secret after secret are revealed until Gemma and Simon are locked in a better feud with almost fatal consequences. 

It's an addictive thriller about the lengths a "scorned woman" will go to for revenge. 

With two six episode seasons, it's perfect for a weekend binge. 

Watch it if you like: Plenty of plot twists, scorned women, and revenge plots. 

Both seasons of Doctor Foster are streaming on Stan now. 

Liar

Image: Stan.  

After breaking up with her boyfriend, teacher Laura Nielson (Joanne Froggatt) is set up on a date with recently widowed surgeon Andrew Earlham (Ioan Gruffudd). 

The next day it's clear to Laura that something isn't right. 

Through hazy, half-snatched memories Laura accuses Andrew of raping her and the two are soon locked in a deadly game of he said/she said. 

Watch it if you like: Netflix's Unbelievable, fast pace thrillers, duplicitous characters and short-term commitments. 

Both seasons of Liar are streaming on Stan now. 

Happy Valley

Image: Stan.  

Happy Valley is written, created and directed by Sally Wainwright, the queen of the gritty British crime drama, who is also the brains behind Scott & Bailey, Last Tango in Halifax, and Unforgiven. 

In the first episode we meet Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), when she introduces herself to a man who is threatening to set himself alight. 

"I'm Catherine by the way. I'm 47, I'm divorced, I live with my sister, who's a recovering heroin addict. I have two grown-up children, one dead, one I don't speak to, and a grandson, so," she says. 

When Catherine starts investigating the abduction of a local girl named Ann Gallagher (Charlie Murphy), it brings her straight into the path of Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), the man who raped Becky and has just been released from prison on unrelated drug charges. 

While this storyline sounds bloody.... bleak, like Mare of Easttown, Happy Valley is surprisingly funny and heartfelt. It has moments of levity between the murders, rapes, and abductions. 

Watch it if you like: Mare of Easttown, depressing small towns, and straight-talking women.

Both seasons of Happy Valley are streaming on Stan now. 

Kiri

Image: Stan.  

Kiri is a four-part British crime mini-series starring Happy Valley's Sarah Lancashire. 

The series is set in Bristol and it centres around the abduction of Kiri Akindele (Felicia Mukasa), a nine-year-old girl. Kiri lives with her middle-class, white foster parents Jim and Alice Warner (Steven Mackintosh and Lia Williams) and their teenage son Si (Finn Bennett). 

During an unsupervised visit to her biological grandparents, Kiri goes missing. 

And soon everyone is a suspect. 

Watch it if you like: Anything Sarah Lancashire is in, family secrets, storylines that feel like they're ripped from the headlines, and... sausages. 

Kiri is streaming on Stan now. 

The Nest

Image: Stan.  

The Nest is a five-part series set in Glasgow. It centres around Emily (Sophie Rundle) and Dan (Martin Compston), a wealthy married couple who aren't able to conceive a child. 

Emily and Dan think their luck has turned when 18-year-old Kaya (Mirren Mack) offers to be their surrogate. 

But Kaya has a dark past and soon questions are raised about who the baby really belongs to. 

Watch if it you like: A handsome fella from a certain bent copper show, beautiful houses beside majestic lakes, and plot twists with a side of redemption. 

The Nest is streaming on Stan now. 

Cheat

Image: Stan.  

Cheat is one of those gloriously twisty British mini-series you can binge in one afternoon. 

The series centres around a university professor named Leah who accuses her student Rose of cheating on an essay. 

But Rose is not going to take accusation lying down and the escalation between the pair soon results in a death. 

Watch it if you like: Serious British people doing terrible things to each other, short-term commitments, plenty of plot twists and ivy-clad colleges. 

Cheat is streaming on Stan now. 

Thirteen

Image: Stan.  

After being held captive for 13 years, Ivy Moxam (Jodie Comer) escapes from the cellar she was being held in and attempts to resume her life. 

But Ivy is holding back from the investigators and there could be more to her story than they initially thought. 

Watch it if you like: Killing Eve, British people doing terrible things to each other, rainy days, and non-stop plot twists. 

Thirteen is streaming on Stan now. 

The Pact 

Image: Stan.  

The Pact is a Welsh series which kind of combines Horrible Bosses with A Weekend At Bernies and Pretty Little Liars. 

The series centres on a bunch of women - Anna (Laura Fraser; Breaking Bad), Nancy (Julie Hesmondhalgh; Broadchurch), Louie (Eiry Thomas; Keeping Faith) and Cat (Heledd Gwynn; Ordinary Lies) - who work on the floor at a local brewery. 

During a work night out, they decide to play a prank on Jack, their new boss and heir to the brewery throne, by leaving him drunk, passed out, with his pants around his ankles in the middle of the woods. 

The next morning, Jack is found dead. 

So did the four friends have something to do with it? Or is someone setting them up?

Watch it if you like: Plotting all sorts of nefarious things with your workmates, getting on the beers, and lots and lots of plot twists. 

The Pact is streaming on Stan now. 

The Drowning

Image: Stan. 

When Jodie's (Jill Halfpenny) son Tom was just four years old, he drowned in a lake during a family gathering. His body was never found. 

Eight years later, Jodie is driving to see a client when she sees a teenager named Daniel boarding a bus. She becomes convinced Daniel is her son. 

But getting close to Daniel means opening the lid on the past and finding out what really happened during that family gathering. 

Watch it if you like: The Missing, lakeside holidays (jks), and last-minute plot twists. 

The Drowning is streaming on Stan now. 

The Town

Image: Stan.  

The Town is a three-part British series starring Andrew Scott aka the Hot Priest from Fleabag. 

Mark Nicholas returns to his hometown Renton after both his parents are murdered. 

While in town, Mark reconnects with his old friends and family and tries to solve his parents' murder. 

Martin Clunes and Aisling Bea also star in this tight thriller with laugh out loud moments. 

Watch it if you like: Hot priests, small town murder mysteries, and your murders with a side of lols. 

The Town is streaming on Stan now.

Keryn Donnelly is Mamamia's Pop Culture Editor. For more of her TV, film and book recommendations and to see photos of her dog, follow her on Instagram. 

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