Davis McCardle

## David McCardle

**Davis McCardle** is a character appearing in Loch Henry. He is portrayed by Samuel Blenkin.

## History

When Davis was eight, his father was shot in the shoulder while on duty as a police officer. He survived the gun shot, but had to stay in the hospital, where he contracted MRSA, an infection that ended up killing him.

Years later, an now-adult Davis and his girlfriend, Pia, traveled back to Davis's hometown of Loch Henry, Scotland, to make a documentary about a man who protected rare eggs from being stolen. When they arrived at Davis's mother's home, where they were staying for two nights before continuing on their journey, Pia butted head with Janet when she implied that the cops would care about the egg thefts if a Black person were the one stealing them. Janet defended the police, saying they were probably just overworked. Pia privately told Davis that she worried she'd stuck her foot in her mouth as she'd just learned that Davis's late father, Kenneth, was a police officer.

While they were in town, Davis took Pia to The Lochside Inn, which was operated by his friend, Stuart King. Stuart said that business was so bad that he'd told his father they would have to pack it in if things didn't pick up. Pia was confused because Loch Henry was so picturesque. So Stuart told the story of Dawn and Simon Challis, a newlywed couple who disappeared on their honeymoon and were later found to have been murdered by Iain Adair, who then murdered his parents and shot Kenneth, the gun shot that ended up killing him by infection. Pia immediately asked to go see where it happened.

They went to the Adair house, which as boarded up. Pia decided it was perfect and asked Davis to do their documentary about the case instead. She believed they could really generate interest and get financial backing. Davis was reluctant, but agreed to do it with Stuart's encouragement. Stuart also gave them a box of his mom's things, saying she'd collected everything she could find about the case.

They used what they got from Stuart's mom, along with their own footage, which they recorded on Kenneth's old video camera over the many tapes he and Janet had recorded of the show Bergerac. When Janet learned what they were working on, she agreed to be recorded answering questions about the case. She also gave them her support, saying that everyone should know what happened to Kenneth.

Pia and Davis pitched their documentary to Kate Cezar, a producer for Historik. She liked the case, but challenged them to find a new angle, something to draw people in. Pia lied and said they had access to the Adair house, including the torture room, which Kate liked.

Wanting to make good on their promise, Stuart, Pia, and Davis put on full-body jumpsuits and went to the Adair house, where they broke in to film inside. They found a large amount of blood when they used a black light in the space, highlighting the gruesome nature of the crimes. On their way back, they were in an accident when they crashed into Richard, Stuart's father. Pia and Stuart had minor injuries, but Davis had to stay overnight, so Janet took Pia and Stuart home.

Davis was playing a game on his phone when Richard came to him and said he'd suspected for years, but never had any proof, that Davis's parents were truly behind the murders all along.

Davis ended up finishing the documentary alone, with this new information, after Pia died while trying to escape from Janet. Janet left all the evidence Davis needed along with a note for Davis that it was for his film, before hanging herself. The documentary was produced by Kate Cezar and went on to win a BAFTA. Davis attended the ceremony, but after the after-party, he went back to his hotel room, where he re-read the note from his mother and cried.

## Relationships

Davis's father died when he was eight. He grew up believing that Iain Adair had shot his father, which is how he got the infection that killed him, but as an adult, he learned that both his father and mother were murderers and that his father had actually shot himself to cover up his role in the crimes.